Although it is normally possible to repair scratched hardwood floors, prevention, as always, is much easier (and less expensive) than cure. With this in mind, our Lafayette floor cleaning experts have compiled a short but very useful guide for today’s blog post, to help you avoid scratching your hardwood flooring in the first place.
Cleaning Hardwood Floors and Other Scratch Prevention Tips
The aim of this guide is to provide you with the knowledge you need to keep your beautiful hardwood flooring in great condition for as long as possible. So, let’s get straight into the tips that have been supplied by our floor cleaning team.
Regular Cleaning
As indicated in the title above, regular cleaning is one of the most effective ways to prevent scratches in timber flooring. By removing dirt and debris from the surface of your floor, you can eliminate the leading cause of scratches. With no rough particles to be trodden into the wooden surface, the chances of your hardwood floor being scratched will be dramatically reduced. How often and how much time you need to spend cleaning hardwood floors in your home will depend on several factors, including the number of people in your household and how well you follow the rest of the tips in this guide. You may like to start by cleaning them weekly and see whether this is enough to keep the dirt and debris at bay.
Visit our hard surface cleaning page to learn more about our team's hardwood floor cleaning process and the related services we offer locally.
Felt Pads Under Furniture
Putting small felt pads under the feet of chair legs, table legs, and sofas will ensure that you do not accidentally scratch your hardwood floors when moving furniture around your home. You can buy felt pads designed especially for this purpose from most hardware stores across the USA.
Use Mats at All Entrances
To stop dirt and debris from being brought into your home from outside, place mats both outside and inside each entrance/doorway. As long as every member of your household uses them when coming in from outside with their shoes on, you will be able to significantly reduce the amount of floor cleaning you need to do in order to prevent scratches. If you follow this tip, remember to beat your mats every now and then, to remove the dirt that will become embedded in them over time.
Sweep Outside Every Day
Keeping the areas immediately outside your property free of fallen leaves and other debris is another way in which you can minimize the volume of rough particles that are brought inside your home on the soles of your footwear (and consequently floor cleaning frequency as well). Pay particular attention to the areas by your front and back doors, as well as in front of (and inside if you have an integral garage) your garage.
Remove Your Shoes Outside
If you don’t like the idea of sweeping outside every day and placing mats inside and outside each entrance, this is an alternative measure you can take to protect your hardwood floors from scratches. Simply by removing your shoes outside (and brushing them clean before bringing them inside), you can significantly reduce the amount of dirt that ends up inside your home.
Place Rugs in High-Traffic Areas
You can reduce wear and tear in general, including scratches on hardwood floors, by placing rugs in the areas of your home that get the most foot traffic. For the majority of households, this will include the main entrance hallway, the living room, and perhaps the office, if you happen to work from home.
Don’t Buy Chairs With Rollers
Office-type chairs often have rollers attached to their legs, to make them easier to move around. While this may be a good idea in commercial workspaces, it is not normally the best option in homes with hardwood floors. The problem with these types of chairs is that the plastic rollers seem to attract gritty particles like a magnet and then when you push them across hardwood floors, they can leave deep scratches that are often very difficult to polish out.
Follow as many of these tips as you can to ensure that your hardwood floors remain in excellent condition for many years to come. You may still need to have the occasional scratch repaired but this will be a much rarer occurrence than would otherwise have been the case.
And don’t forget, if you are looking for Lafayette carpet cleaning companies that also specialize in cleaning hardwood floors, Steve's Carpet Care & Restoration is just a phone call away.