When moving out of your old house or moving into a new residence, extreme care must be taken to protect not only the floors of the new place, but all the stairs as well. Chances are that your move will already be too costly as it is, so there’s really no need to waste more money to repair any scratched, dented, or chipped stairs.
Negligence to keep stairs protected when moving house can be rather risky – even if no physical damage occurs to your staircase during the move, getting the staircase carpet ruined by water, dirt, dust, mud, or snow is not something you’d want to see. What’s more, having to clean stained hardwood stairs during a house move would not classify as one of your favorite activities either.
It’s important to know how to protect your stairs when moving – taking the necessary precautionary measures won’t take too much of your time and can save you a lot of trouble come Moving day.
Read on to learn the best way to protect stairs when moving so that you stay away from any additional problems during the most dangerous and unpredictable day in the entire house move.
Why should you protect the stairs when moving home?
Inflicting damage to the stairs of a house – either the house you’re leaving or the house you’re moving into – is a bad idea for a number of reasons. For carpeted stairs, the biggest risk is the carpet getting torn or stained, while for wood stairs, the possible damage can be more serious than that – permanent scratches, scrapes, and dents into the wooden surface that will require money and time to get fixed.
Substantial damage to stairs can also come as a result of the heavy traffic on the day of the move – the excessive number of shoes that are likely to bring in dust, dirt, water or mud into the house and then spread that mess up and down the stairs. Oftentimes, you won’t have any spare time to clean the stairs after your movers are gone. And with a few simple preventive steps, you won’t have to deal with any of that at all.
Failure to protect stairs when moving out or moving in will only make your move more complicated than it already is. So, save yourself repair money and cleaning time by following these stairs protection steps.
Good to know: How to avoid property damage when moving out
How to protect wood stairs when moving
You have a few good options to keep your hardwood stairs protected during a house move:
Option 1: Rugs or blankets
The best way to protect hardwood stairs during a move is to place old rugs or blankets over them to serve as temporary protection of the delicate wood surface. Look around the house for suitable soft and padded covers that you won’t really mind getting dirty in the process… because they will. After all, the stairs will be subjected to increased foot traffic on Moving day so adequate protection for the entire staircase is a must.
Position those old rugs or blankets slowly and carefully over each step and make sure you use painters tape to secure the soft covers to the stairs in order to keep them stationary, prevent them from getting bunched up, and thus avoid any bad accidents.
Option 2: Plastic film
So far, so good. The rugs or blankets will keep your stairs protected in case something heavy – like a piece of furniture – gets accidentally dropped on the staircase. But what about the water, mud or even snow that your movers’ shoes are likely to bring into the house as well?
To be on the safe side, you’re encouraged to use self-adhesive plastic film over the padded coverings as an outer insulation layer from dirty and possibly wet shoes. Get plastic film that has a non-slip surface to avoid any accidents.
Unfortunately, you’ll need to purchase the carpet film protector which will be an extra expense for you during an already costly move.
Option 3: Floor runners
Using a floor runner is a great choice when it comes to protecting your wood stairs when moving house. Floor runners are protective coverings made of neoprene and have an anti-slip surface on one side for extra protection. In fact, floor runners are the best way to keep your stairs perfectly protected on Moving day – they are really easy to install and can be used directly onto the wood stairs.
The only disadvantage of using floor runners to guard your stairs is their high price.
Read also: How to protect floors when moving
How to protect carpeted stairs when moving
To protect carpeted stairs, you’ll only need to add a water-proof covering over them as they are already well-padded by the pre-installed carpet over them.
Option 1: Carpet masking
Again, feel free to use a carpet mask – a plastic film designed to protect carpets whenever necessary. If possible, get the type of plastic covering that is self-adhesive to eliminate the extra task of securing that protective cover against shifting in the worst possible moment.
In case you can’t get hold of self-adhesive carpet protectors, then you must use painters tape to secure the common plastic film onto the stairs.
Option 2: Floor runners
Again, using floor runners is a great way to protect carpeted stairs. As mentioned above, floor runners can be rather costly but they can still prove to be cheaper than having to clean or even replace the carpet you currently have on your staircase.
Check the largest home improvement stores in your areas for sales or good deals of quality floor runners for your Moving day needs.
See also: How to protect doors and door frames when moving
How to protect staircase rails when moving
Think a few steps ahead and protect the rails of your staircase as well. To do that, wrap furniture blankets around them and use pieces of tape or string to hold them in place. If you don’t have any furniture blankets left, you can use ordinary blankets or old pieces of clothing that will serve as extra padding during the move.
Once you pad well the staircase rails, you won’t have to worry about damaging the railings when you bring down or carry up large and heavy household items, especially pieces of furniture.
Indirect ways to protect stairs when moving
Providing sufficient protection for your stairs when moving house is a smart move. So far, we’ve only discussed the direct ways of protecting stairs during a move. Now, let’s take a look at some good indirect ways to help prevent any untimely damage to the stairs of your house.
- Protect furniture. Wrap in thick protective blankets any furniture pieces that you intend to carry down or up the stairs.
- Use strong boxes. Always pack your things into sturdy boxes that won’t accidentally break while you go up or down the stairs. When using used cardboard boxes, make sure you double-tape their bottoms for extra reinforcement.
- Use a rubber-wheel dolly. When moving super-heavy items down or up the stairs, you’d be better off using a moving dolly to avoid personal injuries of any kind and prevent property damage. Use only a high-quality moving dolly with rubber wheels and have at least one extra person to help you out.
- Place a doormat. You’re advised to place a large doormat in front of the front door as the first line of defense against dirty and wet shoes. For extra protection, have a second doormat inside the home for better results.
- Use shoe covers. Encourages the usage of shoe covers – aka shoe booties. They are very affordable and surprisingly effective in keeping your floors and stairs protected against dirt, dust, water, mud, or snow (sleet). The only problem with using shoe covers is how to convince people to wear them.
Protecting your stairs on Moving day can be somewhat tricky. The good news for you is that when you hire professional movers, they will be responsible for protecting your floors and stairs from any type of damage.
Must-read: 10 Signs you’re hiring the right movers
