Floor Care & Maintenance: 101

Caring for and maintaining your floor shouldn’t have to be hard or a chore, but, it does have to be done correctly to maintain an aesthetically pleasing, hygienic, and stable floor. Maintaining and caring for a floor could be anything from cleaning and hoovering, repairing, refinishing, mopping and even the use of mats or similar objects to improve the longevity of your flooring. In this article we run through floor care & maintenance – starting at your front door.

ENTRANCES & EXITS

At the beginning of every home, we recommend an entrance mat. An entrance mat can dry and clean footwear, whilst protecting your flooring from footwear damage, dirt and dampness. An outside entrance mat helps keep dirt, mud and grass out of the house. Its rough material helps buff the dirt away. An inside mat furthers the cleaning process, getting rid of any dirt residue and wiping your feet on this mat will dry your footwear. These are effective in ensuring your flooring stays clean and prolongs its life.

DAILY FLOORING MAINTENANCE ROUTINE

Following a daily routine helps you keep your floor clean and tidy all of the time.

DUST MOPPING & SWEEPING

Dust mopping & sweeping are important. They ensure bits of dirt, stones and other niggly bits from outside don’t remain on your floor. Bits of stone and other hard objects from the outside can cause scratches, scuffs, marks and cracks once stood on or walked on. Grass can cause stains to be imprinted onto the flooring and can be hard to remove, especially on carpet. Dust mopping & sweeping can also result in increased durability, as the more damaged the flooring, the weaker it gets generally speaking.

• Make sure any dust or debris that you can see is swept away.
• Try to avoid oil-based floor treatment.
• Ensure you use a dry mop/sweeping brush before using a wet mop, steamer or wipes. This will avoid dust sticking to the flooring.

DAMP MOPPING, AUTO-SCRUBBING & CLEANING

There are multiple ways to give your floor the shine it deserves. Damp mopping and auto-scrubbing are some of the most effective ways to ensure your floor stays clean. Damp mopping is a less-vigorous way to clean your floor, and may not get the best results as opposed to other methods of floor cleaning. You typically use more floor cleaner and it can take more time to clean it properly, but damp mopping costs a lot less than auto-scrubbing.

Auto-scrubbing machines typically start at £600, ranging into the thousands. Like everything, you get what you pay for. Auto-scrubbing doesn’t need to use as much floor cleaner and makes sure your floor is perfectly clean and shining. Auto-scrubbing takes time but can be quicker than mopping when it comes to achieving the best results.

Making sure you clean spills or stain on the spot as they happen (or shortly after) can help protect your floors from discolouration and damage, ensuring their longevity stays intact.