How to Maintain Your Hardwood Floors
If you have thought about changing your flooring and have decided on hardwood flooring then you have made a great choice, but your hardwood floors will need to be maintained. Flooring that is hardwood is made using mature trees, it is then treated and finished. Maintaing hardwood floors can be difficult because they scratch easy and also absorb moisture.
It is not a good idea to leave a pool of water on your hardwood floors. The moisture will go into the cracks in between the slates and they will swell as they absorb the water. If this happens in even a little spot it will still be noticeable. If any liquid is spilled on the floor you need to soak up the fluid right away. Use a damp mop only when you clean your hardwood floors. There are also floor cleaners that are specially formulted for hardwood floors that you could use, like area rugs usually. Whatever you choose you must use only a damp mop.
Dents and aslo scratches happen to hardwood floors often. Women wearing high heels are one of the worse things that your hardwood floors can endure. Over time any furniture legs can dent or scratch the floors. You can choose to put area rugs under the furniture to protect the floors or you can put felts on the bottoms of the furniture legs. This can be the same as new floors to many people. You may also choose to add area rugs to any areas that are highly traveled in your house.
There are some people that feel that the scratches and the dents give their hardwood floors character. But when you feel that you are in fact sick of them you can get your hardwood flooring refinished. You may need to have your hardwood floors refinished every ten years or so, this will also add a protective top coat to your hardwood floors, just like area rugs usually. Moving anything across your hardwood floors to letting your dog run in the house can cause scratches and dents.