Caring for Your Christmas Tree and Protecting Your Floors
August 12, 2017
Christmas will be here before you know it! The day after Thanksgiving is usually the day the family decorates the Christmas Tree. For many people buying a Christmas tree is a family event. Choosing the right tree, getting it home, putting it up, and then decorating is an exciting experience which both children and adults look forward to, and for many marks the true arrival of Christmas into the home.
The joy of seeing the look on children’s faces when they see their first Christmas Tree brought into the home is only hindered by the knowledge that its arrival also means a bit more work each day to care for the Christmas tree and keep the house looking neat and tidy.
So here are our tips on how to care for your Christmas tree and look after your carpets and floors…
- Position –Think about where to position your tree, as people brushing past it which will encourage needles to drop quicker, meaning you will spend more time vacuuming!
- Measure– Don’t forget to measure the height and width of where you want to put the tree and take a tape measure with you when you are buying.
- Type of tree – There are lots of varieties of trees available, some are better at retaining their needles than others. Get advice from your retailer or do your research online. However, don’t forget that if you have a real tree you will always get a certain amount of needle dropping regardless of variety.
- Cut, rooted or container trees – The sort of tree you buy will determine the type of container you use and how you look after them. Cutting half an inch from a tree trunk that has already been cut will enable easier intake of water.
- Fresh is best – Test before you buy – branches should not be brittle and outer needles should not fall off the tree when it is gently shaken.
- Tree stand safety– Make sure you have the right size tree stand (with a container to water the tree) especially if you have children (touching decorations especially chocolate ones!) or cats (who think you have supplied them with a scratching pole!). It should be wide enough to support the tree and make good contact with the floor. Having to taper the tree trunk to fit the stand means you need a bigger stand to prevent it from toppling over and becoming a safety issue to your family and home.
- Deep carpets– To protect the carpet and ensure that the tree stand has a solid standing, cut out a sturdy piece of plywood for the base of the tree to stand on. Use a tree skirt or Christmas wrapping paper to hide the wood and tree stand.
- Hard floors – Tree stands can easily scratch hardwood floors so put a non-skid piece of carpeting or similar non-slip mat under the stand.
- General carpet protection – It’s a good idea to place some plastic sheeting (with non-slip tape) and a scrap piece of carpet under the tree stand to protect hardwood floors and carpets from accidental water spills, leaks, and weight marks. It also makes it easier to clean up when the tree is removed.
- Avoid direct heat– A dry tree is a fire hazard so keeping it away from direct heat is important. The risks of being too close to open fire are obvious, but being too close to radiators and not watering adequately will not only dry out the tree but also limit the tree’s ability to maintain its shape and sheen and will encourage faster needle shedding.
- Water daily – Whether it is a cut, rooted or container tree they all need watering daily. You will be surprised at how much water they actually require.
- A long spouted watering can enable easier watering, but care should be taken not to let the tree base overflow as this will spill onto your carpet and create a damp area which could then develop mildew and mold.
- Sweep or vacuum regularly to clear any needles, whilst at the same time taking care not to knock branches or the tree trunk as this will cause more needles to drop off!
- Stubborn needles– To clear needles that have lodged into carpets, rugs and between the slats of a wooden floor use the smaller attachments on your vacuum or use some duct tape to pull them out.
Caring for your Christmas Tree is well worth the effort to clean and maintain. The twinkling lights and the wonderful pine smell truly make Christmas enjoyable!
What if I told you that the items in your home are weaponized against your health? Would the answer to that question change your perspective about the necessity of an industry designed to help make your home environment cleaner and safer than it is under the status quo? With the exceptions of opening doors and windows of the home; our home climate control systems are relatively closed systems. This means that the majority of the air circulating through our homes is being controlled and constantly recirculated throughout our homes. While there are safeguards in place for those climate control systems, things like the air filter in the cold air return of the air conditioner or air handler can’t remove everything that floats in and out of the climate control system. This means that there is still plenty of tiny particulate matter that negatively impact our health are constantly being moved through our homes as the air circulates back to the air handling system. Let’s be real for a quick second. How many of us out there change out the air filter in the cold air return every 30 days; as recommended by the climate control system retailers and installers? I rest my case. So, where does the leftover tiny particulate matter go if it is missed by the climate control system? The answer is primarily the soft textiles in our homes. For example, Carpets, Upholstered furniture, drapes, rugs all act as a natural air filter for a home. Think about the last time you got home from work, tired, mentally exhausted, and the couch became your refuge to seek refuge from the day. Chances are, after the free fall into the comfort zone of the couch, you begin to notice tiny bits of dust fluttering through the air as it floats through the light that passes through the window treatments in your home. The vast majority of that debris in the air came directly from the cushions that you are now are laid out on. As we sit down on cushioned furniture, the air inside the cushion becomes expelled out of the fabric it was in and goes right back into the air where it can be breathed in and cause indoor allergy reactions. Chances are that if most of us are forgetful about the filter in the cold air return, we probably haven’t maintained the natural air filters in our home that are soft textiles in nature as well as we could be. As the owners of the soft textiles that help filter the air in our homes, we should vacuum the soft textiles in our home as often as we regularly vacuum the carpet in our homes to reduce the amount of allergens and air pollutants in our homes and give our homes the healthy indoor air quality that we all want and deserve.
Carpet comes in a vast array of colors, types, cuts, finishes, etc, and can be the perfect warming touch to any room or area. But alas, it can easily become dirty, worn, lose its dye stability, delaminated, or separated from the backing of the carpet, etc making the once perfect touch for the room an absolute eyesore.
One of the most common types of fabrics that we see in the cleaning industry is “suede”. In modern times the term suede has become synonymous with any fabric that has a suede-like feel to the touch.
From time to time we are asked questions that aren’t just about cleaning. Whether that be from being in a settled in-home, packing up to move, or even moving into a new home. Each life circumstance brings its own fun set of new experiences and questions, in the end, is to hopefully have lessons learned.
Wool carpets are plush, luxurious and the perfect floor covering for any home but do require some special cleaning and care. A quality wool carpet is extremely durable and can last a lifetime if cared for properly.
As the owner of a piece of land, you are responsible for the upkeep for each of the buildings standing on it. Whether you are looking at a single family home or a multi-unit complex for commercial purposes, it falls on your shoulders to ensure that the interiors are clean and in good working order.
Ceramic flooring is one of the most popular options to due to their high durability and variety of styles and designs. Even though these are a long-lasting flooring type, they will need sufficient care and cleaning, if they will live their full lives and look good as well.
Are you planning on upgrading your kitchen and want to do so by installing stone flooring? Many homeowners consider getting stone flooring to make their kitchen look better because it has become more modern to do so.
How you clean a sofa naturally depends on what materials it is made of first of all. There are, however, certain universal steps that can be used to clean every couch before diving into individual cleaning remedies.
There are a lot of people who are out off getting a shag rug because of the perceived maintenance these rugs require. Shag rugs are actually relatively easy to clean, you simply need to know what to do and when to do this.
