A Rainy Moving Day: How to Protect Your Floors

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It's something you have been expecting for months, planning for weeks, and now it's finally here. When the day comes when you have to move to a new home, obviously you're hoping for the best possible weather. But what about when the weather doesn't want to cooperate? Regardless of the rain outside, the furniture removals company will still need to do their job. They probably have plastic sheets to protect your possessions on their brief outdoors sojourn from your front door to the truck, so this is hardly going to be an issue. The amount of dirt and mud that can be tracked inside your home could be more of an issue. It's not feasible to expect the movers to remove their shoes when they come inside to collect a heavy item, so you're going to need to take steps to protect your flooring from damage.

On Your Doorstep

Your doormat is going to need to be packed along with everything else. This is inconvenient since its service would be useful when the movers are coming in and out of your home on a wet day. It's not exactly practical to leave it in place and then rinse it off either since you would then need to pack it while it's still wet.  If the weather is likely to be unhelpful on moving day, go to a hardware shop and buy a seagrass doormat. They are inexpensive and effective and can be discarded after everything has been moved out of your home. This could feel wasteful, but it will certainly help to keep dirt and mud from being tracked inside.

On Your Floors

Key walkways might also need to be protected. Plastic drop sheets might seem like the answer, but they are not. Just imagine how slippery they can become when wet, and then imagine the potential for injury and damage when someone is carrying a heavy item. Flattened cardboard offers both protection and traction, so you might want to track down a number of old boxes and then flatten them to cover the areas in question. Pop them into your recycling bin when you're done.

Afterwards

Despite your best efforts, there might be some unsightly patches of dirt and mud on your floors. Hardwood or vinyl floors are easy enough to clean, but you don't want to leave stained carpets for the new owners. For the final cleaning of your soon-to-be former home, professional steam cleaning might be needed. To keep costs down, you could rent the appropriate specialised vacuum cleaner yourself (most supermarket service desks can do this for you).

Preparing for wet weather on your moving day adds more planning to something that already requires rather a lot of planning, but it's better than having to deal with vast amounts of dirt and mud inside your home, even if very shortly it will no longer be your home. 


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