This is a collaborative post
It’s no secret that wood flooring adds value to your home, and it’s easy to see why. It brings warmth and sophistication and plenty of character! Like anything worth having, it does require some maintenance and upkeep. Despite your beautiful wooden floors being very durable, over time damage can occur and the protective coat begins to wear away.
If your flooring is properly finished and all maintenance measures taken, then it can last a lifetime. However, it might be that you’ve moved into a new house with existing wood floors, or it really has been that long since you changed or refinished it. It will be obvious when your flooring needs some TLC, such as the obvious need for a sweep or a good mop. Here are some signs that it’s asking for a makeover…
Water
If you’re familiar with the pros and cons of wood floors, then you’ll know that water is one of the main things that can cause damage. We all have it in our household and no matter what room you chose to lay your flooring in, it’s likely that some spillages will occur.
Of course, the best way to avoid this is to reduce the amount of water exposure it has and clear up anything as soon as possible. It can certainly cope with small amounts, but large spillages can cause irreversible damage.
In worst cases, the wood maybe be buckling or warping which unfortunately means it needs to be replaced. This is why it is beneficial to keep a few planks after you install your flooring, so if the damage is restricted to a few planks then you can just swap them over.
However, in best cases water damage can sometimes just cause a stain, this can be eradicated with sanding it down. If your floors are water damaged however, make sure you get the bottom of the source of the water otherwise you’ll be fixing your floors over and over!
Scratches and dents
Unfortunately, scratches are inevitable on hardwood floors, especially in busy households. However, there are a few pointers that will tell you if it’s time to refinish.
If you have a lot of scratches spread over a wide area, it’s probably worth refinishing your whole floor, as opposed to swapping a few planks around.
Some scratches can penetrate beyond the protective surface and into the wood. Sometimes, these types of scratches mean that the only thing to do is to replace your flooring.
Discolouration
This is always an easy way to see if it’s time for a change. Over time, the protective finish will wear off, thus water damage, stains and scratches are more likely to occur, even just small spillages can start to become a danger where they wouldn’t have been before. When wood absorbs water, it oxidises and turns grey so as soon as you see grey floors, it’s time to do something about it! If you catch it quickly, then in most cases refinishing will do the job, however if left then the colouration can get worse and you’ll have no choice but to replace your floors.
Lots of natural light is something all homeowners want; the problem is that sun exposure can discolour your hardwood floors. Again, the only way to remove this is to refinish or replace your floors.
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