Hardwood floors unfortunately will scratch, but there’s still hope! Here are a few tips to minimize the scratches.

1. Wipe-off mats are a must. A great idea is to have one outside the door and just inside the door. These are great for reducing the amount of dust and dirt you bring into the house. They also help absorb water that will ruin wood floors. And don’t forget to wipe paws as well! The family fur babies can also bring debris in – try to catch them at the door on their way back in!

2. No shoes in the house. Sounds funny to some, but it really is a game changer. The bottom of your shoes can track in all kinds of grease, dirt, moisture, dust and even sand. As you walk around in the house in these shoes you are also wearing down the finish with all that grime stuck to the soles. Really want to wreck havoc on your floors? Cleats and stilettos are the quickest way to damage your beautiful wood floors. Those tiny points have a lot of weight balanced on them and can cause serious indentations, along with scratches. So best practices would recommend not wearing shoes in the house.

3. Clean your floors regularly and correctly. Even after removing shoes you can still get an accumulation of dust and debris on the floors. A good dry dust mop will remove a good bit of this and then follow up with a no rinse cleaner, like Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner. An incorrect cleaner can leave a waxy build up on the floor that will cause future problems.

4. Love some area rugs! A rug is a multi-purpose addition to any space. It will protect the floor in living spaces from scratches, reduce sound, define the space, and add color or texture. We do recommend a rug pad underneath the rug to prevent the back of the rug from scratching the floor. This will extend the life of the rug and keep the rug from slipping.

5. Felt pads are worth it. They are necessary on all chairs that can be moved throughout the day. We also recommend having them on all furniture feet/legs as an added precaution. And keep extra on hand – felt pads also do you the favor of picking up dust and can turn into little dust bunnies on the feet of your furniture! You might need to replace some faster than others. We hope these preventative tips will help you keep your hardwood floors looking beautiful and strong for many years to come. A little work on the front end can go a long way and will let you go longer in-between sanding and refinishing your floors