Feb 19, 2019
Winter can take a toll on the flooring of your home. From muddy boots tracking debris all over your carpets and hardwood floors to overall wear and tear from standing furniture and foot traffic; it can be quite a task to keep your hardwood floors clean during the colder months in Illinois. With winter in full effect throughout the Chicago suburbs, we’re giving our Overstreethomeowners a few tips for keeping their hardwood floors in pristine condition.
No Salt On Your Front Porch
Nothing will ruin the finish of your hardwood floors quicker than the salt used to melt ice and snow! The soles of your families footwear capture tiny salt particles and deposit them all throughout your home. Although regularly cleaning your home’s floors would help, the smallest particle of salt will break down the finish of your home’s hardwood. Of course, you want to keep the entrance to your home ice-free, so head to the nearest Home Depot to check out the Ice-Away Snow Melting Mat.
Maintain the Right Temperature
According to the professional cleaning service Service Master, cooler temperatures and lower humidity in winter reduce the moisture in your home, which causes wood to shrink. To avoid irreversible damage to the wood, including splits and cracks; run a humidifier to maintain the right level of humidity. On the contrary, too much humidity causes condensation inside of the home, which should be avoided. Luckily, Overstreet homes come with Automatic setback thermostat making this task a no-brainer, which means you likely won’t even need to adjust it throughout the year.
In terms of temperature, most homeowners keep their thermostat set between 65 and 75 degrees in the winter. If you do plan to leave your home cooler or warmer (for instance if you are out of town), don’t let the temperature fall outside of the 60-80 degree range or your floors may be very unhappy.
The Right Cleaning Solution
Determine how your hardwood floors were sealed before you break out the mop and bucket. The finish of the floors in your home will determine what cleaning solution will deliver the best results. Typically in new construction homes, hardwood flooring is finished with polyurethane or a similar clear-coat. Not sure of the exact finish of your homes hardwood floors? Checkout Houselogics Guide to Hardwood Floor Finishes here. Whether you have water or oil-based polyurethane flooring it’s important to know which products will leave you floors glowing, no matter the season.
When choosing your hardwood cleaning solutions keep these tips in mind:
Avoid using oils, waxes or heavy furniture sprays on your surface sealed flooring. Oil leaves residues while waxes take up a great deal of time, and can also make recoating your floors difficult.
Straight ammonia, alkaline products, or abrasive solutions will dull or scratch the finish.
Maintain a regular cleaning schedule in the hardwood living areas of your home.
Is a stunning hardwood floor finish a must-have in your next home? Check out the jaw-dropping flooring in our furnished Kensington model home in the Hidden Creek community located in Naperville!