Six Ways to Protect Floors on Moving Day

Relocating holds a host of exciting new adventures ahead to enjoy. Don’t let a simple oversight, such as failing to properly protect your floors on moving day, mess up the fun. One muddy shoe can leave a hard-to-remove stain on flooring. Learn how to protect your floors whether they are wood, vinyl or carpeting.

If your professional moving company is responsible for your entire move, be sure to ask how they plan to protect your floors. If you are going it alone and asking friends to help, be prepared before the first box is picked up on moving day. Following these six ways to protect your floors when moving out of one home and into another.

1. 1. Start with a basic welcome mat placed on the outside of each door that leads to the outside.
  2. Set a mat or a small rug directly inside each doorway.
  3. Use floor runners with a self-adhesive backing to prevent slippage, a carpet mask or rugs with grip backing so they are not curled up for someone to trip on the edges.
  4. Provide shoe booties and ask that those helping with the move slide them on over their shoes. These work best when used in combination with a floor cover as previously mentioned and when they are put on just prior to entering the house. However, requiring friends to stop and slip on a shoe booty when they are carrying a heavy load is not very practical. Still, they provide an extra level of protection for the floors.
  5. Sheets of plywood work nicely to create a temporary floor set on top of the carpet or on top of a sheet or blanket in between wood or vinyl flooring. Plywood also works well as a temporary flooring from the moving van to the front door to help provide stable footing and protection from weather, dirt and small pebble or leaf debris that can otherwise be tracked onto the floors.
  6. Use furniture sliders and moving carts that have rubber wheels as a choice over metal wheels that can leave dents or scratched on wood, vinyl or tile flooring.
    self service relocation