With the constant game of tug-of-war between storms, it’s crucial to protect your home as best you can against potential damage. It’s likely that, as you seek to protect your home, you forget about your floors. But at this time of year, your floors are particularly susceptible to the wear and tear caused by rain, snow, mud and debris. With the proper care and maintenance, you can shield your floors from the elements and help prolong their life.
Understanding the Risks
Before you can implement preventive measures, it’s important that you understand the risks storms pose to your floors.
Water damage: heavy rainfall, flooding or leaks can seep through flooring materials. This can cause warping, mould growth and structural damage. Some floors, such as luxury vinyl tiles (LVT), are water-resistant or waterproof, meaning it shouldn’t be a problem for them. But others, such as solid wood flooring, are incredibly susceptible to water damage.
Scratches and Scuffs: debris tracked indoors during storms can scratch and damage the surface of your floors, diminishing their appearance.
Discolouration: when the weather’s nice, you have to worry about the sunlight causing fading, but when it’s pouring down outside, you need to be wary of the excessive moisture leading to discolouration.
Structural Instability: severe storms can compromise the structure of your home, leading to your floors shifting or cracking.
Preventive Measures
A quick and easy solution is to implement a no-shoes rule inside your home. This will minimise the amount of mud, water and grit that gets tracked through your home. Choose a spot inside to store shoes and allow people to easily take their shoes off.
Similarly, placing sturdy doormats at all entry points will help to trap moisture, dirt and debris before they can reach your floors. You’ll want to opt for durable, weather-resistant mats that can withstand active areas and frequent cleaning.
You should inspect your floors for any gaps or cracks that water could seep through too. Seal these with the proper sealants to prevent water infiltration.
With these preventive measures in place, you should be able to lessen how much of the outdoors you trek inside and damage your floor with.
Cleaning and Maintenance
Establishing a regular cleaning routine will help the longevity of your floors in general, but during stormy seasons, it’s even more important. Cleaning up the debris and water that creeps in from the harsh weather will help prevent scratches and moisture damage too.
During storms, it’s easy to bring water inside with you whether it’s on your shoes or your coat. Make sure you promptly clean up any puddles that may form to prevent staining, shrinking, swelling or damp growing.
Keeping the Storm Outside
When it comes to protecting your floors against the stormy weather, it’s really about stopping water, debris and dirt being dragged inside. By removing your outerwear and shoes before properly getting inside, whether you have a sheltered door, a porch or a doormat, you can minimise the damage. Whatever you do bring in, you can easily clean up!
