Both furniture and floors are undoubtedly the heart and soul of our places and we can’t possibly be biased towards the betterment of one. And the very need for referring to them in such a personification manner is that today we’ll be talking about those unpleasant times when one of the two starts to pose a threat to the other. The most common phenomenon faced in this regard is hardwood floors getting damaged by the occasional movement and simply the general impact caused by furniture placement.
The severity of this seems somewhat funny yet very real concern lies in the fact that hardwood floors or essentially any other floors can get seriously damaged if not taken care of in a timely manner. This damage can include all scratching, denting, and the one caused by impact. So there is a dire and crucial need to look for potential solutions.
Pro Flooring Guide has got you here, as well and now you no longer need to be concerned about “How To Protect Wood Floors From Furniture”.
Let’s get to know about all the essential aspects in this regard.
Basic Concerns About Floor Damage By Furniture
Prior to digging any deeper, let’s first learn about those facts that make this floor damage from furniture a fairly adverse issue.
Why Do You Need To Protect Wood Floors From Furniture?
In the first place, that’s because the wood floors are at a major risk of stretching, denting, and developing damage from impact of the furniture pieces.
Protecting wood floors from furniture is a crucial necessity because:
- Most commonly it’s the heavier furniture such as anchor pieces that gives rise to the floor damage issue
- Dragging the furniture atop the wood floor surface is another prime reason for wood floor damage and this goes the same for both heavy and light furniture.
- Grit and debris from the furniture can rub vigorously against wood floors and therefore cause damage to the surface finish.
- Prolonged contract of heavy or unprotected furniture with wood floors can give rise to permanent scratching and impact on the floor.
See Also: How Long Hardwood Last?
Will Heavy Furniture Dent Wood Floors?
Hardwood floor is highly susceptible to damage from any kind of unprotected furniture and most importantly heavy ones. That’s because heavy furniture is very likely to dent hardwood floors, in addition to minor harms such as scratches.
So while it’s totally unavoidable to place heavy furniture on wood floors, it needs to be done in the right and safe way, so as to not generate any serious consequences later.
Besides, even if your furniture is lighter in profile, such as a chair or table, but is often dragged on top of the Hardwood Floors, chances are that your floors will be dented real soon.
How To Protect Wood Floors From Furniture
Here’s all that you need to do regarding “How To Keep furniture from scratching Hardwood floors”.
1. Avoid Dragging, Dropping, And Hauling
This is the first step not just for your floor care but also for your furniture
- Dragging any given furniture on the Hardwood surface is the biggest cause of floors developing impact, scratch, and dent damage. And doing excessively is meant to make the hardwood floors go bad very soon.
- Always try to lift the furniture whenever there is a need for movement.
- Clean the entire area in which the furniture is to be dragged so that there are no dirt particles or debris accumulation to rub against the floor and cause scuff marks or scratches.
2. Get The Wood Floor Protection On
Protected Furniture effectively ensures that there is no vigorous contact between the floor and the furniture.
- Furniture pads have a specific structure that fits right to any and every furnishing piece and you can find multiple choices regarding all of your furniture types and designs.
- Installing protective pads not only ensures the safety of floors but also keeps the furniture from coming across excessive damage or even becoming dirty during the movements.
- Tap-on (nail-on), Slip-on and Self-adhesive pads are the three types of protective pads that you can consider covering your furniture legs with.
3. Invest In Sustainable Stuff
It’s all about the quality and mechanism of pads.
- Nail-on (tap-on) pads are generally the best choice to go for since they get attached to the feet of the furniture with nails. This, of course, is the permanent fixing without any concerns of falling off or going bad soon.
- Adhesive pads aren’t that much of a sustainable option since they are much more likely to get removed very soon. Besides, once they get off the furniture, their stickiness makes the entire space quite messy.
- Slip-on feet furniture protectors can be considered a good idea since they are quite durable and effective in their work. However, the dark side involves the fact that they are not very presentable and you might end up not finding the look of your furniture or interior decors once these pads have been put on.
4. Consider The Carpeting
Carpets and rugs have several other favorability aspects rather than just being fabricated floor coverings.
- Placing carpets or rugs under the furniture and atop floors is the cheapest yet most effective way of keeping major damage at bay.
