Many neighborhoods in Grand Junction are filled with Victorian homes or 3 bed/1 bath 1950s-style homes. Moving into one of these homes means you have a chance of moving into a home with hardwood floors. If you’re lucky, these floors are still in great condition. There’s also a good chance that the floors continue throughout the house, and maybe even into the bathrooms. If that’s the case, we have 5 Ways to Protect Your Hardwood Floors from Water Damage for you.
1. Floor Mats: Of course you think to have a floor mat at the front door, but there are plenty of other places a floor mat can be useful. Keeping hardwood floors dry is the best way to protect them from damage. So, using floor mats at your exterior doors, garage door (into the house) and in front of your sinks is a great start at keeping water off the floors.
2. Bathtubs and Showers: The first few times you use the shower in your new home, take note of where, if anywhere, water lands on your floors. If it seems like your shower is letting an excessive amount of water escape the shower area, you may consider a new set of shower curtains or installing shower doors. After showers be sure to wipe up any water drops you find.
During bathtime with kids, include extra towels to cover the area around the tub. This way, as the kids are splashing and playing, water is getting on the towels, not your floors.
3. Watch out for ice: When getting ice from the freezer or from your fridge door’s ice dispenser, watch for escaping pieces. If a piece of ice does end up on the floor, do your best to find it right away. Otherwise the ice will melt, water will pool and, if left overnight, can cause damage.
4. Use the right cleaner: Wood floors should never be saturated with water. In fact, most “wood floor cleaners” are simple “spray on, mop off” formulas with no water required. Most of the time vacuuming or daily sweeping will keep your hardwood floors free of dirt and debris.
5. Winter Gear: Now is the time when the winter gear comes out! Don’t let ski boots or soggy sledding shoes just sit on those hardwood floors. Install a thick mat for these to sit or use a lipped rubber mat while all the snow melts. We have a simple method in our home: When ski boots come off, they sit on a towel in front of a heater vent to dry off.
Hardwood floors don’t have to be scary! Protecting them can be easy, with steps like our 5 Ways to Protect Your Hardwood Floors from Water Damage. Need help deciding on flooring options for your home? Come see us!
