The beautiful Pennsylvania winter landscape with snow capped hills and shimmering icicles is a wonderful sight to be seen. The snow can also wreak havoc on your floors. Salt and pooled water from melted snow can cause irreparable damage to your hardwood floors and unsightly salt stains on your tile. With a few simple precautions your floors can live to see many winters to come.
The first line of defense: cover them up! The simplest way to protect your floors from salt and water damage is to use rugs and mats in your entry ways to prevent the damage in the first place. A heavy-duty outdoor mat or shoe scraper to eliminate the clumps of snow before entering the house works great! Once inside, leave shoes and boots on an interior rug or shoe tray to prevent salt and snow from getting tracked inside your home.
Be sure to vacuum or sweep up loose granules of road salt to prevent them from scratching your floor. Be cautious when using “Swiffer” type dusters as granules of salt can get trapped in the cloth and leave scratches behind when you clean.
We all know that even with the best intentions and rugs in their places, kids will be kids, dogs will be dogs and salt WILL find its way onto your floors. No worries, there are a multitude of great cleaning products out there that are formulated to specifically remove and neutralize salt stains.
There are also simple vinegar and water cleaning solutions that can be used right away to remove salt stains from wood floors, tile and carpet. The sooner you can clean the area the better.
Choosing the right flooring for heavy-traffic areas and entryways can make keeping your home in good shape an easier task. Contact Piazza Flooring and Cabinetry today to help you find the perfect flooring for your space.