With six more weeks of winter comes six more weeks of snow, ice, salt, and mud, and that doesn’t necessarily mean that nature will stay outdoors. Trudging through the elements can easily trail things onto your nice floors. Try some of these tips to reduce trailing in the elements and cleaning up after them.
Clear snow out! – It might be tempting to leave the snow until it melts on your porch and pathways if you have no problem walking or driving through it, but that snow, ice, salt, and mud can easily get trailed into your house and onto your floors. Clear all snow away from any paths or patio areas so you have a clear and relatively clean path to walk on.
Entrance shoe mats – Have a mat at each entryway so most of the snow, water, salt, and mud is left there instead of all over your carpet or wood floors. Having a mat with rubber backing can also keep the dampness from soaking down into the floor beneath the mat. Keep your damp shoes by the entryway on the mat, too. Even a cardboard box can help prevent somebody from creating a chilly trail along the floor.
Pet problems – If you have dogs, they may be the kind that gets excited about the snow and ends up trailing snow and mud all over the house if you aren’t careful. Try wiping them off with a towel as soon as they come in while on the mat, or only let them in through a garage or side door that isn’t as frequented by guests or is allowed to get a little messier.
Vacuum – As mentioned above, trailing things in from outdoors is difficult to completely avoid, so make sure to vacuum frequently trafficked areas more often. It will not only suck up salt and dirt, but will dry some of the dampness from snow.
Spot cleaning – If a chunk of snow or mud does end up in your home, make sure you have cleaning supplies on hand to clean your carpet, tile, or wood floor. For mud, let it dry first before you break the chunk up, vacuum, and clean. Snow and ice will just become water, so remove as much as you can by hand before using a towel or paper towels to dry the spot.
If you keep these tips in mind during the snowy season, your floors may receive less damage and your home can be a bit cleaner.
Kelly’s Kleaning, LLC is a full-service cleaning company. We specialize in residential, commercial, apartment move out and new home cleaning. We offer our cleaning services to individuals and businesses in and around the Reading area.
