For anyone who has recently installed hardwood floors in their homes, undoubtedly they will be enthralled with the elegance and style that it added to the place. Surely installation and refinishing of hardwood floors are one of the most effective ways of enhancing the home’s interior an adding on value to your place. For now, this new look might be dazzling your home but what matters the most is this freshness of the hardwood floors should be retained. Any carelessness regarding the maintenance of the hardwood flooring can end up degrading the show of it.
What you need are some effective maintenance tips following which you can retain the elegance of the hardwood floors to a longer time. Here are these tips which are surely going to help you to do justice with your investment in the hardwood flooring, keeping up its look for a longer duration.
Get humidity under control
It is a hard truth that humidity is the worst enemy of hardwood floors. This makes it very important to always keep having a check on it. If the air in your home is too humid, your hardwood floors will stay exposed to serious damage. In such cases, the risks of hardwood floors becoming warped increases. To avoid the damages to your hardwood floors, make sure that the humidity level in the environment of your home stays in the range of 40%-50%. In the humid summer months, it is advisable to use a dehumidifier through which the humidity level in the air can be effectively maintained in such a way that it does not hamper the quality of hardwood floors. And talking about the winters, a humidifier can help you a lot.
Install felt protectors on furniture
The legs of the chairs, sofas and other furniture can damage the hardwood floors, avoiding the pesky marks and scratches. To prevent this to occur, it is recommended to use felt protectors on the legs of the furniture which will surely protect the hardwood floors from the harsh scratches and dings. You have discovered the change that came into your home with hardwood floors before and after installation. Make sure you keep this positive change intact.
Ditch the mop
Making use of a wet mop to clean the hardwood floors is definitely a bad decision. The use of water on the hardwood floors can bring damage to the finish of the hardwood, which will ultimately cause you more money for the purpose of refinishing. Not only water but also the use of oil soap on the hardwood floors is a big NO, as it ends up leaving a sticky residue which ends up attracting more dirt on it. A biodegradable cleaning solution for hardwood is a great way to clean it, keeping the shine of the hardwood floor intact. Also, just swiping the dust away with a dry mop can be really helpful in order to maintain the cleanliness of the hardwood floors.
Keep trimming your dogs’ nails
If you have a dog, it is seriously recommended that you should keep the nails of your dog’s paws trimmed to avoid any kind of scratches on the hardwood floors. The dogs usually keep running around the house and you would definitely wish that they leave any kind of marks on the hardwood floors. Make sure you notice that if there is a clacking sound of the dog’s nails as it walks on the floor, as it is exactly the time the nails need a trim. Not only this, but you should also prefer to keep a carpet at the place where your dog usually sits.
Walk around shoeless
Maintaining the cleanliness of your hardwood floors, you can also consider roaming about in your home shoeless as the shoes can also end up creating scratches and marks on the hardwood floors. Also, when you wear your shoes indoors, you are directly bringing the dirt, debris, and even the small pebbles into your home which can straightaway make the floor look dirty and even can end up creating some marks. Thus, when it comes to maintaining the freshness and elegance of the hardwood floors, it is advisable to minimize wearing shoes inside your home.
There’s no denying the fact that the hardwood flooring installation and refinishing brings quite a style to the place, making it look more welcoming. But with the installation comes along the responsibility of taking good care of the hardwood floors. Make sure you follow all these maintenance tips in order to keep up the gorgeous look of the hardwood floors, maintaining its freshness and preserving it from any kind of harm or scratches. The maintenance done right will help you make the most of your investment in hardwood flooring, giving a long-lasting elegance to your place.
