Winter is Coming: How to Prepare Your Flooring for Colder Temperatures

 

The harsh temperatures and unpredictability of Southern winters can wreak havoc on your home and especially on the flooring. Fluctuations in temperature and humidity can cause gaps in hardwood floors and cracks and warping in concrete and tile floors. While many homeowners rush to clean gutters, seal the pipes, and insulate windows as soon as the leaves begin to change and the temperature dips below 70 degrees, winterizing the floors is often overlooked. The floors play such an integral role in the home, which is why it is imperative to protect your flooring as much as any other part of the home as winter descends upon us.

 

Let’s explore how to winterize your floors and prepare for the colder months ahead.

Keep Them Warm and Dry

The number one key to maintaining your floors in the winter–regardless of what type of flooring you have– is keeping them both warm and dry, and maintaining indoor humidity levels. As outdoor temperatures fall, indoor temperatures tend to get warm and cozy, which is great for comfort, but exposure to moisture and dry air can cause certain floors to dry out, splinter, crack, and expand and contract. For hardwood floors, concrete, and tile specifically, humidity and changes in extreme temperature can cause irrevocable damage to the flooring material. To avoid issues, heat your home evenly and consider getting a humidifier to regulate humidity levels in the home.

 

Another helpful tip is to add area rugs, especially for hard surface floors such as tile, stone, hardwood, and laminate.

 

Leave It at The Door

The amount of dirt and grime that can build up on the floors when you come in and out of your home increases in the winter months, and substances such as ice melt and salt can scratch and cause discoloration to your flooring. Dust and dirt and other allergens being dredged through the home can also get lodged within the fibers of your carpet.

 

First, leave the boots and shoes at the door. Mitigate tracking anything into the house. Next, double up on doormats for both inside and outside of entryways to reduce the amount of dirt, water, melted snow, ice, salt, and various other debris that can come in during winter months. Make sure to wash and vacuum the mats frequently to keep them in good condition and to prevent debris from infiltrating the flooring in the home.

 

Keeping the cold air out is also important, not only to keep heating costs low, but to prevent damage to your floors from extreme temperature, moisture, and dry, frigid air. Get a ‘door snake” or a rolled up towel to block drafts coming in from the base of the doorway.

 

Keep Floors Clean and Protected

Prepare to clean more often. The longer stains, moisture, and residue sit on your floors the higher chance there is for permanent damages to occur. Winter is a good time to steam clean the carpets, have them professionally cleaned and shampooed, or to deep clean hard surface flooring.

 

For hard floors, consider applying protective coating or sealing floors once they have been deep cleaned for added surface protection and maintenance to keep floors long-lasting and looking their best.

 

About Flowers Flooring

Flowers Flooring has two locations – Cornelius, NC and Winston-Salem, NC. Both locations service a 100-mile radius from the showroom. Both locations specialize in flooring sales and installation including carpet, laminate, hardwood, sand & finish, hardwood restoration, vinyl plank, vinyl tile, rubber flooring, tile floors, tile showers, tile backsplash, area rugs, interior painting and more. To reach the Cornelius, NC location please call (704) 445-7750 and to reach our Winston-Salem location, please call (336) 660-0977. Please be sure to inquire about our current promotion and financing offers.