The winter time can be an extremely beautiful time of the year but also an extremely cold time of the year, like the past two weeks. When it is winter time, we see a lot of snow and ice and that stuff can get brought into the house. Despite our hardwood flooring being inside our homes, it still has to deal with all the side effects of winter months. So what are some ways to help your hardwood floors deal with the winter?

1. Deal with the humidity in the home. Your wood floors are very vulnerable to things since wood absorbs a lot of stuff; they can easily contract and expand due to the humidity in your home. Now, outside it is very dry but we often still have quite a bit of humidity inside the home during winter. The dryness outside and the humidity in the home can be complicating for the floors.
2. Floor mats. Having floor mats in front of your doors will help greatly with reducing snow that is brought into the house. In addition to the mats in front of your doors, put them inside the entryway as well, this will catch any snow that makes it past the first mat.
3. Take off your shoes. As soon as people get inside the house, encourage them to take off their shoes; this will greatly reduce the amount of snow, salt, slush, and other junk from being welcomed into your home and onto your hardwood floors.
4. Wipe your pets paws. When you let your pets into the house after going outside, wipe their paws.
5. Clean your floors. You don’t have to do big, hard duty cleaning on your floors all the time, just keep them clean and dry. Take some sort of quick mop/cleaning device to clean and dry up any snow or water spots.

Keeping your hardwood floors clean and dry is not a chore but it will require observation and dedication; keep your eyes open for snow and slush on your floors and be willing to wipe it up. Keep your family dedicated to helping with that and everyone who enters your home to take their shoes off upon entering. Hardwood flooring maintenance is a friend, not a foe.