How To Keep Dirt Out Of Your Home
How to keep dirt out of your home
Cleaning your home can seem to be a never-ending battle. Do you sometimes feel like you spend hours getting things spick and span, but back at square one after only a couple of days? Don’t despair! We’ve lots of tips on how to keep dirt out of your home.
Draw up your defence lines
Want to slash the outdoor contaminants in your home by 85%? The Environmental Protection Agency in the United States recommends:
Best dirt trapping doormats
1. A doormat outside your door on your path or step – our range includes wire-bound doormats to really help scrape off the dirt
2. A highly absorbent doormat to trap soil and water inside your door
3. A second ‘finishing mat’ to catch any remaining particles from your shoes
To keep things simple, why not opt for a set of three coconut coir mats? One outdoor one, and two indoor will brighten up your entryway as well as keeping the dirt at bay.
We’ve lots of designs, including some for Halloween and Christmas to perk up your entryways inside and out!
Take off your shoes
4. Leaving shoes by the door so you don’t track dirt into your house is an important tip. The Japanese have been doing this for centuries to avoid damaging their delicate traditional ‘tatami’ bamboo flooring.
Tip: Guests may be uncertain about what to do when they visit. Make things obvious with a bench to sit down on and a basket of slippers they can use. Hiking socks are a good option rather than trying to cater for everyone’s shoe size!
What’s the best doormat style for cleaning shoes?
Before you take your shoes off, it’s a good idea to give them a wipe. Coconut coir doormats are perfect at removing debris from your soles.
Top tip: Use a sharp craft knife to cut coir doormats into the right length for your shoe shelf. By resting your shoes on coir, air can reach the soles through the bristles. This means they’ll dry out quicker than if they were just stood on wood.
Keeping pets dirt free
So that’s the humans sorted. But what about your pets?
For dogs
Try to wash your dog’s paws before they come into the house. If that’s a bit tricky, a stash of old towels by the door can at least wipe the worst of the mud off. Also a soft brush can help, such as shoe polishing brush.
And speaking of paws, how long are their paw pads – as in the hair between their toes? Ask your dog groomer to trim them so dirt doesn’t build up.
For cats
If you’ve ever tried to clean a cat’s paws, you know it’s not the easiest thing to do! Doormats either side of your cat flaps can help.
Also can you work out where they’re picking up the mud? If it’s a garden border that’s died down during the autumn, building a wall of pots can help deter your cats from marching across.
Top tip: Shaving cream foam is apparently brilliant at removing stains caused by pets. Hat tip to the authors at Clever for this!
Pet-friendly doormats
Our coconut coir mats are made from natural materials, including rubber. So you won’t have to worry about any toxins, especially if someone decides to take a nibble, chew or scratch…
Hoovering up the advice
Regular vacuuming is a great way to keep on top of the dirt on flooring, be it laminate, wood, tile or carpeted. But if you have a bagless vacuum cleaner, think about where you empty it. If possible, take your bin and vacuum outside to avoid any dirt falling inside.
Keeping doormats clean
Given how much dirt coir doormats can collect, they will need to be cleaned themselves once in while! Make sure to:
• Hoover your doormats regularly
• Give them a good shake outside to dislodge debris
• For engrained stains, work a dampened scrubbing brush into the bristles
We’ve all the hacks you need in How to clean a coir doormat.
How do you keep dirt out of your home?
We’d love to hear your solutions for keeping your home clean. If it involves a Coco & Coir doormat, remember to post your pictures and tag @cocoandcoir on Instagram. We’ll credit you for any images we use and you’ll also be in with a chance to win some Coco & Coir goodies for your sustainable garden.
