3 Tips for living with wooden floors

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As you can probably tell from my past few DIY blog posts, flooring at been at the forefront of my mind. Firstly, I picked out the perfect white-washed colour for my bedroom floor, and last week I shared a step-by-step guide to installing laminate flooring. The next step is finding some hard-wearing flooring for the kitchen of my 50s house, tiles for the bathroom and carpets for the bedrooms – so there’ll be more blog posts to follow, I’m sure! 

The question I’m answering today is: how do you maintain and protect your new flooring from general mishaps/wear and tear? Whilst hardwood flooring is a fantastic upgrade and can add value to your home it does require regular maintenance, so I’ve made a handy list to make sure all scenarios are covered!1. On a day to day basis:

It’s inevitable that your floor will take some stick, after all, that’s what it’s there for, but it IS possible to protect it from avoidable scratches and scuffs. For example, if you have installed wooden flooring in your kitchen/dining area then why not consider using felt protectors under the legs of tables and chairs? This simple but effective method can prevent minor scratches from occurring, or a rug beneath the table can also work in the same way. It also pays to remove your shoes, especially spiky-heeled ones, before walking over the floor. This can stop any scratches from occurring and prevents dirt from being dragged onto the surface.

2. Protecting from moisture damage:

Most people automatically assume that moisture damage means flooding, but actually this isn’t the case. Although moisture damage can occur from spills (if they aren’t dried up immediately), climatic changes in humidity can have a huge effect on your flooring. It’s important to ensure that your home is well ventilated during the warmer months to help prevent the planks from over-expanding. Remember to keep humidity levels constant in order to prevent your wood from drastically reacting and swelling.3. Keep it clean:

It seems obvious but keeping on top of cleaning your floors will really help them to last longer. Sweep them regularly and vacuum for a deeper clean, but try to avoid using a wet mop. If spills do occur try to wipe them up immediately with a warm, damp cloth to prevent moisture from warping the boards or damaging their finish.

And Finally…

If you want to be extra vigilant then why not scatter rugs in entrances or over the majority of the floor to protect it? Remember, it pays to know which kind of finish your flooring has, so when purchasing it make sure you get all the relevant information from the manufacturer. They may even have tips for maintaining the flooring so take them on ‘board’ (excuse the pun!). Different finishes require different levels of care so knowledge is key on this one!

I hope this blog post will help you to keep your floors looking fantastic over the coming years, and please do get in touch if you have any tips for taking care of floors – leave me a comment below and share your advice 🙂

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