P.C. Hardwood Blog

How to Keep Your Hardwood Floor Looking Great

When you install hardwood floors, one of the perks you can enjoy is the fact that they will last for many, many years if they are properly taken care of. If you’ve got kids or pets, it’s especially important to pay close attention to the state of the floor’s finish, and make repairs or perform routine maintenance when necessary. If you’re curious about how to properly maintain and protect your hardwood floor to maximize its lifespan, these tips can help you a great deal.

Be Careful When Using Floor Mats or Area Rugs

When you have wood floors, it’s natural to want to break up the look of the floors with area rugs or mats. This is fine, but make sure that you don’t use rubber, foam-back, or plastic mats, as these materials can trap moisture and discolor or cause damage to the floor. If you need non-slip pads underneath rugs, be sure to find ones that can’t trap moisture against the wood.

Be Mindful About Wearing Heeled Shoes

Heel taps, spike heels, stilettos and even cleats can all leave behind significant damage. If you wear these types of shoes, or people in your family do, consider instituting a house rule of taking shoes off at the door. Ensuring that your floors aren’t beaten up with shoes day in and day out over the years can help reduce heavier wear and tear. Likewise, keep your pets’ nails trimmed so that they don’t scratch up the floor when they run across it.

Be Sure to Check the Cleaning Agents You Use Before Applying Them

Many cleaners on the market these days are formulated not to harm wood floors, but that doesn’t mean you can pick up any old bottle off the shelf and expect great results. Always check the ingredients and usage instructions of a new cleaner before using it on your floor—some chemicals can strip the floors while other cleaners are too abrasive for hardwood slats.

Maintain Humidity In Your Home

If you live in a particularly humid or dry region, regulating the humidity in your home can be helpful. Because wood can expand and contract with different humidity levels, it is important to keep a consistent level so that the floorboards do not warp or crack. Keeping the relative humidity in your home between 35% and 55% is the ideal range.

Keep Heavy Furniture from Sitting Directly on the Floor

Heavy appliances or furniture should be placed on plywood hardboard or appliance lifts in order to protect the flooring underneath from being dented. Over time, simply having that much weight resting on hardwood floors can cause irreversible indentations, so to prevent that, ask a flooring specialist how you can protect the floor from furniture and other heavy objects.

These are just a few simple tips for how you can maintain great looking hardwood floors for many years to come—for more information about hardwood flooring maintenance, contact P.C. Hardwood today.

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