This gleaming Provenza kitchen floor has an antique hickory finish.

Wood floors are popular and for good reason—they are beautiful and durable. If you have children and/or pets, you can be confident a wood floor is easy to clean and is sturdy enough to withstand jumping kids, running dogs and practically anything you might drop on it.

At Style on a Shoestring we like to use distressed and beveled boards. If these types of floors are scratched, it just adds more character to the floor rather than creating an unsightly spot. A line we use a lot is Provenza, a really attractive collection of hardwood flooring.

Wood floors can be installed either by gluing or floating. I asked Trini Loveless, one of the partners who runs our supplier De-Mar Flooring, about the difference in these two processes. Glue, of course, is the most traditional way to secure wood floors, and it does provide the most solid sound when you walk on it. However, some glues have been found to have undesirable toxicity, and a glued floor allows little flexibility for change.

The newest and best way to install wood floors is floating. The only negative, Trini said, is some people—not all—perceive a hollow sound when walking on a floated floor. Otherwise, floating is preferable because it’s easier to remove. If properly installed, it is not affected by moisture from concrete as glued wood can be, and it is less expensive to install.

A close-up view of how a floated wood floor interlocks for stability.

Floating operates on a tongue-and-groove system that locks together. So there is no need for glue to secure the floor.

If you are removing carpet in favor of wood but your carpet is in good condition, consider having pieces of it bound into rugs. I’ve done this for several clients via Magic Carpet in National City—it’s a great way to repurpose your good carpet and add textural interest (and warm comfort) to your hardwoods.

Please contact us at Style on a Shoestring if we can help with choosing or installing hardwood floors, or any of your home design needs.

Shedding – Most carpets retain some loose fibers after they are installed. These fibers often appear as balls of fluff on the surface of your carpet or in your vacuum cleaner. With time, they will work their way out of the carpet and no longer be a nuisance.

Sprouting – Occasionally, loose tufts will appear above the carpet surface. To remove the loose tufts, just clip them even with the carpet’s surface. Do not pull out loose ends. If you do, you will permanently damage the carpet.

Shading – You may notice some variations in the color of your carpet; one area may seem to change color when you look at it from different directions. This is because light reflects differently as the pile is pushed in a variety of directions. Foot traffic generally causes this to happen and the best solution is to sweep or vacuum the pile in a uniform direction.

Rippling – If your carpet is rippling up off the floor, it is probably due to the relatively high humidity. This situation usually resolves itself as the carpet settles.

New Carpet Smell – There are some things that you can do to minimize the smell. Most importantly, be sure to ventilate the area as much as possible. You should open the doors and windows, and use fans to keep the air circulating during installation and for up to 72 hours afterward. The odor usually goes away within a week; sometimes within days.

Crushing – Your carpet will display crushing in spots where heavy objects have been placed. To raise the pile back to it former height, try passing a hot steam iron over the indentations — but bring the iron no closer than six inches above the carpet.

Missing Tufts – If  a tuft becomes snagged or works loose, just cut it off and let the surrounding yarn fill in the space.

Vacuuming  won’t always take care of your carpet cleaning needs. Sometimes, you will need to do a little heavy-duty cleaning to get your carpet looking like new again.

Many different types of carpet cleaners are commercially available, including dry cleaners, spray-on foam cleaners and wet shampoo. Whatever carpet cleaner you use, be sure that it is made exclusively for carpets. Always test a cleaner on a small, inconspicuous area of the carpet first. Avaoid using alkaline soaps, ammonia or cleaning liquids meant for hard surfaces such as wood or tile. These can damage your carpet. Do not us any cleaners that include color brighteners.

When you decide to have your carpet cleaned professionally, choose the carpet cleaner with care. Don’t be afraid to ask your  carpet cleaner for a reference and firm estimate.

  

Vacuuming is key to keeping your new carpet fresh and beautiful. Dirt and grit will become embedded in the pile where they will affect your carpet’s color and cause matting of the pile.  You want to vacuum heavy-traffic areas as often as possible — every day if possible. Vacuum about three passes for light cleaning; up to seven passes where there is more soil.

For best results, use a vacuum cleaner with a beater bar or rotating brush. Make sure you’ve adjusted the attachment to the proper height for your carpet. For loop pile carpet, avoid attachments with teeth or ridges.

