Unwelcome guests may be entering your home and damaging your stone floors. Small stones, tiny pebbles, sand and stone-hard grit sneak into your home on the bottom of shoes. These little invaders are your floor’s No. 1 enemies because they can easily scratch and mar elegant-looking stone.

Protect against such attacks by putting up defenses outside your front door. Put down industrial-strength mats with tough ribbing, which encourage visitors to scuff dirt from their shoes before crossing the threshold. Purchase mats that are 4 to 6 feet long, allowing guests ample opportunity to leave grit behind before they enter. Typical 2×3-foot doormats are too lightweight to handle the job. Put them at all entry doors and add a smaller mat inside as an added precaution. The best mats will also absorb significant amounts of water, so that isn’t tracked into your home either.

Having kept most of the worst outside, you also need to keep a close eye on the inside entrance area. Wet mop this area whenever dust, dirt, pebbles or stones collect on the floor. Mopping frequency depends on the amount of foot traffic and how well shoes are cleaned off at the entry. Tackling this as a once-a-week task is common.

When mopping, use a microfiber mop, instead of rayon. The newer material does a much more effective job taking up grit and water. Neutral pH cleaners are recommended for most stone because they will not harm the stone sealer. Remove as much of the water as possible to avoid streaking and clouding. Never use acidic cleaners containing lemon juice, vinegar or ammonia. Also avoid abrasive cleaners. All these may damage stone, particularly the softer varieties such as marble and limestone.

For more information on flooring visit the World Floor Covering Association’s Consumer Carpet & Flooring Guide.

No one wants flooring that is dull, scratched, stained, mottled, scarred, pitted and ruined. But these are common problems. How can they be avoided?

Follow the simple rules here to steer clear of most of the things that  damage flooring. On the positive side, always clean floors according to the manufacturer’s instructions. They know how their products are finishing and they know the most effective ways to keep them looking good.

• But this isn’t a list of what to do. Here’s what not to do

• Never use ammonia or abrasive cleaners on a wood floor. It will dull the finish.

• High-acid vinegars should not be put on flooring. Vinegar can etch clear finishes, clouding the finish.

• Minimize the water when wet mopping and always use a neutral-pH soap, such as a dish detergent. Don’t allow puddles to form and dry. Evaporated, water creates stains that suck the shine right off your floor. It’s also critical to use clean water for rinsing because dirty water may be filled with grit and sand, which may leave fine scratch-marks on the floor.

• Install floor guards on the feet of all furniture. Raw wood on the bottom of sofas, chairs and tables may gouge and scar flooring.

• Place mats and rugs at entry doors and in front of sinks, where they can catch pebbles, sand and water that might damage floors.

• Avoid wearing high heels across wood floors. Pointed heels can leave a behind a trail of pockmarks.

• Always trim the nails of a large dog. Big pets can play havoc with a wood-floor finish.

• Set up windows and rooms to minimize sun exposure on flooring. Over time, sun will dull a finish.

Wood flooring is made to endure quite a bit of abuse, but every finish is vulnerable to damage in a variety of ways. Take care and treat your flooring right.

For more information on flooring visit the World Floor Covering Association’s Consumer Carpet & Flooring Guide.

I. Thou shalt always ask for manufacturer’s maintenance recommendations when you buy tiles. And get it in writing.
II. When purchasing tile, thou shalt buy it from an outlet that fully understands maintenance requirements. Here’s how to spot such a store: Look for a retailer that makes cleaning products an important part of their store and sale. Chances are, they will be knowledgeable about maintenance products.
III. Thou shalt always know the type of flooring you have. Is it ceramic tile or porcelain tile? Ceramic and most porcelain are nonporous, which will not readily absorb moisture and dirt. However, some lighter colors of porcelain are porous, and must be sealed to stop absorption.
IV. Thou shalt seal porous porcelain tile. Also seal all grout after installation.
V. Thou shalt clean all tile floors regularly and reseal grout every 1-2 years.
VI. Thou shalt not clean tile floors with vinegar, which is acidic and may etch the surface.
VII. Thou shalt use a mild household cleaner, such as dishwash liquid, for regular mopping.
VIII. After mopping with a cleaner, thou shalt always do a thorough final rinse with clean water to remove residue of dirt, grime or cleaning agents.
IX. For times when a deeper cleaning is needed, thou shalt use an alkaline cleaner made for tile. Check your manufacturer’s information to see if there are brand recommendations or other guidance.
X. Thou shalt enjoy the beauty of your floors!

For more information on flooring visit the World Floor Covering Association’s Consumer Carpet & Flooring Guide.

The cherry wood flooring in your living and dining room looks fabulous. Problem is, the floor in the kitchen is looking a little sad. What to do?

More wood is one answer. But there’s an asterisk on this one. Do you want to expose your wood floor to spilled milk, water leakage from problem plumbing, and the sand, grime and other offenders so frequently tracked in from outside? And what about bathrooms and your front and back entries? Even woods toughened with hard finishes are vulnerable to everyday assaults at these spots.

Fake it. Pick a wood-look material that has a track record of durability in high-traffic and wet areas. Consider the options:

• Vinyl. With the sophisticated technologies of today, the graining patterns in wood-look vinyl are strikingly real. There is great variety in species and finish colors, and seamless sheet goods put up a strong defense against moisture. Kitchens and bathrooms are safe with this flooring. Go with a fiberglass-backed vinyl and you may even be able to put the floor down as a DIY project.

• Tile. Step up in style and durability with tile. Porcelain and ceramic tiles that mimic plank wood, parquet, and other looks are available. For a front entry, rich, woody tiles create a luxurious feeling while handling water, snow, and most other things tracked in during inclement weather.

• Laminate. Get the color and finish you want in a wood look, and also handle installation yourself. This material is good for the kitchen and entries. If installing in a bathroom, make sure the flooring is specified for wet areas. Stick with major brands, which offer consistent quality and better warranties than most off-brand imports.

For more information on flooring visit the World Floor Covering Association’s Consumer Carpet & Flooring Guide.

Though there are many home improvement projects that the average homeowner can tackle, refinishing your wood floors should be removed from the list in most cases. Putting life back into hardwood flooring can challenge the skill and experience of most DIYers.
Not convinced? Here top five reasons you shouldn’t attempt refinishing floors yourself:

1. Clueless about wood flooring. If your floors are less than 20 years old, chances are good that they are engineered wood. This means that they were made like plywood, with a series of substraits topped by a beauty layer that may be too thin to sand.

2. Struggling for time. It takes time to prepare and refinish a floor. It’s tempting to think that the drying of finishes will take up most of the time. However, there’s also moving furniture, cleaning floors, repairing flooring flaws, restaining, and putting down mutliple layers of clear topcoats.

3. Dangerous with a sander. You’ll probably feel in control right up to the moment that the sander digs in and gouges your flooring. Even if you use an well-worn sander belt to rein in the machine’s strength, it takes just a split second to ruin a job.

4. Mystified about stains. In a perfect world, getting the stain color you want requires making samples on small pieces of flooring material. But your house didn’t come with flooring samples, so all you can do is try out stain colors on a closet floor. Does this seem professional? Will the results be?
5. Confused by oil-based vs. water-based finishes. One smells more than the other—so what more do you need to know? But there may be a problem with the consistency of the finish. What do you use to dilute it if it seems too thick? Oh, yes, and what’s too thick?

There are more reasons, too. They add up to one obvious conclusion: Hire a professional to refinish those floors. This is a job that is definitely tougher than it seems.

To find a professional who specializes in cleaning and restoration, click here.

For more information on flooring visit the World Floor Covering Association’s Consumer Carpet & Flooring Guide.