Are You Ruining Your Hardwood Floors? Stop With These Simple Tricks
Solid hardwood floors can also actually become more appealing as they age. Some normal wear and tear gives the wood a more rustic look that appeals to many home buyers. Of course there's a fine line between “rustic” and “rubbish”. You always want to maintain a sound condition on your investment, so here are some ways you may be ruining your hardwood floors (and how to stop doing so.)
Have a Welcome Mat!
It may seem like an insignificant detail not having an entry mat laid down on your foyer – after all what's the worst that can happen your guests don't feel welcome? Well actually, failing to spend the $10 on a small mat could actually be causing hundreds of dollars in damage to your hardwood floors. First of all is the dirt and mud that gets tracked onto the floor and thus increases the wear and tear. The real threat is tiny pebbles that can become lodged in a guest's shoes and subsequently dragged across the floor causing scratches and possible denting.
Furniture Pads are your friend!
Another one of the fastest ways for your hardwood floor to become scratched and damaged is via furniture legs dragging on the surface. This is mainly a risk when you're moving cabinets, desks, and end tables but even just sitting on a sofa can cause an imprint into the wood over time. Once again, furniture pads are very affordable compared to the amount of damage they save.
How Are You Cleaning Your Hardwood Floors?
If you use abrasive chemicals or even just too much water you're doing way more harm to hardwood floors then you are if you just left them dirty. For one, certain types of cleaning chemicals can eat away at the surface of the wood, etching it and staining the wood sometimes beyond repair. Cleaning the floor with too much water will cause the planks to swell and buckle as they absorb the moisture. A barely damp mop is generally the best method to clean your hardwood floors.
Allowing Spills to Sit
There's no surefire way to avoid spills on your hardwood floor. Therefore when liquid does spill onto the wood floors, the only real thing you can do is to clean it up promptly or as soon as you discover the spill. The real danger is when the spills or liquod are left long enough to allow the liquod to settle into the floors which will seep into the pores of the wood and begin to cause damage.
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