Which type of wood flooring should be used for a certain room in the house? Below are some important tips to consider before making a final decision on your new flooring.

• Entry / Foyer -   Foyers tend to be more formal than not. Making a design statement in this area has most recently become a new wood flooring trend. Custom designs like accents, border medallions and painted design are very common in this area. Using outside walk-off mats and if there is no design, area carpets inside will help in keeping wear down.

• Kitchens/Family rooms: These are most common spaces for wood floor installation in new construction. The ease of care, open floor plans, and the flow of traffic make this a very popular area for wood floors. Dark and white/bleached wood floors do NOT fare well in this area because of the high traffic, food & water continuously being on the floor. In some very grainy species, the direction of the wood floor can add to the wear of the product. NOTE: Kitchen wood floors should be screened (lightly sanded) and recoated as needed, say every 6-18 months, depending on the amount of traffic and cleaning habits. Make sure the finish used is recommended by the manufacturer and/or is a compatible with what you have. Good cleaning habits are very important part of maintaining your wood floor, high traffic or not. Clean regularly, and always wipe food & water spillage immediately.
• Formal Living and Dining Rooms- Most often a more traditional formal setting, darker in color with the combination of oriental carpets. This area also often receives border inlays, with turning blocks or corner accents to add more of a custom-designed floor. Design considerations for this area often will be compatible with the furniture being used. Not matching the exact color but a darker or lighter color in the same family of the floor color, thus complimenting each other. Remember the darker the floor, the smaller the space will appear, and maintenance consideration will increase.
   
  
• Bathrooms - A bathroom that receives daily use would not fare well with wood floors, due to continued moisture exposure. On the other hand a guest bathroom not used on a day to day basis could be considered. Make sure to use area carpets/mats, and always immediately wipe up any water.

• Home offices, Bedrooms - Wood Floors work well in bedrooms, often with area carpets being used. Office settings lean toward the traditional darker colors, and bedroom are a 50/50 tossup on colors used.  NOTE: Rolling furniture, chairs, TV stands etc., can damage the finish very quickly, if used day to day. Make sure the floor is protected and/or the rollers are not made of metal or other damaging materials. Many times placing blue painted tape on the wheels will help.

 Carpets

When dealing with red wine you need to move fast. To keep red wine stains from setting in carpets or linens, quick blotting or rinsing with cold water is key. On a wet stain, dab the carpet or tablecloth with a dry, white absorbent cloth to remove the excess liquid. If it’s the next morning or the stain has dried, apply a small amount of detergent solution. This should be 1/4 tsp. dishwashing liquid and 1 cup lukewarm water. Apply this to a white cloth and gently blot, working from the edges of the spill to the center to prevent spreading. Let it sit for several minutes. Repeat as needed until the stain is removed. Next you want to rinse with cold water and dab with a clean rag until dry.

  Tablecloth

On a new, wet stain, sprinkle coarse salt to absorb liquid from the fabric. Then blot with cold water or rinse under cold water to remove excess sugars and prevent oxidation.

For an older, dry stain, rub a bit of liquid laundry detergent into the stained area. Launder in the hottest water safe for the fabric with laundry detergent and color-safe bleach.

Repeat as needed until the stain is gone.

   Area rugs are very durable, but spills and stains are bound to happen, especially if there are small children in the house. Below are some general guidelines to help keep your rugs in the best of shape.

General Care
     The first step in caring for you rugs is regular vacuuming.  This not only removes grit, but also prolongs the life of your rug.  Be careful if you have a fringed rug, because a vacuum machine will damage the edges of the fringe.  If the fringe needs cleaning, it is better to use a broom or a brush.  Once or twice a year it also helps to flip the rug over and vacuum its back.  This helps knock out grit that has fallen into the rug’s foundation. Depending on how much traffic your rug sees, it is a good idea to rotate your rug every six months to a year.  This helps ensure even wear of the rug’s pile.
     Over time, grit and dirt will become embedded so deeply in your rug that it will require a professional cleaning.  This will not only remove the deeply embedded dirt, it will also brighten the rug’s overall appearance. It is recommended that a rug be thoroughly, professionally cleaned every 4-5 years. This timeline depends on the amount of traffic that the rug gets.
     If you need to store your rug for any extended period of time, It is suggested that it be cleaned first and then rolled against the nap and wrapped in heavy brown wrapping paper.

