Firstly, ensure that your floor is well sealed. This will help prevent permanent marks on the floor. The lacquer seal on the floor is a barrier between all contact with the wood that makes up your floor. This thin layer stops the wood coming into direct contact with any water sitting on the surface for a short period of time, allowing time to act before any lasting damage is done to the floor.
Secondly, a must have is an appropriate throw down matt or matt well at the entrance to the property. This will help to remove any stones, grit, salt or moisture on shoes prior to contact with the hardwood floor. Preventing damage in the first place is always better than trying to remedy it. For additional protection during snowy weather, use a towel to help cope with the excess of water being brought indoors. Also, as well as drying your own feet, try to keep the amount of water brought in by pets to a minimum. Try and get them into a routine of letting you dry them off when entering the property.
A good quality dust mop is always useful in protecting a hardwood floor. Using it on its own to remove dust and grit or with a cleaning spray to take of residue left by road gritting salt. Trigger spray mops are also good for this purpose, particularly those made by flooring companies such as Bona, which is what we use on all of our floors in the showroom.
Remember that the use of central heating during the winter months can sometime cause board to gap. This is part of having a hardwood floor and should remedy itself during the spring and summer months. Because of the low humidity levels indoors during the winter months, it is a perfect time to lay a new hardwood floor. The floor will be laid during the driest part of the cycle meaning that the floor will expand during the summer rather than contract during the winter. This should minimise any gapping that may occur.
