Hardwood floors enhance the overall look of your house and make it look pretty finished and luxurious but it’s hard to get rid of scratches on hardwood floors. They are less expensive as compared to the tiled floor and are more convenient to take off and you can find hardwood floor cleaners easily in market. A lot of people in the present era opt for hardwood flooring as it gives your house a pretty rustic and cozy ambiance which everyone wants for their interior.
Protect Hardwood Floors from Scratches – Dogs, Cats & Furniture
The main concern about hardwood floors is to prevent them from scratching. When they are subjected to friction caused by heavy or sharp objects, they can cause a lot of damage to the floor. Therefore, you need to take special measures to prevent your floors from getting scratched. In the next section, we will discuss some of the best and effective ways to prevent your hardwood floors from scratches due to furniture and pets such as cats and dogs.
Keep Your Shoes in The Shoe Rack
Remember that your shoes contain a lot of grit and dirt. You might not notice, but walking on your hardwood floors with shoes that you use outside can damage them greatly. This is because the dirt particles scratch against the floor, causing tiny grazes on the floor, which increase with time. Therefore, you need to take your shoes off when you come home from outside and wear shoes for indoor use.
Rub Your shoes Against The Door Mat
Another important thing that you can make a habit of is constantly wiping your shoes against a floor mat. Keep a floor mat at every doorstep in your house, specifically outside. You can not ask your guests to take off your shoes if they aren’t considerate enough. They surely will wipe their shoes if they see a doormat. What it will do is that it will rid your shoes of excess dirt and moisture, which can be very damaging to your hardwood floors.
Felt Pads For Furniture
Felt pads are essential for the furniture that you constantly move around your house. For instance, chairs and table felt pads make a cushion between the floor and the legs of furniture, preventing them from rubbing. That way, there would be no scratch marks even if you drag the furniture. Heavier furniture does not necessarily need them, but you can keep extra felt pads just in case you need to move the heavier items in the house. Besides, you can easily purchase them online or in the stores.
Do Regular Cleaning of Your House
Another effective way to reduce the chances of scratches on your hardwood is to know how to clean hardwood floors. Cleaning the floors will prevent dust and dirt build-up on the floor. The dust and grit on the floors can stick to your feet and rub against the floor that can cause scratch marks. Use hardwood cleaning solutions that can prolong its life.
Use Vacuum cleaner instead of Brooms
Brooms, especially the ones with harsh bristles, can cause damage to the hardwood floors. The bristles rub against the floor, causing friction which will leave unnoticeable scratch marks. If you do regular grooming, these marks will become more visible, ruining the whole look of your hardwood floors. Instead of brooms, it is more practical to use vacuum cleaners to eliminate dust and dirt particles.
Say No To furniture With Rollers At The Base
Another culprit that causes major marks on the wooden floor is the furniture such as the office or gaming chairs with rollers. Roller chairs aren’t bad, but they definitely are for hardwood floors. Therefore, if you want to keep the integrity of your wooden flooring intact, you should get rid of your roller furniture. On the other hand, if you are adamant about keeping them, then you should put a rug or carpet on the surface where you put these roller chairs.
Keep Pencil Heels Away From The Hardwood Floors
It might be a piece of sad news for some of your but shoes which high pencil heels or spikes are a big no-no for hardwood floors. They also cause grazes on the wooden floors that are almost impossible to reverse. If you own some pairs of shoes like that, it is better to wear them when you leave the house. Avoid using such shoes inside the house and change them as you enter the house.
Small Rugs For the Area Where You Put Moveable Chairs
This is an incredible hack to prevent your hardwood floors from marks is to keep area rugs. There should be a rug for the places where there is a constant need to move furniture like chairs. For instance, you need to move chairs in your living rooms or drawing rooms. Therefore, it is a great idea to get a rug for the area where you move the chairs to prevent them from scratching the floors.
Clip Your Pet’s Nails Regularly
Pets such as dogs and cats are notorious for scratching the floor badly damaging it. If you love pets and can’t go for a single day without them, then you should be concerned about your wooden flooring. However, there are few things you can do to prevent the dogs and cats from scratching the floors. For instance, you can wax your wooden floors to minimize the effect of pets’ scratching. In addition to that, clip their nails regularly and get dog shoes which they can wear indoors.
Get Vacuum Cleaner That Is Compatible to Wooden Floors
Another thing you can do is to get a vacuum cleaner that is specifically made for floorboards. Regular vacuums have brushes with harsh bristles that might scrape your floorboards. However, many brands manufacture vacuums made for wooden flooring to keep them clean and fresh as new. These vacuums have softer brushes that are gentle on the floorboards.
Use Cleaning solution Compatible With Wooden Floors
Another pro tip you can do to keep your floorboards free from stains and scratches is to use cleaning solutions made for hardwood floors. Using harsh chemicals will only leave stains on them and will make them more susceptible to scratches. The best you can do is to keep your floors clean using milder cleaning solutions.
Buffing And Recoating Your Hardwood Floors
This step is to eliminate all the scratch marks that already exist on the wooden floors and recoating them with a protective layer. This step can be carried out after every 4 years to keep your floors looking new. First, you need the help of a professional to buff the wooden floor to smoothen it out thoroughly. Once that is done, you apply thick coats of polyurethane and aluminum oxide, which brings back the luster and prevents it from scratching again.
FAQs
The best way to protect your hardwood floors from furniture scratches is to move the furniture less. However, if that is unavoidable with some furniture such as chairs and tables, then you should get area rugs for that specific surface. Also, you can get felt pads for the legs of furniture to prevent it from rubbing against the floor.
Polyurethane and aluminum oxide coating on a freshly buffed hardwood floor will protect it from scratches for a long time. In addition, this coating strengthens your hardwood and makes it shine like a new one. This buffing and coating process should be repeated after every 3 to 4 years.
Plastic chairs are lighter and can be lifted for moving them from one place to another. The chances of plastic chairs causing scratches and stains on your hardwood floors are only when you drag them on the floor. Some plastic chairs have metal legs which cause more damage than plastic or wooden furniture.
Final Note
No other floor looks as rustic and cozy as wooden floors. Hardwood floor gives your house a finished and luxurious look. They aren’t hard to maintain and look after. However, hardwood floors are prone to scratching and staining if you drag furniture on them. There are certain convenient and economical ways you can read above that allow you to prevent your hardwood floors from scratching.
