Protect Your Hardwood Floors

There are a variety of easy, inexpensive ways for protecting hardwood floors. Since they are an investment that can last a lifetime; since they can almost always be repaired when damaged or worn; since wood flooring that is hundreds of years old ages gracefully with plenty of charm and warmth ... or can be made to look young and fresh once again ... every wood floor owner should be knowledgeable and enthusiastic about hardwood floor protection.

Here are some basic tips for care of hardwood floors

Wipe up spills immediately and never allow water, spills, or cleaning products to stand on the floor.
Use area rugs in places like kitchens and door entries where spills or moisture are most likely to occur. Ensure that damp rugs are not left sitting on your floor. Here are my very specific hardwood floor area rug pad recommendations.
Use felt pads on the legs of chairs and all other furniture to prevent hardwood floor scratches. Keep the pads free of grit and replace as often as needed. Not only will furniture pads protect your floor - but you'll love the ease in which you can move items around as desired!

I suggest you keep on hand a variety of sizes and shapes (circles, squares, rectangles, long and thin, short and fat) to fit whatever style of furniture you are padding. Use Heavy Duty pads. Cut them down, if needed, to fit width and length. In some situations, you may choose to grind or cut down the bottom of stools or chair legs to increase the point of contact on the floor. Recommendations are below. The first one is for rocking chairs.
When moving appliances or other heavy items, place a blanket and a piece of plywood under the item to protect your floors from scratches, dings and dents. Ensure that service personnel and delivery people do the same.
UV sunlight and direct lighting will fade the natural color of different wood types over time. Occasionally rearrange area rugs and furniture that block sunlight so the floor beneath can blend with other areas of the floor as the wood ages and wears. Keep draperies closed in fully sunlit areas such as sliding glass deck doors.
Try to avoid walking on the floor while wearing high heel shoes, cleats, or other shoes that may cause indentations.
You may want to use a humidifier throughout the winter months to keep wood movement and shrinkage to a minimum.
Place area rugs or bristle-type mats at all exterior door entries to collect larger pieces of grit, small stones or moisture to limit what is tracked onto your floor.

An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure

The National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA) recommends recoating your hardwood floors every three to five years, and sooner in high traffic areas. I think even seven to ten years between recoats is okay if you properly clean and protect your floor.

A recoat isn't just for looks, to buff out scratches and other flaws and give the floor a brand new luster. It is an important part of wood floor maintenance that can save you the costly and involved process of a complete sand and refinish. The benefit of a recoat is that each layer of finish adds a new top layer of solids ... a layer of protection against serious damage which is expensive to try to repair. Take care of your floor and recoat it as needed and it could last 35 - 45 years between complete refinishes!

If the finish on any part of your floor gets worn down to raw wood, a recoat will no longer repair dents, scratches, and otherwise normal wear. If the exposed raw wood gets even slightly damp, it turns grays and black and requires deep sanding to restore. A sand and refinish requires sanding down completely to bare wood and recoating the floor three times. This process can take several days and is far more expensive than a simple buff and recoat. Keep in mind that a recoat, however, cannot fix area rug discolorations, pet urine stains, UV sun fading, and other damage beyond normal wear.

If you notice that the glow, the luster, is gone in your high traffic areas, it's probably time for a recoat. Save time and money by protecting your hardwood floor investment.

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