5 Tips to Keep a Hallway Clean

January 31, 2022, 2:23 pm | Read time: 4 minutes

In fall and winter, unpredictable weather is a constant challenge. This often becomes evident in our homes. But who wants to constantly clean the entryway? myHOMEBOOK offers five tips to keep your hallway clean.

Traditionally, the hallway is the ultimate catch-all for dirt and moisture from outside. At the same time, it’s also the first room you enter and where you greet guests. Therefore, the expectation is high that the hallway, despite all the wear and tear it regularly endures, always appears inviting. This requires a certain appearance. Impossible? Not with these tips to keep the hallway consistently clean.

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Keep Your Hallway Clean – 5 Tips

Typically, you can’t just leave fall and winter outside the door. Instead, you often bring traces of the weather conditions into your home. As soon as you enter the hallway on a rainy day, a puddle forms at your feet, and small stones from winter grit get stuck in shoe treads. In both scenarios, you literally run the risk of damaging your flooring. In a multi-person household, the risk multiplies significantly. Solutions are needed to protect your floor preventively and keep the hallway clean.

1. If No Vestibule, Then a Grate

On wet, gray fall and winter days, you can often clean off mud and leaves from your shoes and moisture from your outerwear in the entrance of apartment buildings. In a house, this is more challenging—unless you have a vestibule or similar architectural feature that allows you to remove wet, dirty clothing before entering. Otherwise, a floor grate can help initially to scrape off coarse dirt from shoe soles. Then quickly head inside to the warmth!

2. Dirt Trapper Mats Inside and Outside the Door

As the saying goes, two is better than one. That’s why it’s worth investing in two dirt trapper mats for a clean hallway. One should be placed outside the door and the other just inside. The outdoor mat is meant for the first layer of dirt, small stones, or leaves on shoes and should be made of a coarse material like coconut fibers. If a grate is already embedded in the entrance floor, a coconut mat is no longer necessary.

Dirt trapper mat with yellow rubber shoes — Coarse with Coarse: Such a dirt trapper mat in front of the door easily handles leaves and larger stones

For indoors, a tightly woven doormat is suitable, primarily absorbing moisture and remaining fine dirt. The combination of both mats is ideal for fall and winter weather conditions.

3. Easy-to-Clean Flooring

To keep a hallway as clean as possible, the type of flooring is crucial. Choosing a variant that is easy to wipe clean means small dirt particles and footprints can be quickly removed with a cloth. Tile floors with large tiles or vinyl flooring are considered particularly low-maintenance. Both options are not only resistant to moisture but also scratch and stain-resistant. Additionally, tiles and vinyl flooring are available in numerous attractive designs.

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4. Floating Furniture Eases Cleaning

Modern, simply furnished hallway with floating staircase — The fewer items and furniture on the floor of a hallway, the easier it is to clean

If the hallway floor needs to be mopped, it should be done without complications. If numerous pairs of shoes, umbrella stands, and various furniture are in the entrance area, mopping the floor quickly becomes a challenge. It’s advisable to gain space on the floor to make cleaning easier.

If you have seemingly useless niches in the hallway, a carpenter can fill them with a built-in cabinet. Shoes, especially those not seasonally relevant, belong in the cabinet or even the basement.
Floating storage furniture, mounted on the wall and not touching the floor, is ideal. This makes sweeping, vacuuming, or mopping much easier.
Benches, which are practical in the entrance area and especially in households with children, can also significantly ease cleaning tasks.

5. Designated Shoe Storage

As difficult as it may be sometimes, shoes should always have a designated storage spot in the hallway and be placed there immediately upon coming home. This prevents dirt and moisture from spreading throughout the home, and shoes lying around don’t become a tripping hazard for others in the household. Sideboards, benches, or even entire shoe cabinets are ideal for this purpose.

Alternatively, shoe drip trays are also an option. While not always visually appealing, they are practical for catching moisture and dirt from freshly worn shoes. They can also be quickly wiped and emptied at any time.

This article is a machine translation of the original German version of MYHOMEBOOK and has been reviewed for accuracy and quality by a native speaker. For feedback, please contact us at info@myhomebook.de.