7 Tips for Protecting Your Floors While Painting

Giving your walls a fresh coat of paint is one of the best ways to breathe new life into your space. Getting paint splatters and drips on the floors? Not so much. Use these tips on how to protect floors when painting to keep the new color where it belongs.

1. Remove All Furniture and Belongings

When you’re ready to tackle an interior painting project, you may worry about the logistics of painting when the room is already furnished. It’s a good idea to remove everything from the room you’re painting, including furniture, decor, and all other belongings.

According to Angi data, though, 58% of homeowners are painting rooms that are already furnished and occupied, so pros know how to navigate this situation and protect your belongings. If you have particularly bulky furniture pieces, you can move them to the center of the room and cover them if moving them to another area isn’t realistic.

Roughly 31% of homeowners, by contrast, are looking to paint an empty space. While this does make the project a bit easier, having an occupied space won’t hinder the project. 

2. Vacuum Floors Before Covering

Laying down floor protection before painting is crucial, but so is vacuuming before you get started. Dirt and other debris caught under your drop cloths can damage your floors, and scratches and gouges are just as unsightly as rogue paint drips.

3. Tape the Edges of Your Room

Here’s a pro painting tip that a lot of DIYers miss: start by laying down masking tape or painter’s tape around the perimeter of your room, adhering it directly to the floor. This will act as a base layer to help keep spills off of your floor, and it will also give the top layer of tape something to stick to for maximum protection.

Some people will choose to add painter’s tape at the top of the baseboards to secure the drop cloth. When it comes to whether to paint the walls or trim first, most people paint the walls first, going from the top down.

Speaking of spills, you can also use a smaller container of paint to limit the mess if you do run into an issue. Tipping over a pint-sized can of paint may create a big mess, but cleaning it up is going to be much easier than if you spilled a full gallon-sized can. Know how much paint you need and use the appropriate-sized container.

4. Cover Your Floors With Canvas or Rosin Paper

Next, lay down your actual floor covering. If you’re painting baseboards over carpet, use canvas drop cloths, and use rosin paper if you have wood floors or tile. For a more affordable option, you can use a thick sheet of plastic, but know that this won’t be reusable. Make sure the edge of the material around the perimeter of your room extends about halfway over that first layer of tape.

PS: If you plan to remove a wallpaper border before painting, know that you may be in for a damp, messy process, so cover the floors before you remove any wallpaper or borders, too.

Canvas Drop Cloth

Canvas drop cloths are often professional painters’ go-to floor covering. They resist tears and soak up paint drips effectively, keeping paint from reaching the floor underneath (and reducing the risk of tracking it throughout your house). You can wash the canvas and reuse it for many jobs.

Rosin Paper (or Heavy Paper)

Rosin paper works especially well over hard floors and heavy furniture you can’t move. Also called heavy paper, rosin paper conforms nicely to uneven surfaces. It’s thick enough to prevent paint drips from seeping through to the floor below.

Masonite Sheets

Masonite sheets consist of reusable compressed wood fibers that provide a durable option for protecting floors while painting. They’re especially useful over delicate flooring, such as marble or tile. They’re a rigid option that absorbs the impact of dropped items while also protecting the floor underneath from paint.

Plastic Drop Cloth

Plastic drop cloths are a popular, affordable selection for protecting floors, especially when using oil-based paint. Thick plastic has waterproof capabilities that prevent paint from bleeding through to the floor underneath. However, because the plastic will not absorb the paint, you run the risk of stepping on wet paint drips and tracking them through the house.

5. Tape Down Your Floor Covering

Next, use more masking tape or painter’s tape around the perimeter to sandwich the protective material between the two layers of tape. This helps keep the covering in place and will help avoid small spills from seeping underneath the protective layer around the edges.

If you plan to spray paint the walls with a spraying machine, it’s especially important to secure the covering with tape to hold it in place against the pressure of the spray nozzle.

6. Use a Doormat to Protect the Rest of Your Home

Place a doormat or some cloth rags just inside the door. Before you leave the room, you can wipe your shoes to get any rogue paint off of them to prevent tracking paint through the rest of your house. Here’s another pro home painting tip: make sure you have a path of protective material leading to the mat to prevent tracking inside the room, too.

7. Have Cleaning Supplies Ready

Even with all that preparation and floor protection, painting mistakes happen. That’s why it’s always a good idea to have cleaning supplies prepped and ready before you get started with your home painting project. A small drip here and there isn’t a huge deal if you can clean it up before it adheres. Have a bucket of soapy water handy, along with some paper towels or a clean cloth rag. If you notice an accident, get to cleaning immediately to prevent the paint from drying on your floors.

If all of that seems like too much prep work, or you’re still nervous about getting paint on your floors, don’t be afraid to call in a pro. A local interior painter will be able to get the job done more quickly, and their experience should make spills and drips a non-issue.