Hardwood floors are an investment that, when properly cared for, can endure for generations. It’s not uncommon to see intricate, prewar parquet or turn-of-the-century unfinished hardwood in preserved and historic homes. These 100-plus-year-old examples are exceptional, yes, but they’re still a testament to the enduring potential of a well-cared for wood floor.

When you decide to install solid hardwood flooring in your home, you’re making a decision that could bring returns for a century or more into the future. In order to safeguard your investment, you have to learn how to properly care for your wood floors so they perform like new decade after decade. 

Here are 6 ways to preserve your solid hardwood flooring so that it will continue to lend visual flair for years to come:

1. Use Floor Mats And Runners At Entrances

This may seem like a simple thing.  But mats and runners can collect sand and glass particles from outdoors that may otherwise end up on your hardwood flooring.  Of course, make sure that if your runners or mats get particularly dirty, or wet, it’s important that they not sit on your hardwood flooring either.

2. Clean Your Floors Regularly

And make sure, of course, that excessive moisture isn’t a part of your regimen.  As it has been asserted many times on this blog, and on other flooring blogs and sites, excessive moisture is the arch-enemy of a stable and healthy hardwood floor.  Instead, use dry mops to clear dust away. Move the mop gently to avoid scratching the finish due to sand or other outdoor element that may have been tracked in.  And speaking of which …

3. Attach Pads To Furniture Legs

One major cause of floor scratching is furniture legs that gouge when furniture pieces are moved or are bumped.  To make sure this doesn’t happen, there are many fine products out there that you can use to affix to your furniture legs to avoid this problem.  Once again, sometimes the simplest solutions are the most effective.

4. Vigilance And Hardwood Floor Maintenance

The overarching principle here is vigilance when it comes to things like spills, and in being committed to incorporating the preservation of your hardwood floor into your weekly or even daily routines.  And it’s not like the work you put in in little increments isn’t going to pay off later in a big way. Your preserved hardwood floor will stand as a true visual asset to your property as well as a practical one.

5. Beware Your Footwear

Well, at least be sure that your stiletto heels or athletic shoes and your hardwood flooring never become acquainted.  According to some sources, a 100-pound woman exerts 1500 psi of pressure on a single high heel, which is more psi pressure than a barefoot elephant.   You don’t want that on your hardwood floor. 

6. See To Your Pets

There are all kinds of factors here, having to do with surface scratching, stains, and moisture damage.  Clipped nails work wonders.  House training is a definite plus to.  And even little details like making sure that spillage from water dishes are minimized, or better yet eliminated. Your pet and your floor can live in peace. But, you’ll need to be the U.N, so to speak.