The sweet smells of turkey and cranberry sauce are wafting through your home. The sweet sounds of children playing and family reuniting are flowing through each room. Your home is filled with people you love. This is what Thanksgiving is all about! But, as every hardwood floor owner knows, no matter how much you love your friends and family, not matter how much they love you back, the one thing you’ll be thankful for is making it through this high foot traffic season with minimal amounts of scrapes and dents in your hardwood floors.
One thing you need to do before your guests start to arrive is making every room a high traffic area, if you are allowing your guests to keep their shoes on inside your home. We’ve learned this isn’t as easy as it sounds. At least as far as the adult footwear is concerned. As far as the kids, we recommend telling the kids to leave their shoes at the door, and perhaps have a few anti-slip slippers ready for each kid so they can run and play safely on your hardwood floors. No slip and falls for the kids. No dents and scratches in your hardwood floors.
Putting down extra floor mats near the front and back door where people are dragging in dirt, snow, slush, moisture and mud. Even if you swept your driveway in anticipation of guests, every shoe is going to pick up a little something on the walk to your front door. Make sure there is a space to wipe off shoes (if they are staying on) or a place where they can stand and dry off, without dripping directly onto your hardwood floors.
Adding a plastic layer of protection in your kitchen, or an area rug, might not be a bad idea. Your kitchen is the epicenter of the party. This is where you’ll find the heaviest foot traffic as everyone needs to stop in to smell the food as it is getting ready. This is also where your dogs are going to be lurking, ready to pounce on the first scraps of food that fall on the ground. People will be walking in and out of your kitchen all day and all night, so give your kitchen floors an extra layer of protection from feet, paws and spill.
You’ll be thankful you took the time to protect your hardwood floors before your guests arrive. That way you can spend the day focusing on your family and all the things that you are thankful for…including your beautiful hardwood floors.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM T&G FLOORING IN COLORADO!
