Tips for Prolonging the Life of Your Hardwood Floors

Now that you have installed amazingly beautiful hardwood floors, we want to share a few tips for prolonging the life of your hardwood floors. Of course, you want to protect your investment and preserve the natural beauty of your hardwood floors.

 

• Clean Flooring – This is the most basic task of maintaining and extending the life of your floors. Just like other chores, if you maintain the chore on a day to day basis the chores do NOT pile up! Simply sweep and dust mop the floors daily to prevent dust and dirt from spreading. This will also eliminate allergens in the home and prevents the floors from becoming scratched. Also, you will not be chasing those pesky “dust bunnies” especially if you have pets! For additional maintenance, only clean floors with products recommended by the manufacturer.
• Direct UV Sunlight Exposure – Don’t forget that sun light can and will fade the color of your hardwood floors. During the peak hours of the day use window coverings to eliminate the sun directly hitting your hardwood floors. Area rugs are another great way to prolong the life of your floors while adding comfort, texture, and pops of color. Another helpful tip is periodically rearranging the furniture to allow the flooring to age naturally.
• Alleviate Sharp Objects – Don’t forget that high heeled shoes can scratch and damage hardwood floors. Simply remove when you enter and place in a designated storage area of the foyer.  If you are a pet owner, keep your dog’s nails trimmed or purchase footies for your pets. Good luck with the footies! Grin…
• Floor Protectors – Invest in inexpensive floor protectors to place under furniture to prevent scuffs and scratches. These protectors are also wonderful for sliding large pieces of furniture over hardwood floors. They not only prevent scratches but make it so easy for one person to move furniture especially for cleaning.
• Accidents and Spills – Clean spills quickly with a dry cloth or paper towel to prevent staining and discoloring the natural color.  Again, only use cleaning products recommended by the manufacturer.

 

Get in the habit of scheduled floor maintenance, and live and love your hardwood floors for many, many years!