Keep Your Home Clean for the Holidays
The season for celebrating with family and friends is just beginning. Calendars are beginning to fill up and
preparations are starting for family feasts. Floors In Style knows your schedule is busy, so we’ve come up with some quick and easy cleaning tips to help you get through the holidays.
Top Tips for Quick Clean Ups
From food prep to heavy traffic to spills, here are the best cleaning tips for all the surfaces in your home!
- Hardwood Floors- While hardwood floors need regular sweeping and dusting, spills and spots need a
little extra care. Use a small amount of mild soap, preferably one with a neutral pH, and add it to a bucket of warm water. Damp clean with a soft cloth or mop, making sure you wipe any excess water away. - Carpet- For fresh looking and fragrant smelling carpets, use a gentle powder cleaner and let it sit for at least 30 minutes. You can let it sit longer for better results. Vacuum up the powder and move on. Stains are another issue. Different carpet stains need different care.
- Sticky Candy or Gum- Use ice to harden the gum, then gently pry the candy loose from the fibers.
- Stinky Stains- Apply a mixture of equal parts vinegar and warm water with a cloth. Baking soda also works to deodorize stains, use like regular powder cleaner.
- Laminate- Laminate flooring is so versatile and beautiful. It is also extremely durable and very easy to
clean. The most important to thing to remember is to keep water from getting underneath the planks. Simply dry mop or vacuum on a tilt setting. For spots, clean with a damp cloth or slightly damp mop. Never Polish a Laminate Floor! - Vinyl Flooring- Keep a bottle handy and fill it with 1/4th cup of vinegar and a small dab of mild dish soap. Add warm water to the bottle and spray small areas at a time then wipe with a damp mop or cloth.
- Deep Stains- Dark liquids like sodas, coffee, or wine are common spills over the holidays. Simply dab up the excess, starting from the edges of the spill and working inward. Next, use a mixture of 1 tablespoon of mild dish soap (liquid), 1 tablespoon of vinegar, and about 2 cups of warm water. Dab what is left of the spill with the mixture until the stain is gone. You can also use something absorbent like salt or baking soda to further draw out the stain. Leave this on the stain then vacuum up.
- Stone Floorings- Though extremely durable and tough, stone floors come with one weakness. High acid liquids like ammonia-based cleansers, bleach, or vinegar can damage your sturdy stone flooring. Use a mild pH neutral cleanser for jobs of all kinds on unsealed stone flooring. For sealed floors, mop gently with a microfiber cloth or mop and hot water.
- Tiles- Porcelain tiles are incredibly strong. They have less than .5% of water absorption. You will want to treat them the same way you treat vinyl, use a small amount of vinegar with mild dish soap and warm water. Use a gentle cloth or mop to clean up.
Countertops- At Floors In Style, we specialize in quartz countertops for their beauty and durability. You’ll need to treat your counters with special care. Avoid abrasive or bleach cleaners!
Use a simple damp cloth for regular cleaning. Wipe up spills as soon as possible then use a simple glass cleaner for stains. If stains don’t go away, spray with class cleaner and leave the cleanser on the stain for 30 minutes then wipe. Make sure to use cutting boards and trivets to further protect your beautiful countertops.
- Cabinetry – Keep a microfiber cloth close by and some warm water to wipe away any spills or splashes. For greasy messes, try a gentle enzyme cleanser. Wipe spills and splashes as soon as possible before they can become caked on. Use a mild oil for regular cleaning on wood cabinets and they will stay in excellent condition.
Clean Less and Celebrate More
No matter what type of flooring or countertops you have, they are sure to take a beating this holiday season.
However, with some quick cleaning techniques, you can sit back and enjoy your holiday celebrations while your guests feel welcome. When you use top products, like those in the Floors In Style showroom, you will get lasting beauty throughout your home all year long. Call us today at 239-431-7920 or make an appointment online. Taking care of you and your home is what we love most, this season and every season.