A green, luscious Christmas tree is one of the beloved symbols of the holiday season. Your luxurious, natural hardwood flooring only enhances the nostalgic coziness of this time of year. As you prepare your home to put up all your holiday decorations, remember to come up with a plan to protect your hardwood floors, especially if you want to decorate with a real Christmas tree.
The proper equipment and techniques could help you keep water, sap and pine needles from your Christmas tree off your elegant hardwood flooring. Check out our recommended tips to protect your wood floor from your Christmas tree.
Why You Need to Protect Your Hardwood Floor From Your Christmas Tree
High-quality hardwood flooring can last nearly a century if you maintain it properly, but the various parts of a Christmas tree could warp, scratch or crack your floorboards. Your floors could suffer damage from:
- Water: When you choose to decorate your home with a real tree, you need to water it to make sure it stays fresh throughout the season. Use the appropriate amount of water for your Christmas tree to prevent spills. Without proper drainage, water can leak out from the trunk’s base and damage your floors. Excess moisture in a room could warp and stain your hardwood flooring, and you could need to sand, stain and refinish them to restore their shine.
- Sap: The sap from a real Christmas tree can leave a sticky residue on your hardwood floors that may be difficult to clean. You might accidentally get debris on your hardwood flooring if you drag the tree into the house or install it without the appropriate barrier against the floor.
- Pine needles: The pointy pine needles that give the Christmas tree its beauty can scratch your hardwood floors. These little pieces could land on your hardwood flooring as you carry the tree throughout your house. Your holiday decoration piece could also shed some greenery when it’s dehydrated.
Best Ways to Protect Your Wood Floor From a Christmas Tree
If you want to decorate with a real Christmas tree this year but have hardwood flooring, use these tips to maintain your floors during the holidays:
- Clean the area before you install the tree: Before bringing your live Christmas tree home, you should clean the area where you want to put it to prevent any debris from scraping against the stand. Dust the floors with a vacuum on a low setting or a microfiber cloth. If you use any liquid cleaning products, make sure you consult the product warranty to ensure it’s safe to use for your floors. Dry any moisture on your hardwood floors immediately so that it doesn’t get trapped inside.
- Protect your flooring with a tree stand: Use a Christmas tree stand to keep water, pine needles and sap away from the hardwood floorboards. Besides keeping your flooring clean, a tree stand can also make your tree last longer by allowing it to stay hydrated. Consider further protecting your floors from scratches by placing felt pads on the legs of your tree stand, especially if they are metal.
- Add a drain tray to prevent water damage: As you water your tree, the moisture could leak onto your floors. In addition to getting a tree stand, try putting a drain tray underneath to collect water. You could either use the same one you use for your washing machine and dishwasher or one from the garden store. A decorative tree skirt can hide the tray and enhance the festive appeal of your Christmas tree.
- Get a tree mat for extra protection: Avoid using towels or bedsheets to protect your hardwood floors because these materials can absorb water and soak your flooring. Instead, invest in a tree mat that has the necessary materials for trapping moisture. This mat can also collect pine needles to make cleaning the area much more convenient.
- Limit the loose pine needles throughout your house: Before bringing in your brand-new Christmas tree, shake off the detached pine needles outside by banging the trunk against the ground. As you transport your new decoration into the house, use a black garbage bag to carry it to collect any debris that falls. Then, once it’s inside, vacuum the pine needles off the floor at least once a day to prevent scratching.
- Water your Christmas tree at least once a day: Dehydrated trees will shed their pine needles more often. You need to give it enough water based on its age and size. Newer and larger trees need more water to help maintain their shape. While giving your festive decor the nourishment it needs, be careful not to spill onto your hardwood floors. If you notice any moisture accumulation around the skirt, blot it up immediately so it doesn’t soak into your flooring.
- Be careful when taking down your tree: After the holidays, you need to properly dispose of your tree. Lay a sheet down from the stand to the door to keep debris from your floors and collect the pine needles that fall. If possible, wrap the tree in a plastic bag and carry it outside so debris doesn’t drop all over the floor.
- Drain the water from the stand: When your Christmas tree is outdoors, carefully bring the stand and tray to the nearest sink and drain it. If you accidentally spill some water, blot it up immediately so it doesn’t settle into your wood flooring.
- Clean the floors: Once you’ve thrown out your Christmas tree and packed up the stand, skirt and mat, clean the area to remove any residue. Use a hardwood vacuum or a microfiber cloth to get rid of pine needles and sap on the floor. Make sure your flooring is dry when you’ve finished.
- Refinish your flooring after the holidays: If it’s time for you to refinish your hardwood floors with a layer of water- or oil-based polyurethane, you should wait until you’ve gotten rid of your Christmas tree. The finish can repair any scratches you have on the floor and make your hardwood more resistant to water.
Schedule an Appointment With 50Floor for New Hardwood Floors
If you’d like to enhance your home’s coziness during the holidays, consider installing brand-new hardwood floors. At 50Floor, we offer a wide variety of hardwood flooring that could complement any home style and last for up to a century. During our in-house appointment, we’ll bring the flooring to your house so you could see how it looks against your decorations. For more information about our flooring materials, call us at 1-800-50-FLOOR.
