Fall is great until you start finding half of it on the floor.
A rainy morning can turn into muddy footprints by the front door, leaves stuck to somebody’s shoes and little pieces of dirt showing up in the kitchen. Add a dog or a couple of kids going in and out, and yeah, the floors are probably not staying clean for very long.
You are not going to stop all of it from getting inside. That would mean standing at the door checking everybody’s shoes, and nobody has time for that. But you can keep most of the mess from traveling through the whole house.
Try to Keep the Mess by the Door
The front door is where most of this starts, so deal with as much of it there as you can.
Put a decent mat outside and another one inside if you have room. The outside one catches the bigger stuff, and the inside one gets some of what is still hanging onto everybody’s shoes.
If it is really nasty outside, leave the wet shoes by the door. A boot tray is handy for this, but even having one regular spot for muddy shoes is better than everybody walking through the house in them.
And check the mat once in a while. After a few rainy days, it might be holding more dirt than it is keeping out.
Somebody Walked in With Muddy Shoes. Now What?
It is going to happen.
You know how it goes. You clean the floor, somebody walks in with muddy shoes and there are footprints all over it again.
If that happens, get the loose dirt up first and then deal with the muddy marks. It is easier than getting everything wet and ending up with mud spread across more of the floor. It saves you from smearing the mess around and making more work for yourself.
Carpet needs a little different treatment. If somebody tracks in actual mud, do not immediately start rubbing at it. You can end up pushing the dirt farther into the carpet. Let the loose mud dry enough to vacuum up, then deal with whatever is left behind.
Give All the Wet Stuff Somewhere to Go
Shoes are not the only thing bringing rain inside.
Wet umbrellas get leaned against the wall. Jackets drip onto the floor. Kids kick their boots off wherever they happen to stop.
It is easier if all the wet stuff stays in one area instead of making its way through the house.
Shoes can stay by the door, umbrellas can drip there and soaked jackets can hang up nearby. At least then you have one wet spot to deal with instead of puddles showing up in three different rooms.
Nothing fancy. You are basically just trying to keep one wet corner instead of having little wet spots all over the house.
Dogs Make Fall Floors Interesting
If you have a dog, you already know.
Dogs have a way of finding the wettest part of the yard and then heading straight back inside. Next thing you know, there are paw prints going across the floor.
Keep an old towel by the door so you can catch those muddy paws before your dog takes off through the house.Wipe their paws before they take off through the house. If their legs or belly are wet too, get those while you are at it.
You will probably still miss a paw print here and there. At least you are not following an entire trail through the living room with a mop.
Just Clean Where Everybody Walked
You do not need to mop the whole house every time it rains. Most of the time, it is just the area by the door and a few muddy footprints leading into the house that need cleaning.
Look at where everybody has been walking. Usually it is the entryway, the hallway leading from the door, the kitchen and maybe the living room.
If those floors are dirty, clean them. If the bedroom at the other end of the house still looks fine, leave it alone.
Same thing with vacuuming. If all the leaves and little bits of dirt are sitting around the entrance, start there. You do not need to drag the vacuum through three other rooms just because you already have it out.
Do Not Forget About the Rugs
Rugs by the door do a lot of the dirty work in fall.
They get stepped on with wet shoes, collect leaves and catch dirt before it gets farther into the house. After a while, they need some attention too.
Every once in a while, take the rugs outside and give them a good shake. You would be surprised how much dirt comes out. And if one is soaked from everybody coming in with wet shoes, do not just leave it there. Give it a chance to dry out.
When You Are Tired of Cleaning Up After the Weather
After a few weeks of rainy days, muddy shoes and leaves coming through the door, the floors can start feeling like a never-ending job.
You mop. Somebody comes in. You vacuum. The dog goes outside. And somehow you are right back where you started.
That is usually a good time to get the whole house caught up instead of spending another weekend going after one muddy spot at a time.
AmeriStar Maids can take care of the floors and the rest of the cleaning when fall starts making a little too much of a mess inside. You deal with the weather. We can deal with what it leaves behind.
Go over to the website: AmeriStar Maids
Make a call at: (570) 310 1057
Email us at: info@ameristarmaids.com