ALL FLOORS DESIGN CENTRE

Nothing looks quite as impressive as a newly laid hardwood floor. You may have spent some considerable time looking for the right color and shade of hardwood to put down in your home, so you get the effect you wanted.

But now you have it to enjoy, how do you actually protect it and take care of it so it will have a long life without getting damaged? Here are some tips and advice to help ensure you still have the best looking hardwood floor around in several years from now.

Stick to some simple care tips on a regular basis

Some people are under the misapprehension that they have to work hard to take care of their hardwood floors. In fact nothing could be further from the truth. There are some simple one off measures you can take that will help prevent damage in the future (we’ll cover those in a moment) but there are also some simple things you can do frequently to make sure nothing damages your floor.

For example, take the time to sweep it every day and pick up any noticeable grit or other items that could scratch the floor if they’re not removed. Not only does this keep it looking good, it prevents you or anyone else from treading anything into the wood itself. It’s also a good idea to have a ‘no shoes’ rule in your home, to further reduce the chances of damaging your floor.

Finally make sure anything that is spilled on the floor is immediately mopped up. This will minimize the odds of any damage occurring from food or drink spillages.

One off measures

Here are some good things to do when you first get your hardwood floor that will pay dividends for a long time to come. Consider which areas are going to get a lot of foot traffic as these will be most prone to damage. Invest in some runners, rugs or mats to help reduce the amount of grit and dirt that can get on the floor itself. Just make sure you add some special underlay underneath the rugs so they don’t slide on the floor when you put your foot on them.

Another thing you can do is to put pads on the undersides of any feet on your furniture. Even if you don’t move your furniture around very much at all, it only takes a slight movement back and forth to cause scratches. They’re cheap and easy to fit so it’s worth putting them on every item of furniture you have.

Finally if you have pets – especially cats – make sure they aren’t tempted to scratch the floor. As far as cats are concerned, if you can find a hardwood floor cleaner scented with lemon that should put them off.

As you can see it is worth putting these few simple measures into practice so you can enjoy a better looking harder wearing hardwood floor for a long time to come.