How to Make Your Floor Coverings Last Longer

New floor coverings look wonderful when they are first installed. You admire their colour, their patterns and the way they feel when you walk on them.

Fast forward 12 months and they are looking sad and grungy and you wonder what happened. Surely the quick vacuum twice a week was enough to keep the new carpet perky and fresh in hindsight probably not.

Lisa Loukidis from Wizard Cleaning gives us some great tips about caring for your floor.

If you are proactive in your approach to your floor coverings you can keep them looking as new for years. This reduces the costs for replacement and adds value to your home.

So how do you keep them looking great? Here are our tips to help you reduce wear and tear on your floor coverings:

Clean regularly

Making sure that dirt of all kinds doesn’t get ground into the fibres of your carpet will extend its life. If you don’t remove dirt from your floor, foot traffic will cause the particles to grind against the carpet fibres and cause it to wear prematurely.

Remove spills immediately

If you spill something don’t let it sit on the carpet to remove later. The easiest time to clean up is straight after the spill, this stops it from drying into your carpet and becoming a permanent stand and potentially nasty odour.

Cut pets claws

If your beloved family pooch is a regular inside then you may want to consider cutting the claws especially if they are not worn down outside. Pet claws can pull at fibres in the carpet and cause issues over time, especially if they like to run around inside.

Kitty accidents

Do you have a cat that has a favourite wee spot that is NOT in the kitty litter? Spray a 50/50 combination of water and white vinegar on the area. Cats don’t like the smell and will stop using it for their business.

Drop sheets

Always protect your floor coverings when you are doing work in the house that may damage or stain them. Have a reliable drop sheet on hand for when you do things like painting, renovation or even children’s projects in the house.

Rugs or mats

Whether on carpet or a hard surface, you can add protection by strategically placing a rug or mat on the high traffic areas. It may be a hallway or under an office chair. This way the floor covering under the mat is protected and when it starts to look scruffy the mat can be easily replaced.

Have welcome mats at external doors to reduce the amount of dirt that is brought into the house. Encourage family members to leave dirty shoes at the door rather than traipsing through the house.

Laminated floor coverings

Lino and other laminates can look shabby soon after installation if you don’t take steps to look after them. Use these tips to protect your Lino:

• Encourage everyone in the family to lift rather than drag furniture like chairs to prevent scuff marks and tears
• Add felt tips underneath furniture to protect the floor from sharp edges
• Dry any liquids that spill on the floor and wash on a warm day when the water will dry quickly
• Be careful with the cleaning products you use, for instance anything with ammonia can damage the surface and must be very carefully used
• Make sure that the mop head that you use is clean if it is dirty you will not get a great clean no matter how hard you work at it

Floor coverings are expensive but easy to maintain when you take the time.  Follow our easy tips to make sure they look great for a long time.

What other tips that you know to keep your floor coverings looking great?