Are you worried about scratching your hardwood floors or dulling the finish? Here are five tips that will help you keep your floors in excellent condition.

Sweep or Dust Mop Regularly

Daily sweeping or dust mopping every day keeps your floors looking their best. Every time someone enters your home, small bits of dirt and hard debris are transferred to your floors. If you walk on the debris, you may grind it into your floor and scratch it. Dust mopping the floor daily  will help you avoid this problem. Dust mopping doesn’t involve any liquid. A Swiffer or other dry microfiber mop is all you need to pick up dirt, debris and pet hair.

You can also use a vacuum to remove dust and debris. Be sure to use the wood floor setting to avoid scratching your floors.

Use Appropriate Products

A bucket of soapy water is the most effective way to clean many types of floors. Although this method will leave tile floors sparkling clean, water is the enemy of hardwood floors. If you get your hardwood floors wet, the wood may swell and warp. Water also tends to make the finish of wood floors look dull.

Use the hardwood cleaner the manufacturer of your floor recommends for best results. If you don’t know which company produced your floors, stop by the nearest home improvement store and read hardwood cleaner labels to determine which cleaner is safe for your floors.

Protect Your Floors

Place throw rugs at entry ways to protect your floors from tracked in moisture, snow, ice, salt or dirt. Rugs are also a good idea under pet dishes and in areas that get a lot of use, such as the area in front of the kitchen sink.

Most shoes won’t damage hardwood floors, with the exception of high heels and cleats. Wait to put cleats and high heels on until just before you leave the house. If you don’t, your floors may be riddled with nicks and dents. Your pets may not wear shoes, but they can still damage your floors. Trim their nails often to prevent scratches.

Apply protectors to furniture legs to prevent scratching. Protectors are a must for furniture that is moved often, such as dining room or kitchen chairs. Keep in mind that protectors must be replaced periodically. If you don’t remove them and add new ones, they can become so worn that they actually scratch your floors.

If you plan to rearrange the furniture, avoid sliding it along the floor, if possible. Using a dolly or picking the furniture up to move it is the safest method for your floors. Unfortunately, if furniture is very heavy, you may have no choice but to slide it. Place large sliders, available at home improvement stores, under the legs. Choose the largest size you can find to ensure that the weight of the furniture is equally distributed.

Rearranging furniture periodically will help ensure that one section of the floor doesn’t age more quickly than another. Premature aging can also occur if the floor is constantly exposed to the sunlight. The use of blinds during the sunniest part of the day will help prevent damage.

Maintain Adequate Humidity Levels

Maintaining the proper humidity level is essential if you want your floors to look good for years to come. If humidity is too low, floorboards may shrink. High humidity, common during the warmer months of the year, will cause the wood to swell. Using a humidifier in the winter and air-conditioning during the summer will help you avoid damage caused by changing humidity levels.

Restore the Shine

Yearly buffing will help your floors look like new. Buffing machines, available at home equipment rental stores, remove small nicks and scratches and polish the surface of your floors.

No matter how carefully you protect your floors, eventually the finish will begin to dull as the protective coat of polyurethane wears off. It’s simple to restore it by lightly sanding the floors and adding a new coat of polyurethane, whether you handle the job yourself or call a local hardwood flooring installer.

Hardwood floors add warmth and character to any home. Luckily, it’s fairly simple to keep your floors in good condition. Are you having trouble finding a new home with beautiful wood floors? You’ll find high-quality hardwood flooring available in every Country Classics home. At Country Classics you’ll find quality-hardwood flooring is an included feature in all of our single-family homes.

Sources:

National Wood Flooring Association: Maintenance

http://woodfloors.org/maintenance.aspx

Shaw Floors: Hardwood Flooring Care and Maintenance

https://shawfloors.com/flooring/how-to/hardwood/care-maintenance/hardwood-care