How To Keep Your Flooring Looking New Through Fall & Winter

There’s one part of the winter season that’s a common frustration for homeowners everywhere: the state of our floors! If your flooring always takes a beating during the colder months, then we’re here to help with these floor care tips for fall and winter. Keep reading for the importance of seasonal floor care, common challenges our floors face in winter, and a few handy tips from the Hernandez Flooring team to keep your home looking its best all season long.

Why Seasonal Floor Care Matters

Different seasons pose different challenges for our flooring. By adapting your floor maintenance to the winter season, you protect it from damage and ensure it remains safe to walk on all year long. So without further ado, let’s jump into the seasonal floor cleaning guide.

Common Fall & Winter Floor Challenges

What are the challenges posed by the fall and winter seasons on our floors? There are a few common issues homeowners run into during the colder months of the year.

Slip and Fall Hazards

One common floor hazard in fall and winter is the risk of slipping and falling. This is a particular concern in households with seniors. Falls account for more than 1 million senior hospitalizations each year, and treacherous floors only worsen this problem.

Moisture Damage

Another common issue in fall and winter is damage to floors caused by moisture. If too much rainwater, ice, and snowmelt is left on your floors, it can cause a range of issues depending on the flooring type. This might include deteriorating adhesive, curling edges on floor material, displaced floor tiles, warping wood, mold and mildew growth, or even pest infestations.

Salt Damage

The salt used on roads and walkways is great for clearing ice, but it can wreak havoc if too much gets tracked into your home. Not only does salt leave a white, crusty residue that’s hard (or impossible) to fully clean off your floors, but the salt crystals can also scratch the surface of your floors. Salt can also splinter wooden floors or cause dry rot in carpets.

Stains and Residue

Salt stains aren’t the only wintertime floor concern. Many homeowners also struggle with how to protect floors from mud and moisture stains, which can permanently mark them depending on the material.

Protecting Entryways and High-Traffic Areas

Now that we understand the most common seasonal floor issues homeowners face, what can you do about them? Let’s look at a few winter floor protection ideas.

The area most at risk of damage is your entryway, where salt, snow, ice, slush, rainwater, and mud are tracked in. One way to reduce the damage is to install entryway flooring protection, providing a durable layer that helps remove shoes. You can reduce issues in high-traffic areas with rugs. Wool is one of the best rugs for protecting hardwood floors, thanks to its high durability.

Your exterior floors also need some attention to ensure they’re safe to walk on, even in freezing conditions. We recommend researching weather-resistant outdoor flooring to ensure your outdoor entryway and walkways are as safe as possible.

Floor Care Tips by Material Type

Other floor protection tips vary depending on the material. Here’s what you need to know.

Hardwood

Hardwood is susceptible to damage from moisture and salt in winter. Our top tips for maintaining wood floors in winter include:

• Placing doormats at entryways.
• Removing shoes indoors during fall and winter.
• Regularly cleaning floors to prevent damage caused by debris, moisture, and grit.
• Control indoor humidity to prevent floors from warping.

Luxury Vinyl Plank (LVP)

Luxury vinyl planks are a great way to mimic the look of wood floors at a fraction of the cost, but they require some special care in winter, including:

• Vacuum and mop often. Keeping vinyl floors clean is essential to preventing scratches.
• Use doormats to keep as much salt, ice, and moisture out as possible.
• Clean up any pooling moisture as soon as you spot it to prevent adhesive deterioration.

Tile & Laminate

Tile and laminate flooring are common choices, but they require special treatment in winter as well, such as:

• Installing entryway mats and rugs to protect laminate flooring from snow and salt.
• Apply grout sealant to tiles to prevent any moisture from reaching the subfloor.
• Clean floors regularly to prevent scratches.

Carpet

Carpets are especially challenging to care for in winter. Avoid damage by:

• Use heavy-duty doormats at all entryways.
• Choosing a carpet material that is resistant to damage from moisture.
• Removing shoes indoors.
• Addressing spills and stains immediately by blotting and drying.

Seasonal Cleaning & Maintenance Must-Dos

Besides the above steps, there are a few other ways you can keep your floors in good condition over the winter. These include:

• Having carpets deep-cleaned before and after the winter season.
• Use a humidifier to keep the relative humidity optimal for hardwood and laminate floors.
• Regularly vacuuming and mopping floors.
• Avoiding harsh cleaning chemicals and opting for pH-neutral cleaners.
• Polish hardwood, laminate, and LVP floors before and after the winter season.

Recommended Products for Fall & Winter Floor Care

Keeping up with moisture-proof flooring care is essential to ensure your safety and the longevity of your floors. Here are the products we recommend homeowners invest in to keep their flooring in good condition:

• Heavy doormats to keep moisture, mud, and salt off your floors
• Plastic trays with rims to let wet shoes dry
• pH-neutral floor cleaners
• A quality vacuum cleaner
• A microfiber mop
• Durable rugs for high-traffic areas
• Protective finishes and waxes for hardwood floors
• Specialized floor cleaners for removing salt residue

Schedule a Free Flooring Consultation Today

You do your best to keep your floors in the best possible condition. But eventually, there will come a time when you need a little support from the professionals, whether you need floor repairs, refinishing, or replacement. The team at Hernandez Wholesale Flooring is here to help, with comprehensive floor services that keep your home looking its best in fall, winter, and every other time of year. Contact us to schedule your free flooring consultation!