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The holidays are upon us once again, which means it’s time to remind our customers to take steps to protect their hardwood floors from the extra wear and tear that can happen with holiday guests, additional foot traffic, and occasional messes. If you have wood floors in your home, it’s important to take the necessary steps to protect them from the potential damage that can happen during this festive time of year. We’ve covered a few of these tips in the past, but we wanted to review some of the main points here to keep them top of mind. With that said…here’s a handy checklist to help you keep your floors protected during the holidays.

 Use Floor Mats and Rugs  

Place mats or rugs near entrances and other high-traffic areas so that dirt, mud, salt, water, and other debris can be caught before they damage your wood floors. Choose rugs with non-slip backing so they stay in place when people walk across them. (PRO TIP: Make sure you also place a rug under the dining room table to safeguard against food and liquid spills.)

Take Off Shoes at Entrances 

Encourage family members (and guests) to take off their shoes at entrances during the holiday season if possible. This helps keep much of the dirt, mud, snow, salt and other debris out of your home so it never has a chance to land on your wood floors in the first place.

Clean Spills Quickly

With family gatherings, spills are practically inevitable. Don’t panic when they happen–just clean them up as soon as possible using a soft cloth or paper towel. (Remember: only use cleaning solutions designed for wood floors–no water mopping!)

Do Regular Sweeps

With additional guests and an abundance of sweets and snacks, you can expect a higher-than-average amount of crumbs to hit the floor. These can be just as damaging as dirt and debris if they’re ground into the floor by unsuspecting feet. Try to do a quick sweep of the wood floors daily to remove any excess crumbs and stray food morsels.

Keep a Tree Blanket Under the Tree

Live Christmas trees can drop needles and tree sap, both of which can do significant damage to wood floors. Make sure you use a sturdy tree blanket under the tree to minimize this risk. If you use an artificial tree, make sure you have a rug underneath it, too, to prevent scratching the floor with the tree stand. (PRO TIP: After the holidays, wrap the tree in a blanket or sheet when removing it to prevent excess needle droppings, and sweep or vacuum stray needles as soon as possible.)

Keeping this checklist in mind will help you enjoy the holidays without stress and worry, knowing your wood floors are safe. From all of us at Renaissance, we wish you the happiest of holidays, and a prosperous New Year!