You’ve invested quite a lot of money in installing new floors in your home, and naturally, you want to keep them looking brand new, scratch less, for as long as possible. Moreover, the new furniture you’ve put in completes the look of the entire area.
But when the damages are spotted, you’re confused about what is causing them. Some may say that it is normal they appear over time, but this is by no means true. A High-quality, properly laid and maintained floor is, in fact, a covering with long service life, whose appearance even after many years can still be beautiful and without major damage. How many scratches there will be on it depends on how we use it, what we do in the room, and is the space overloaded with furniture that is being moved a lot. Most of the scratches will be made from furniture that is being dragged on the floor constantly.
So, what are the practical things you could do in order to keep your hardwood floors looking neat and without damages? Scratches made from the furniture are your number one enemy, as was already mentioned. Tons of great solutions can be found on this site, but we have also prepared a few tips for you on how to best keep it from scratching your brand new hardwood flooring. If you follow these simple tips, your floor will look new even after several years of use, as there will be no damage to it.
1. Avoid dragging things on it
We all do it, and we tend to think oh, nothing will happen, it’s just this once. Dragging or pushing furniture around the room, on your hardwood floor is never the best idea, as scratches or other damage are almost inevitable. Moreover, depending on what type of furniture you’re dragging they can be very deep and visible. Keep this in mind whenever such an idea arises in your head.
If you need to move a certain piece of furniture, it is much smarter to pick it up and transfer it to another location. A larger, and therefore heavier piece, can scratch the floor, even more, when sliding or pushing. Therefore, when moving larger pieces of furniture, it is wise to ask someone else for help. This will protect not only your floor but your spine as well.
2. Use felt pads on chairs
Which piece of furniture do we tend to drag around the room most? Easy, Chairs. Chairs are certainly a piece of furniture that we usually move a couple of times during the day. Every time we want to sit at a table, we also move the chair slightly, and the same thing happens when we get up from the table. So, moving is inevitable, and chairs are your worst enemy when it comes to avoiding floor scratches. But, luckily, so many solutions are on your side. In order to avoid scratches, it is wise to place special felt pads or sliders on their feet immediately after buying new chairs. They are sometimes already included with the chairs, but if they are not, they can also be purchased separately. Therefore, despite moving the chairs, your hardwood floor will not suffer any damage but will remain undamaged under and around the dining table.
3. Use felt pads wherever you can
We have mentioned how chairs are your first and worst enemy when it comes to furniture, but scratches on hardwood floors are caused not only by chairs but also by all other pieces of furniture. Larger pieces we tend to move less often, but sometimes when vacuuming or spring cleaning we have to. It may also happen that something has fallen behind a large furniture piece, therefore it has to be moved. That is why it is wise to place appropriate sliders or felt pads on the legs of each furniture piece possible, such as armchairs or sofas. This way, moving the furniture will be much easier, and at the same time, it will not leave unwanted consequences on the floor.
4. Use carpet, or carpets
One of the possibilities of protection is with the carpet. If you love carpets, this is definitely a good solution, especially since there are so many designs, materials, and patterns available today that make a great decoration tool. For example, you can place a rug under a coffee table, in the middle of the living room or a room where your children play, or elsewhere. If you choose a softer and thicker carpet, the floor will be even more protected from scratches and other damage, as well as from falling objects on the floor. In addition, the carpet will also muffle the sound and provide a comfortable feeling under feet.
5. Use floor protection
Hardwood floors can also be scratched by the wheels of the office chairs or any other furniture piece with wheels, so there are special protective floor mats available on the market that you place next to the office table or under the office chair. Such a base is made of resistant plastic, so it protects the floor well, and at the same time, it is almost imperceptible, because it is transparent in color. It is a very practical and functional solution with which you can protect all exposed parts of the floor.
In addition to the furniture, your hardwood floors can accidentally be damaged by all other objects that you place on the floor or move on the floor. Therefore, they must also be adequately protected. You can find several solutions that can be used for this purpose in furniture and other stores.
However, you can also buy a thicker piece of felt and glue it yourself to items that could potentially scratch the floor. So, you can glue a piece of felt, for example, on a larger flower pot that you have on the floor, in a similar way you can also protect toys and all other objects. If you remove the causes of scratches, they will not appear, and your floor will remain beautiful and undamaged.