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Home / Common Questions / How to Protect Hardwood Floors from Holiday Party Traffic

How to Protect Hardwood Floors from Holiday Party Traffic

Beautifully wrapped Christmas gifts and  Christmas crackers placed beside a Christmas tree. Christmas background with decorations and gift boxes on wooden floor. 

As much as we all love a good holiday party, there is no denying that they can be hard on our homes—especially on hardwood floors. With adults tracking in snow, kids spilling drinks and pets running in and out of the house, your beautiful floors could take a serious beating during this time of year.

If you want to keep your hardwood flooring looking good as new before, during and after your holiday party, you need to start prepping your floors now. Here is everything you need to know to help your floors withstand holiday party traffic.

Keep Winter Outside with Rugs and Mats

If you don’t already have mats and rugs near your entryways, make sure to do so before your guests arrive. Mats and rugs will help reduce the amount of dirt, snow and other messes that guests might unknowingly track into your home. 

To keep your hardwood floors in pristine condition, we suggest picking up one of each: a durable mat for your guests to place their dirty shoes on and a rug that is both functional and decorative. It’s also a good idea to place rugs underneath the kids’ table and in the playroom to reduce spills and damage to your floors.

Pro Tip: Want to encourage your guests to take off their shoes without directly asking them? Create a festive sign that says something like, “Kick off your shoes and stay awhile” and place it near a mat or shoe tray. Besides reducing mud and snow in your home, this will also help prevent guests with stiletto heels from damaging your hardwood floors. 

Spiff up Your Hardwood with a Good Cleaning

Clean hardwood floorsAfter a good vacuum, take some time to make your hardwood stunning again with a Bona hardwood flooring cleaning product.  Available in a spray bottle or pre-moistened pads with an application mop, this cleaner is recommended as safe for hardwood.  Any unattended sticky messes, smudges and dirt will be eliminated for a floor that is refreshed and clean.

If you notice some scratches through the finish, take a trip to your local hardwood store for a touch-up pencil that best blends to your floor stain.  Simply fill in the scratch and buff with a cloth.

Consider Investing in New Hardwood Floors

Although hardwood floors are known for their ageless beauty and long-term durability, they aren’t immune to permanent and irreparable damage. If you’ve begun to notice the telltale signs that your hardwood floors are beyond repair, this is a prime opportunity to invest in new hardwood floors that are much better equipped to handle holiday parties, as well as your family’s day-to-day needs.

Need help narrowing down your choices? We think you’ll love these two holiday-proof hardwood floors:

  1. Hearthwood Hardwood Floors: For a beautiful and durable hardwood floor, you really can’t go wrong with Heartwood floors. Modern, warm and inviting, this engineered floor is made from raw American materials and features a water-resistant top layer to provide unbeatable protection against moisture. Your holiday guests are sure to gush over the timeless beauty and warmth of Heartwood floors.

    Hearthwood hardwood Dynamic Earth

 
  1. Raintree Waterproof Hardwood Floors: If you want unmatched protection against holiday spills, pet accidents and boots covered in snow, look no further than Raintree floors. This waterproof (yes, water-PROOF) hardwood hybrid is making waves in the flooring industry for its ability to compete with other types of waterproof flooring. Raintree floors achieve this through a resilient waterproof core layered with a sliced hardwood lamella on top.

    vintage kitchen range

Take Care of Spills Quickly

Everyone knows that hardwood flooring and liquids don’t mix. Unless you’ve installed waterproof or water-resistant hardwood flooring in your home (i.e. like the flooring options listed above), accidental spills will likely be your top concern this holiday season.

To keep eggnog, mulled wine and other holiday beverages from ruining your floors, you should wipe up spills as soon as they happen. If there are kids or pets at your holiday party, you might want to take a quick walk around the house throughout the evening to ensure no spills have gone unnoticed.

3d rendering. luxury dining room with christmas decoration. 

Mind the Furniture 

As guests arrive for your holiday party, you might find yourself rearranging your furniture. Guests themselves will likely grab a chair or two, dragging it across your hardwood floors to join the center of entertainment.

To protect your floors from furniture scratches, be sure to add self-adhesive pads (felt pads will do nicely) to the feet of your furniture. When one of your guests inevitably pulls a chair across the room, you can rest easy knowing that your floor is safe from scratches and gouges.

Do a Post-Holiday Party Check

Lastly, don’t forget to do one final inspection before you officially relax for the evening. Areas to pay particular attention to include the kitchen, the kids’ playroom and the rugs, which can trap water and cause permanent damage to your hardwood floors. 

See? That wasn’t so hard. With just a few added precautions and some regular maintenance, you can keep your hardwood floors beautiful and in pristine condition heading into the New Year.

Twenty & Oak Flooring Experts
Twenty & Oak Flooring Experts are a team of flooring professionals with over 150 years of combined experience in the industry. They have hands-on experience with all flooring types and bring inside industry know-how to homeowners in the Southeast. 
 

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