Winter is a magical time with all the snow and cozy weather. It’s also a time to take necessary precautions for keeping your house comfortable and warm during the cold season. Although sealing cracks and leaks in your windows or roof may be your priority, you should also pay close attention to your flooring. Nobody enjoys placing their feet on ice-cold flooring first thing in the morning.
Cold floors are a constant source of discomfort during the winter season. But there are several ways to warm up your floors. This article rounds up five easy ones.
- Add Rugs
One of the easiest ways to warm up your floors is simply placing a rug. Throw rugs can add softness and warmth to any floor. Identify the coldest areas in your home and add rugs there first. For most homes, this means the basement or any room with stone or concrete flooring.
When buying an area rug, consider the material. Some rug materials are warmer and insulate your floors better. For example, wool is thick and heavy for extra warmth, whereas cotton offers a more budget-friendly alternative. You should think about the size of the rug as well. The bigger it is, the larger the insulated and warm area. That said, if a large rug is too costly or doesn’t fit a room, you can opt for several smaller ones and strategically place them throughout your home.
If you have existing area rugs, make sure to have them professionally cleaned before winter comes. The dirt and dust accumulated in your rugs during the warmer months may set due to the extra moisture during winter. Also, since your home is more closed up during winter, the dirt buildup on your rugs can reduce air quality and may cause health issues or aggravate conditions like allergies and asthma.
With a professional rug cleaner like Rug Wash Specialist, you can ensure that your rug is cleaned well, thus extending its lifespan. If you’re interested in their service, visit this URL.
- Invest In A Radiant Heating System
If you have the budget, you can always enjoy warm floors by installing a radiant heating system. This under-floor system radiates heat via an underlayment—using pipes full of hot water or strategically placed looping electric wires—between the surface flooring and the subfloor.
Electrical systems are easier to install and cheaper. By contrast, hydroponic systems are typically installed during home construction. Although expensive, the latter is more efficient in terms of long-term operating costs.
The purpose of a radiant heating system is to emit warmth directly upward into the floor, ensuring warm floors. As a bonus, the heat rises up into the rest of the room, controlling the overall temperature of the area.
In general, a radiant heating system works best with highly conductive materials such as stone and ceramic tiles. Nonetheless, it can still work with other flooring types, including thin carpets.
- Insulate Rim Joists
Joist spaces built over an unheated crawlspace or basement may lose heat through the floors. In addition, the rim joist areas where your flooring rests on the foundation let cold air circulate through the joist spaces below the floor. Thus, wrapping rim joists and headers with fiberglass batt insulation helps keep your floors warm.
- Insulate The Rest Of Your Home
If insulating your flooring isn’t enough to keep it warm, updating your overall home insulation can ensure warmer floors and a more comfortable home overall.
Insulating the rest of your home takes up time, so you might want to create a checklist of what should be done. Some of them are as follows: update the weatherstripping under and around your doors. Add caulking around your windows. Make sure to patch any leaks or holes in the roof, attic, walls, and foundation. Check and seal around crawl space entrances, air ducts, dryer vents, and recessed lighting.
Work your way through your home. Inspect and insulate key areas, including the basement and attic, and openings.
- Buy Space Heaters
If you tend to sit or stay in a small area in your home or if you have an elderly parent who doesn’t move much, you can get a directional heater. This is the best option to keep your floors warm without spending too much on power.
Portable space heaters look similar to dehumidifiers that help offset the chill in a drafty room or give your HVAC system a little boost. They can keep the floor and the surrounding area toasty and comfortable.
Takeaway
Warm floors mean more comfortable and happier residents and more manageable heating costs during winter. Nobody likes being jolted awake by an ice-cold floor when they need to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Walking around the house becomes annoying when the floor is freezing. Following the tips offered above lets you look forward to a warm and cozy winter.