Cleaning Floors After the Christmas Tree Takedown

Many people display real Christmas trees in their home during the holiday season. Some people cannot resist the smell of a freshly cut pine tree. While some of us decide to go the artificial route, some people consider getting a real tree a tradition.

Although real trees are beautiful, they do eventually lose their vitality after a while. You can only water your tree for so long before dehydration takes over. Your tree will eventually have hard needles that fall easily from the branches, are not as green in color, and struggle to absorb water.

When you go to take a real Christmas tree down, the needles, the water, and the sap often come down along with it. It’s important to protect your carpets from the Christmas tree takedown, here is how:

Needle Pick-Up

Needles will inevitably go everywhere when you take down your tree. You’ll want to make sure they are all picked up to protect your carpet, especially if you have little ones. Before taking down the tree, close the heater vents to avoid needles from slipping in.

Use your tree skirt to catch the needles, and most of them should fall within range of the skirt as well. Fold the skirt up and dispose of the needles outside.

You should line your floors, from the tree to the door, with tarps or garbage bags so the majority of needles fall onto them instead of your floor.

If needles do get on your floor, you should be able to sweep or vacuum them.

Sap Removal

Removing sap from a carpet is similar to removing gum from a carpet. There are two ways to approach removing sap: let it harden and then chip away at it or dissolve the sap all together with a solution.

You can use rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer to dry out the sap quickly. It will harden and then you should be able to just chip it off the floors or carpets.

Dishwashing detergent is a great liquid that many of us have in house that will soften the sap enough to remove it. You will need just a small amount to apply to the area; you may want to test the area first to make sure it doesn’t affect the flooring. Massage the area with a warm and damp cloth and the sap should get loose enough for you to remove it.

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