When we first moved into our house, I took pride in our hardwood floors. From my previous experience, I knew if maintained well, our house would look like the ones in fancy home magazines. It took hard work on my part (okay, a little from my husband) for the floors to shine. The problem however, was when our 2 boys became toddlers, they treated it like their personal playground. I didn’t mind too much at first, but after a few trips to the emergency room, I knew it was time to take action. Here’s how I made our hardwood floors less slippery and safe for everyone: This takes a little forward planning on the part of the homeowner. Shiny, hardwood floors is not for everyone. It certainly is not for one with rambunctious kids (like mine). Take stock of your situation in the years you plan on staying in the house If you’re alone and love to show off your hardwood floors, then by all means, get the best kind you can afford. But if you plan to have kids in that same house, coat your floor with matte polyurethane.

It’s not as shiny than regular or shiny polyurethane, but it will keep your kids safe. Or you can move to another home.volta forte vacuum cleaner review Ask your local home depot for non-slip treatments. shark navigator vacuum cleaner w/ infinity cyclone reviewSlather on the floor weekly for a matte finish that will not only protect people from slipping, it will even prolong the floor’s natural look. hoover telios 1700 vacuum cleanerYou can also use it on your linoleum floors, if you have one. If you don’t like putting chemicals in your house, you can go green and use vinegar. Sweep the dirt and grit from the floor first. Mop the floor with a vinegar solution (1 cup white vinegar for every gallon of warm water), making sure that you do not spill water.

Then wipe it down with dry towel. Make sure that there are no waxy residues left that will make the floors slippery. Although this is low-tech, I prefer this over chemicals. I have had success with this, although I find that if you increase the dosage, you will leave a thin film on the floor. Sometimes, its not the floors’ fault when someone slips down. The bottom of the shoes can play host to slippery residues. To remove them, put nonslip pads or doormats in entryways and encourage people to use them. If there are many “crime scene” areas inside your home, strategically litter these areas with nonslip pads. Be sure to cover also the high-traffic areas. Choose prints that will go with your overall design so that your home will still look cozy.While its cool to have hardwood floors, they can cause some bad accidents. But you don’t have to eschew aesthetics totally. Balance it with safety by following the tips above so that you can have a beautiful, shiny floors without sacrificing life and limb.

After all, this is your home, so you should always be comfortable and safe living there.Home Depot Lighting Sale - up to 40% off Fixtures, Wall Lanterns, and More Up to 40% OffI get annoyed when I have to clean up extensively up after a vacuum cleaner. As you might expect, we intentionally dirty our floors when testing vacuums, and some work is required to reset the floor after a test run for any machine. But instead of small touchups, the Electrolux Ergorapido Lithium Ion Brushroll Clean Xtra necessitated that I vacuum the testing surfaces all over again with a different machine after every single run across all types of surfaces and all types of dirt. This Electrolux vac updates the Ergorapido series to mixed results. It now has a more powerful lithium ion battery to go along with the company's standout vacuum feature -- the brushroll clean. It's a simple concept. The brushroll cavity houses a blade that rests out of the way at the top of the compartment. Get hair tangled on the bristles, and you can press a lever while the vacuum's running to lower the blade and slice the hair away.

Given that I recently tested the highly competent Eureka Brushroll Clean with SuctionSeal from the same parent company of Electrolux -- a machine that sold me on the whole brushroll clean concept -- I had high hopes for this Electrolux stick. It has an attractive design, and it maneuvers beautifully. It just won't get your floors clean and the brushroll clean feature isn't as effective on this stick as it was on the Eureka upright. Despite the reasonable $150 price and the solid design, I can't recommend the Electrolux Ergorapido Lithium Ion Brushroll Clean Xtra. Far and away, the best thing about this vacuum is the maneuverability. The vacuum's head attaches to the body with flexible hosing for the air flow and a pivoting joint that can turn almost a full 180 degrees. As a result, with a turn of the wrist, the vacuum can swivel 90 degrees in either direction and readily navigate any corner. The Electrolux Ergorapido Lithium Ion Brushroll Clean Xtra weighs just over 5 pounds, so it's easy to lift, though not necessarily more so than the many other stick vacs we've tested.

The lithium ion battery holds a charge well, running for over 30 minutes on normal speed and 14 minutes on high speed, though it takes a long 4 hours to regain a full charge. For comparison, the most competent stick vacs we've tested -- the Hoover Linx and the Dyson V6 series -- each hold a charge for 15 to 20 minutes of work, but fill up after 3 hours of down time. In turbo mode, the Dyson v6 only lasts 6 minutes. On the front of the Ergorapido, four LEDs help you keep track of the vac's remaining charge while you work, though the display is slightly counterintuitive. The Ergorapido only uses three of the four lights to indicate your charge level. So if your vac has over 75 percent of battery life left, you'll see three orange bars lit. Two light up between 25 and 75 percent charge, one lights with less than that, and that one LED blinks when the battery runs out. I would have expected the four lights to each represent a quarter of the total charge, and had to use the instruction manual to figure out the Ergorapido's specific code.

When I first started using it, I thought the unlit fourth light meant I hadn't fully charged it. Instead, the fourth light only turns on when there's a problem. It shines red instead of orange -- it's solid red if the engine is overheated, and it blinks if the airflow is clogged. It didn't take me long to learn the Electrolux's LED system, and having four lights and two colors allows it to relay somewhat specific signals through a simple mechanic. I prefer a simple progress gauge as on the Black & Decker 36v Max Lithium Stick Vacuum with ORA Technology . The lights for those blink when there's a problem as well. The second color on the ErgoRapido feels like overkill and is why the system is counterintuitive, but again, it communicates with more clarity than most once you learn its language. Above the LEDs is a power button specific to the pull out hand vac. While in place in the stick vac frame, the hand vac juts out slightly. Push a button above it, and it ejects easily. It also snaps back into the main vac securely, so this is a convertible vacuum that converts well.

You might think that's a given, but we found on the Bissell Bolt Ion 2-in1 Lightweight Cordless Vacuum that it's not. You'll need to pull the hand vac free to access the dust bin, which you'll need to empty regularly, since it's a little undersized. With the Dyson V6 vacs, you empty dirt with a single button press. With the Ergorapido, you need to remove the hand vac, remove the bin compartment and lift off the filter. It's a little complicated, but each piece snaps into and out of place easily and securely. The attachments don't provide that same satisfying snap when you fit them on the end of the hand vac, and the Ergorapido only includes two -- a crevice tool and a brush. Given the brushroll clean feature, the convertible hand vac, and the reasonable $150 price point, I didn't think the Ergorapido too bare bones in terms of features, despite the small number of included attachments. I also liked the look of it, though its base red coloring reminded me of Dirt Devil 's traditional appearance.

The buttons accent the red with silver. In addition to the power button on the hand vac and the button that ejects the hand vac, another power button and a speed control button sit at the top of the stick vac's handle, within reach of your thumb while gripping the machine. The speed button cycles the vac between high speed and normal. Turn the vac on, and flip it to high speed, and you'll get the most out of the brushroll clean mechanic. With the bristles spinning at high speed, press your foot on the lever at the corner of the vacuum and the brushroll blades will descend and scrape away some tangled pet hair. You can purchase the Electrolux Ergorapido Lithium Ion Brushroll Clean Xtra from the company's website, as well as from Best Buy, Amazon, Home Depot and other major appliance retailers. I reviewed model number EL2081A which costs $150 and is specific to the US, but comparable models are available overseas. In the UK, the AG3012 costs £229.95. In Australia, you'll find the similar ZB3012 for AU$250.