Protecting your hardwood flooring while you have a Christmas tree
It happens like clockwork each year…after the Christmas trees are removed, the flooring takes a beating and sometimes it’s so bad that the hardwood floors need to be sanded and refinished, or the carpeting needs to be replaced. Why? The main culprit is water that gets on the flooring (from watering the tree obviously). Sometimes there are sap marks or water spots; other times, the flooring is stained, cupped and/or separated and needs to be replaced. The second issue with Christmas trees is that the pine needles fall down and scratch the floors (the latter often happens when the floor is swept or sometimes when the kids or pets play and roll around).
Before the Christmas tree arrives in the house, be sure to set up the stand and protect the floors. This will prevent the water (and the pine needles) from reaching the hardwood flooring and damaging the finish.
The best protection is to get one of those plastic rectangular drain trays that go under washing machines. These will collect any excess water from the stand and won’t allow the water to penetrate or overflow. Then, place the tree stand in the middle of that, and then place the Christmas tree mat or skirt on top of that. This will camouflage the tray and give you an extra level of protection.
DON’T use a towel (or other absorbent material such as an area rug) as these can soak up the water and retain and this will damage your hardwood floors (and many homeowners have learned this the hard way). Trapped water or moisture can cause your hardwood boards to swell and separate and they can turn black
Make sure that all of this is set up BEFORE you bring the tree into your home.
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www.phoenix21llc.com
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