One of the challenges of moving in or out of a home is how you are going to avoid damaging the flooring. It may be brand new flooring put in place to entice buyers, or it could have been installed for your new home to help sweeten the listing.

Sometimes older homes have original flooring that is beautiful and unique to the space, and the last thing you want to do is cause scratches or scuff marks to this important feature. It can be a challenge when you are trying to move furniture, moving boxes, and avoid getting the outdoor elements from your shoes onto it. Take a look at these tips for protecting your floors during your upcoming move.

Doormats will make a difference

When you have slush, snow, or mud to worry about, it can be difficult to avoid making a mess in the house. You can’t ask the movers to take their shoes off each time they enter and with a large house, it may be hard to avoid a mess in almost every room. The best tool to cut down on a mess is to start using doormats on the outside that can catch some of that snow or dirt.

Get a mat that is designed to be outdoors because they are made to dry easily and an indoor mat used outside will end up drenched. Avoid mats like carpeting, bamboo, or woven cloth. Outdoor mats will make a big difference for your moving crew. Avoid packing those until after your move or buy new ones for the moving day.

Try a path of mats

Another great trick for moving day is to set up a path of mats that can be walked on throughout the house. Take indoor and outdoor mats or rugs and create a path to the door to help absorb moisture for the movers. Just make sure they won’t slide around when walked on. If you really want to protect floors, you could always pick up plywood from a home improvement store to tape down on top of carpet and flooring.

Carpet film protection

Another trick that many use is to put plastic protection over their carpets. While it’s not inexpensive to do this, it works effectively. Lighter colored carpet definitely needs to be protected, and getting a plastic film protection that has an adhesive backing will make it easy to keep a liner in place for protection.

Blankets and extra wrap

Have you considered that this is the perfect time to use those old blankets, towels, and t-shirts? Use them to protect the floors and furniture. Wrap the bottom of table and chair legs in t-shirts and towels, and place old blankets for extra wrapping or a place to step on the floor. You’ll likely find that having the vacuum out and handy makes it easier to collect any dirt that is tracked in too.

Different protection depending on the floor

Lastly, you may want to consider different methods for the different types of flooring in your home. Your carpet will stay protected with the self-adhesive film while your laminate floors are easiest protected with plywood and old blankets. Consider also using a protective film or protective paperboard for laminate and hardwood floors. For your tile flooring, you’ll benefit from old blankets or plywood to protect it from cracking.

Don’t let moving day ruin your beautiful floors. Use these tips to make sure your floors stay protected from heavy boxes, muddy shoes, and large furniture.