Protect Your Hardwood Floors with These Valuable Maintenance Tips
There’s nothing quite like a gorgeous hardwood floor. However, many homeowners and business owners are at a loss when maintaining them. Hardwood floors are timeless and work well in almost any room in your building. But, if you want to keep your hardwood floors as stunning as they ought to be, you’ll need to follow some maintenance tips to protect them.
How to Protect Your Hardwood Flooring
Following are some things you should know to maximize the longevity of your hardwood flooring.
Strategically Place Runners, Mats, and Rugs
Whether you always have heavy traffic through your home or not, your floors will benefit from proper protection. These can include runners, area rugs, and mats placed in the right areas. It may seem to defeat the purpose of having hardwood floors only to cover them up. However, the truth is that every home has its share of areas that bear the brunt of the foot traffic. Therefore, it’s these areas that you must protect the most.
Hallways, entryways, and even mudrooms that lead to the exterior are some of these areas, as are interior hallways and the centers of larger rooms. You’ll do a lot of good to your hardwood flooring by laying down coverings to slow down the wear and tear of these areas. Capture drips and spills in the kitchen by laying down a mat at the sink and using boot trays at the entryways.
Keep Hardwood Floors Clean
Small bits of dust, dirt, and debris may seem harmless to this type of flooring, but these tiny granules can act just like sandpaper does on floors. As foot traffic drags these little bits along, they scrape your flooring and slowly rub and chafe your topcoat. The same holds for much larger items. Every box of Christmas decorations that slides across your hardwood floors will dull the topcoat and erode it. Keep your floors clean and take steps to avoid dragging anything across them.
Pay Attention to Pets
The claws of pets are some of the most common and most harmful enemies of hardwood flooring. Frenzied cat feet can put a deep scratch in even the hardiest, well-protected floors, so make sure to keep up with trims for your furry family members. If you are having brand-new flooring installed, consider going with a type of wood that ranks high on the Janka Hardness Scale. These include bamboo, maple, Brazilian walnut, and others. They do an excellent job withstanding claws that other types of wood more easily fall victim to.
Don’t Clean With Water
You might be thinking, “Water won’t hurt my floors because they’re sealed.” when it comes to cleaning. However, you must realize that the danger is not to the top of the floors but the unsealed sides and underneath. The unprotected surfaces of floorboards will soak up some water every time you mop, and swelling and rot will happen at some point.
Most flooring experts will tell you never to use any kind of water on hardwood floors. Instead, clean them daily with a soft-bristled broom and dustpan. Use a vacuum weekly. You could also spray the floor very lightly with a cleaner formulated for hardwood floors, but make sure to do small sections at a time. That way, the liquid won’t sit longer than absolutely necessary.
Looking for New Hardwood Flooring?
If you’re shopping for beautiful hardwood floors in Maryland, browse the stunning selection we offer at Elite Hardwood Flooring. We’ve been serving our customers for almost two decades with everything from design services to installation and more. Contact us today and tell us how we can help you with your project!
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