DAMAGING YOUR WOOD FLOOR?

WHY AM I GETTING DENTS IN MY HARDWOOD FLOORS?!

Well, the brutal truth is, if some denting and scratching is completely unacceptable for your space, you probably should have gone with ceramic tile.

But this is a misunderstanding that happens pretty often when a customer is not informed (or does not inform himself or herself) of all the ins and outs when deciding on flooring. There is a lot to consider.

Wood is a naturally porous and "soft" material, no matter how "hard" the hardwood is or how many coatings and polishes you might apply to it. There's no way to turn wood into rock, nor would we really want to. You go with wood because you want an organic, warm, natural rustic look in your home or office, so dents, some scratching, and imperfections in the wood grain are something that should be accepted. Yes, you might have to do some fixing once in a while, but it's really par for the course, and at minimal levels actually adds character and dimension to the floor over time. (see Janka Hardness Ratings)

An ounce of prevention is certainly worth a pound of cure when we're talking about significant scratches and denting. The best line of defense is to have door mats and rugs in front of doors to the outside to catch dirt, rocks, and debris that attaches to the bottoms of shoes (and if you're really serious about it, having people remove shoes before entering, in true Japanese style, can curb the problem).

Also keep an eye on high heel shoes. If they're missing their pads, they can certainly do some damage to wood flooring. Also be sure to use appropriate casters on the legs of your furniture. Constant pressure from a large, heavy piece of furniture in the same place over time and on a small foot can certainly dent just about any type of non-stone flooring. Along with that, if you need to move furniture, be sure to use precautions to protect the floor from being damaged.

The bottom line is, if you have hardwood floors, they're going to get dented and scratched. Just decide how much is tolerable and do what you can to protect your floors. And just check out your warranty and product guides to figure out how to fix a dent or scratch if your damage is serious enough for the investment in time and effort to fix.

To learn more about hardwood floors visit our hardwood article library.