One mistake that people often make is to douse their hardwood floors with too much water when cleaning. Make sure the mop you use is only somewhat damp, not soaking wet. Just add a little water to your floors to clean them. Too much will damage your flooring. Before you put a mop on your floors, make sure your hardwood has been thoroughly vacuumed to remove excess dirt.

Cleaning your hardwood floors routinely should prevent many problems down the road. This is because a clean hardwood floor is less vulnerable to deterioration and as well, stains and dirt buildups won’t collect over time and thus become difficult to remove later.

Never use ammonia to clean your hardwood floors. Ammonia is one of those miracle cleaners for many materials, but it will only hurt your hardwood floor. Ammonia can discolor and take away a few years from your floor’s life. So when you do have a cleaning product around that you’d like to use on your floor, check the ingredients and if there is ammonia included, do not use it! Vinegar, on the other hand, can be useful. In that sense, hardwood floors really won’t cost you a lot as you can often fight tough stains with simply water and vinegar.

There are some easy things you can do to help keep your hardwood floors in good shape. One of those things is to buy some area rugs to protect your floor in different spots where there might be high traffic. For example, at the entry way of a door, or the middle of a room, you can place a rug down so that your hardwood floor can be saved from some serious wear and tear. Rugs are also a great way to dress up your home and even though hardwood floors are pretty, they can also look bland if there aren’t a few rugs here and there to jazz things up.

Tips for cleaning dust off baseboards

Baseboards can be difficult to clean.  The longer a baseboard goes between cleaning, the more dust there will be to clean off. Over time, dust particles can become stuck to your baseboards and it will take more time and energy to scrape them clean again.

                     

First take a vacuum cleaner and go over the baseboards where they meet up with your flooring or carpet. This will help remove as much dust a possible.

  When you have finished vacuuming, use a clean rag dipped in water to wipe the baseboards clean. If water is unsuccessful at removing the dust that has accumulated on the baseboards you may have to use some sort of cleaning solution. Start with soapy water. If that doesn’t work, try one of the home remedies that are listed below. Make sure that you continue your baseboard cleaning all around the room.

As most people have baseboards that need to be cleaned regularly, there are some common and not-so-common cleaning solutions that you can try. Listed below are some clever home remedies for a dirty or dusty baseboard:

 Once you have cleaned the baseboards, wipe the baseboards again with a used fabric softener sheet. The fabric softener sheet will create a mild static charge that will actually help to prevent dust from settling on the clean baseboard again.

Once you give your baseboards a good cleaning, another way to prevent having to clean them again in the near future is to go back over a clean baseboard with some auto wax (turtle wax). You won’t have as much buildup on your baseboards and the dust that does settle can be easily cleaned with a vacuum extension hose.

To make a simple homemade baseboard cleaner all you need is vinegar and water. Add 1 cup of white vinegar to 5 cups of  hot water.  Mix the solution together and use a rag or sponge to wipe down the baseboard.

Make sure that you do not over saturate the area of the baseboard that you are working on. If your cleaning solution drips onto the carpet it may cause discoloration. Make sure that you wring out the rag or sponge that you are using so that it is just damp enough to loosen the dust without dripping.

Wall to wall carpet is a common choice for flooring in homes. It’s a cheap alternative to hardwood and tile. It’s relatively inexpensive to install and should be done by a carpeting expert.  It can add color and warmth to any room in the home. However, it may not hold up well over time if  you have children and/or pets. Here are some pros and cons to consider when choosing a new flooring or carpet for your home. 

Pros – It’s warm and  easy on the feet especially on cold mornings. Also, it’s quiet and there are lots of colors and styles to choose from.  You have choices of wall to wall carpeting or area rugs. Carpeting  is slip-resistant and  can be very affordable depending on the grade of carpeting you choose.

Cons – More appropriate for drier climates. It collects dirt and moisture – which can turn into mildew. Wall to wall carpeting is not a good choice for people with dust allergies or lots of pets. It’s hard to clean. Polypropylene or washable area rugs are the best choice. Carpet doesn’t really add value to the resale of your home.