Prevent dirt and mud indoors!

Now that half-term is over and with wetter days upon us, it is a good idea to remind the family of some house rules to prevent the dirt and mud that gets traipsed through the house. There is no reason why you can’t have a tidy home during the winter months with some gentle coaxing and helpful ideas in place.

The housecleaning experts at MOLLY MAID suggest that you put the following in place:

• Invest in a quality door mat as well as a good mud scraper at the entrance of your home you use the most. Every other entrance also requires an outside and an inside door mat to really banish the dirt to the outdoors. It is important to choose an outdoor mat that will drain away rain rather than trap it like some coir matting does.
• Ensure that all members of the family take their outdoor shoes off at the back door and encourage them to put on their indoor shoes or slippers. Guests are obviously excused!
• To avoid tripping over a whole muddle of shoes by the back door, buy a shoe rack with another absorbent door mat next to it to help trap any wetness or dirt that may be on the soles of shoes. This also helps with organisation in the morning, particularly with children not knowing where they last left their shoes!
• If wellies accidently find their way into the kitchen, or the room closest to the most frequently used door, have a welly stand situated near the back door to serve as a reminder that wellies are not allowed indoors and to prevent mud indoors!
• If you have been on a walk with your dogs, give them a rub down with a towel outside before allowing them to come in and keeping the mud out.
• Should you have dogs and cats whom you can’t ask to wipe their paws, you may wish to have an absorbent runner by the back door instead of just a mat. This way, the runner helps to catch most of the mud and dirt they will bring in after having spent time in the garden. It is useful to choose a mat that will survive a couple of washes in the washing machine, but these do tend to be more expensive.
• Preventing dirt and muddy paws wandering throughout the whole house on wetter days, ensure that you keep doors to other rooms closed and if you can, put your pet’s bed in a confined area such as a utility room until they are dried off.

Simple solutions to help prevent dirt and mud indoors this winter season. Good luck!

See Full Bio