How To Maintain Your Floor - Tips To Enhance Your Floor Life

Carpet Flooring

As lovely as carpeted flooring looks and feels, it is not quite easy to maintain. You will need to a lot of care if you want to keep it as good as new.

Dust tends to accumulate in the fur of the carpet so you must vacuum it every alternate day. And here's a handy hint- make sure you do it in the opposite direction of the pile.

If your carpet happens to get stained, a toothbrush and mild soap (even your liquid hand soap) should do the trick. You can even shampoo your carpet with a mild detergent or hair shampoo if need be.

In case your little one spills a little water, just blow-dry the carpet or leave it to dry on its own.

Tip

• Opt for a removable carpet. This way you can have it washed once a year. And don’t you worry, a carpet cleaner will do it for you.

Wooden Flooring

If you want to give your room that cosy feeling, there is no better way than with wooden flooring. But when it comes to maintaining those floors, here is a tip or two to help you.

Don't drag heavy furniture around the room. It will cause scratching and denting in the wood. Tiny felt pads placed under the legs of your furniture are a great way to ensure the floor doesn't get ruined.

You might also want to watch your step with those stilettos. If there are little stone particles on the heel, your precious wooden flooring could get damaged.

A regular damp mopping should keep the flooring clean and in good condition. But avoid excess water.

If anything liquid spills, make sure you clean it up quickly. You don't want it to seep in and destroy the wood.

Tip

• Get the company from where you got your wooden flooring to lacquer or melamine the floor for you. If they do not have any after-sales facility, make sure to hire a professional to do it for you.
• Re-sanding and re-polishing your floor every five to six years will keep it sparkling.

Laminate and Vinyl Flooring

Perfect for kiddie rooms, laminate and vinyl flooring barely require any maintenance. So if you opt for wooden laminate flooring, you get that cosy feel of wooden flooring for one-third the price and no maintenance problem either.

A regular damp mopping would do just fine for laminate or vinyl flooring.

Do not use harsh detergents or abrasive cleaners like steel wool on the flooring as it might result in irreparable damage.

Never even try to sand or lacquer laminate flooring.

Tip

• If your flooring gets stained badly with tar or paint, use acetone or nail polish remover to get it off. Then swab the floor with a damp mop.

Rubber Flooring

Rubber flooring is also a cool kiddie play area option. But if you want it to last more than just a couple of years, here's what you can do.

Vacuum clean the floor regularly to remove all the dust and dirt. You can then use a damp mop.

Make sure nothing sharp falls on the floor as it could cut into the flooring, ruining it for good.

Tip

• If the rubber flooring you have has the chip effect, you will have to be very careful about sand particles getting into the grooves. So take the added precaution of placing a floor mat outside the room for guests to wipe their feet on.

Tiled Flooring

One of the hardiest, most economical and most easy to maintain flooring is tiling. Yes, whether ceramic or vitrified, tiled flooring won't give you too much trouble.

Make sure the grouting between tiles is done by an expert. This will reduce gaps and the chances of dirt getting stuck in them. Clean your tiles with a non-acidic cleaner to prevent the grouting from coming off.

When it comes to glazed ceramic tiles, sweeping is a better option than vacuum cleaning as the edge of the vacuum cleaner might land up scratching the tiles.

Tip

• Wiping your tiles once a week with a solution of white vinegar and water in a ratio of 1:4 will keep them gleaming.

Stone Flooring

There is nothing like the natural feel of cool marble or solid granite underneath your feet. But once scratched, your precious stone flooring will have to be replaced. So to avoid the unfortunate, here are some things you can do.

Avoid dragging furniture or other heavy objects across the floor as it will scratch or chip the stone slabs.

Remember that stone flooring is porous. So if by chance something falls on the floor it better be mopped up quick.

Dust and damp mop the floor on a daily basis. You can also use a vacuum cleaner. Just be careful not to scratch the floor.

Tip

• Never use cleaning products that contain any acid content like lemon juice, vinegar or ammonia-based cleaners. Acid takes away the lustre of the stone. If the concentration of acid is very high, the stone could even get corroded.