Winter brings with it slush, mud and rock salt. Unfortunately, your friends and family bring them all inside as well, leaving a trail of dirt and grime throughout your house and damaging your wood floors and carpet. It also doesn’t help that your furnace and fireplace are spitting out gunk of their own.
Keeping your home clean and fresh on slushy, soggy winter days is a never-ending battle. But there are some things you can do to keep it and everything inside spick-and-span well through March.
- Leave shoes at the door – When someone enters the house, their shoes should stay at the door. Put a wood mat or boot scraper outside the door so they can kick off the snow and an absorbent doormat or throw rug inside to soak up the snow and slush that stick around. A plastic boot tray (or even a metal cookie sheet!) is also a great option to collect melting snow before it flows over your floor.
- Layer your floors – Many of us have doormats or throw rugs on our tile and wood floors, but few use them on carpet. In the winter, be sure to place inexpensive rugs in high-traffic areas to prevent those dark carpet stains that are synonymous with winter slush.
- Wax wood furniture – Heaters and furnaces can dry out the air in your home, causing older wooden furniture to crack. Be sure to use a natural or tinted wax applied with a soft cloth on your furniture a few times over the winter months to keep dressers, tables and chairs looking as good as new.
- Change your furnace filter – Many of us change our filters at the beginning of winter, but how many of us do it once a month? A clean air filter slashes the amount of dust in your house, reduces allergens and mold, and even helps your HVAC run more efficiently for lower heating bills!
- Vacuum and sweep, then repeat – Cleaning your floors on a daily basis sounds like a lot of work, but it keeps them looking better, longer. For instance, rock salt dragged inside can scratch and damage softer hardwood floors. Fireplace ash, dirt and salt can wear on your carpet fibers, making it look older than it is. Just a few minutes of work each day pays off big time.
The easiest way to winterproof your home is to have Annointed Hands do it for you! We specialize in ridding homes of the dirt, grime and dust that make themselves at home every winter. After just a few hours, your home will look cleaner, smell fresher and feel better, making it the perfect escape from the weather outside. To schedule your winter cleaning, contact us today for your free estimate!