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It’s not only the daily wear and tear and foot traffic of adults that can harm your floors. Children and pets can really wreak havoc on most types of floor coverings and materials. In this post we’ll offer some helpful tips and advice to minimise the impact kids and pets have on your floors.
Limit Their Exposure
There is one sure fire way to prevent pets from damaging your floors, and that is to restrict them to outdoors only. However, many dogs and cats are a part of the family and spend a lot of time indoors. And you can’t really demand that your kids always remain outside.
Carpets are the most likely to be affected, so maybe limit the family dog to a room with dog-proof flooring such as vinyl plank or ceramic tiles, for example. Keep children playing with any item likely to mark or stain, away from carpeted rooms. I know…..easier said than done.
Feeding Time
This applies to both pets and children. Never feed your kids or your dog or cat in an area where there are wooden floors or carpets or rugs. You are flirting with disaster by doing so. It’s preferable to be in the habit of feeding your pets outdoors and children either in the kitchen or dining areas, or zones where it won’t really matter if they spill something on the floor. You cannot be there every minute, so floors that cannot tolerate food stains, splashed water or kid’s drinks, are out.
Toilet Training
Yes, pets and children. Containing both to an area where the flooring can be easily cleaned is essential. Check if you can use bleach or disinfectant on your floor.
Manicure Your Pets
Keep their claws trimmed. This will help minimise the possibility of your dog or cat scratching your floors or furniture accidentally. You can do this yourself, but the results might be better if the task is performed by a professional pet groomer. We have all seen the result of an unhappy pet locked in a carpeted room
Take Advantage of an Old Rug
If you have floors that you fear could be damaged by pets and small children, perhaps place an old rug on the floor for the children to play on or the family pet to hang out. At least this way if the old rug suffers damage, it’s no big deal.
Your Choice of Flooring Material
What you choose to cover your floors with will have a big impact on whether pets and children will damage them. Have you considered using quality vinyl flooring for your home?
DIY vinyl and Hybrid flooring is all the rage these days due to their affordability, ease of install and the diverse range of fantastic colours, textures, patterns and styles. Fully water-proof and withstand the rigours of strong cleaning agents, these new floors are an extremely durable, modern day solution to flooring that can take punishment and still look fantastic for decades.
For the very best range of vinyl flooring products on the Gold Coast, get in touch with the experts Integra Direct. We are based in Helensvale and we can show you just how beautiful and versatile our vinyl flooring can be.
