Protecting Your Floors from Pet’s Water & Food Bowls
If you can’t imagine your life at home without your favorite, lovable pets, you are not alone! Homeowners and families cherish their dogs, cats, and other creatures as members of the family, and we love offering pet-friendly flooring options that make life easier. With enhanced water resistance and scratch resistance, the right floors will be able to help prevent damage and reduce stress in a home with pets.
There are also quite a few measures that you can take to keep your home less accident-prone with active animals living inside! In addition to brushing pets regularly to reduce dander and keeping claws trimmed to reduce scratches, we also recommend creating a proper area for pets to eat and drink to minimize spills. For even greater peace of mind around the clock, take these valuable steps in protecting your floors from pet water and food bowls:
Use Underlayment for Pet Food & Water Bowls
If you don’t have warranted waterproof or water-resistant floors, we highly recommend that you protect your surfaces from knocked-over water bowls and food particles both wet and dry. Look for underlayment made from water-resistant materials such as rubber, plastic, or neoprene that will not absorb liquid. These materials make spills incredibly easy to wipe up and the mats exceptionally easy to clean. You can look for pet food mats with raised edges that also help contain any spilled liquid or food. If you want to use a pet-friendly area rug under your pet bowls, ensure that the rug backing suits your specific flooring type.
Best Rooms for Pet Food & Water Bowls
The areas in the home that are best suited for moisture such as kitchens, laundry areas, mudrooms, and basements, will also be the best rooms for pet food and water bowls. Rooms with genuine hardwood flooring or carpet are NOT ideal for spills and permanent damage can occur over time. Any rooms with an easy-to-clean surface such as laminate, vinyl, tile, or waterproof flooring will be the key areas indoors! However, we advise that you keep bowls out of places that humans can easily knock over as well. You may also explore indoor-outdoor feeding options such as garages, porches, and decks as well to protect your interior floors.
Cleaning Floors Around Pet Food & Water Bowls
Even with all the preventative measures that homeowners take, unpredictable pets still crack us up with the creative and unexplainable ways that they can create a mess! If your pets always seem to spill food or water, raised bowls that are close to the height of their mouths can provide easier access for eating and drinking. This will not only help reduce spills but also make sure nothing gets trapped underneath the bowls and make cleaning more effective. Always wipe up food and moisture when you discover it, and as a rule, clean your pet’s bowls and mats once a week to eliminate any residual spill. When your floors do need to be cleaned, use a gentle flooring material-specific cleaner to spot treat as needed.
If you are in the market for new pet-friendly floors with enhanced moisture resistance, we can help. Contact our flooring experts or visit one of our locations to get started today. We love our pets so much, and we want you to truly enjoy each day in a home with pets without ever stressing!
