Laminate

Laminate is extremely easy to care for partly because it's made to be water resistant. Unfortunately, this also means water will pool on its surface, so you're going to want to make sure you clean up any spills as soon as possible—otherwise you're extremely likely to slip!

• Sweet often.

• Spot clean with a damp cloth.

• Don't saturate the floor.

• Don't use scouring pads.

If you saturate the floor, you'll end up with a huge mess on your hands. The water will most likely just pool on the surface and sit.

Also, you don't want to use scouring pads because they can scratch the finish on the laminate making it look worn well before its time and make it susceptible to water damage and stains.

Carpet

While you probably want to get your carpet thoroughly cleaned by professionals at least once a year, the weekly maintenance you do will go a long way in prolonging the life of your carpet and keeping bacteria and allergens at bay.

• Vacuum once a week.

• Vacuum high traffic areas twice a week.

• Clean up spills by blotting, not scrubbing.

It's a myth that vacuuming damages your carpet. The truth is that vacuums are actually less hard on your carpet's appearance than dirt itself is, because tiny particles of dirt and dust rub against the carpet fibers and weaken them.

There's nothing like walking across a clean floor, and now your home will always have one!