Flooring Care Guide

Our floors are put through a lot! From dirty pet paws to accidents, and from spills to heavy traffic, floors are subject to dirt, moisture and overall wear. In order to protect your floors, it’s important to follow care instructions that are designed specifically for your type of flooring. For instance, hard floors require different care than carpet—and hardwood can only be cleaned with specific cleaners, while tile, linoleum and vinyl are compatible with a wider range of products.

Get out your brooms, mops, vacuums and follow our guide for carpet care and hard flooring maintenance, in order to keep your flooring looking in tip-top shape.

Carpet Care

There are many benefits of carpet, including the soft feel and insulating benefits. However, carpets are also susceptible to wear and tear from pets and active families alike, as well as dirt, spills and stains. While there are many performance carpets available to resist stains and damage, proper care and maintenance is needed as well.

To enjoy the benefits of carpet longer, it’s important to properly care for your flooring. Clean up all spills as soon as possible, and keep dirt at bay by regularly vacuuming, especially in high-traffic areas. For deep cleaning, you can use a wet vacuum or hire a professional. Most recommendations suggest a professional carpet cleaning every 18 – 24 months. However, your needs will vary depending on the type of carpet as well as the traffic and use.

There are many different types of carpets, as well as performance features. It’s important to consult your carpet warranty, as well as any requirements for professional cleaning which the warranty may include.

Cleaning Hardwood Floors

When it comes to hardwood floors, protection and maintenance is the name of the game. First up, you can keep your floors looking newer longer by preventing scratches as much as possible. Use floor protectors on the feet of your furniture, including chairs, sofas and tables. If you have pets, keep their nails trimmed. Even with these precautions, some scratches are bound to happen over time. The thing to keep in mind, is that hardwood is full of character and will continue to look unique and beautiful, even with a few bruises.

With hardwood floors, it’s important to minimize messes and, especially, moisture. Use a floor mat by doors to collect dirt and moisture before it enters your home. You can also invest in area rugs and rug pads in high-traffic areas throughout your home to provide softness to your space and help preserve your wood floors.

Additionally, it is important to regularly maintain your floors in order to keep them looking their best. Frequently sweep dirt and debris. You’ll also need to mop floors. However, water can warp and otherwise damage floors, so it’s important to use only cleaners that are approved by the manufacturer. (Don’t slop around soapy water with your mop on hardwood floors!) Consult the manufacturer’s care and maintenance instructions for further hardwood floor cleaning tips.

Cleaning vinyl floors

Vinyl flooring, including luxury vinyl tiles (LVT) and luxury vinyl planks (LVP) offer many benefits, not the least of which are easy care and low maintenance. All that’s needed is regular cleaning. You should mop up any spilled water or other wet messes immediately, sweep weekly or more frequently in high traffic and high mess areas like your kitchen, and mop with a manufacturer-approved cleaner. Like with hardwood floors, the use of protectors on the feet of your chairs, sofas and other furniture is recommended.

Cleaning tile floors

Tile floors are also considered a relatively low maintenance option. The basics are simple: regularly sweep the floor to keep it free from debris, wipe up spills and spot clean as needed. Use a manufacturer-approved cleaning solution to do a more thorough cleaning of your whole tile floors, and you can use a cleaner on grout as needed to keep your floors looking their best.

Cleaning Laminate Floors

There’s a reason why laminate flooring has been popular for so long, especially in high-traffic and high-mess areas like kitchens and bathrooms. Laminate flooring is easy to clean and, next to porcelain tile, the premium quality collections are the most scratch resistant hard flooring option. This makes laminate flooring ideal for those with active lives, pets and/or kids. Laminate is also easy to maintain—just sweep regularly and use any range of floor cleaners for a more thorough clean. Like with all floors, you should also clean up messes and spills as soon as possible, and spot clean as needed to keep your floors in pristine condition.

By taking steps to protect your floors, including proper use of furniture floor pads and rugs, you can keep your floors looking better, longer. Of course, spills and wear will unavoidably happen over time. That’s why it’s also important to clean your carpet by vacuuming and deep cleaning, and sweep and wash your hardwood, vinyl and tile floors according to the manufacturer’s recommendations.