- Carpets and rugs not only prevent floor damage while furniture or any other object is being moved but also play a protective role for standing furniture, as a result of which the likelihood of denting or impact damage gets significantly diminished.
- Carpets, as well as rugs, do not compromise the decor beauty of the room as well, something that might be difficult to achieve with the usage of furniture pads.
5. Keep Checking For Damage
To keep looking occasionally at both your furniture as well as your furniture for any damage is how you can significantly avoid the defilement for both.
- Checking your furniture includes taking a look at the feet, so as to identify any of the rough edges present on the base, which would later be a reason for floor damage.
- The floor also needs to be checked at regular intervals for the appearance of any scuff marks, scratches, dents, and/ or impact damage.
- Keeping both your furniture and your floors in check also helps you determine the need for cleaning and decluttering, which in turn supports in keeping any damage caused by abrasion at bay.
You May Need To Know: Refinishing Hardwood Floors
6. Maintain Cleanliness
Effective maintenance of both your furniture and of course, of your floors is the best way to prevent any and every minor and major damage.
- Uncleaned and unprotected furniture is one of the prime root causes of floors getting defiled a lot sooner than they normally would, so keeping the feet and legs, basically the part in contact with your floor(s), clean is the safest way to prevent any possible damage.
- Dirty Hardwood Floors are highly prone to ruining very early as the debris, dirt particles or any other build-up simply serves as acceleration for surface damage. The accumulation abrases the floor finish and eventually produces scuff marks, scratches, and dents.
- The condition of maintenance goes the same for furniture protective pads, as well, and it includes both their cleaning as well as periodic replacement. This will prevent any of the buildups from happening and eventually keep the damage at bay.
The Best Floor Protectors For Hardwood Floors
Floor protectors can be both the store-bought ones as well as those made in incredible and fun DIY ways, as long as you find either of the two suitable for you. Here’s the compilation of both for you.
Commercial Furniture Protective Pads
These are some of the best recommendations that you can consider getting for your furniture.
1. Scotch Felt Pads
Scotch felt pads come in a round profile and pair up really well with nearly all furniture styles. Besides, the adhesion is really excellent and durable as well. Also, you can have them in multiple color choices, so as to perfectly complement all your furniture pieces.
2. NancyProtectz Chair Leg Protectors
These furniture leg socks are particularly designed for chairs and work as a highly effective remedy against floor damage. The stylish and streamlined profile of these protectors goes ideally gentle on the Hardwood floor surface and there is a wide availability of colors, as well.
3. ALIMITOPIA Nail-On Furniture Pads
These are incredible nail-on furniture pads that are absolutely matchless when it comes to durability. Since they get securely fitted into the furniture legs by drilling pilot holes, there’s absolutely no chance of coming off or any adhesive spreading mess at all. Plus, they come in multiple sizes and colors.
4. Super Sliders Formed Felt Furniture Pads
These incredible pads are particularly made for furniture legs and their classy cup-like design slides perfectly over every piece of furniture, without the need for any kind of adhesion. There are up to 4 size options and 3 color options available for offering the perfect fit to all kinds of furniture.
5. X-Protector Furniture Pads
These are the most popular and top-rated furniture pads due to the perks or affordability as well as a highly promising functionality, not to mention the amazing customization as well. Their additional beige-colored sheets are easy to cut according to the furniture sizing requirements, besides, a perfect choice for those who need to move a lot. Also, the adhesion factor is totally worth the choice, as well.
6. Softouch Self-Stick Felt Furniture Pads
These durable felt pads have a round profile and are therefore the best for multiple shapes and sizes of furniture. The strong adhesion makes them an excellent and long-lasting choice, including the favorability during residence relocation, as well. Plus, it’s easy to find the right match for furniture amongst the extensive color and size options.
DIY Furniture Protection
In case you don’t wanna spend on store-bought stuff, you can always benefit from the smart and fun DIY solutions and can achieve the same level of effectiveness.
There are a number of useful home supplies that can efficiently serve as protection for your Hardwood Floors. Take a look at these few examples.
1. Velcro
The industrial-grade Velcro when placed on the floor while the soft side upwards, works best as sustainable protection for Hardwood Floors.
2. Felt Pads
Felt can be used as amazing protection for Hardwood floors since all you need to do is have it cut in a suitable size.
3. Tennis Balls
While this might seem a bit odd, the effectiveness of tennis balls as a Hardwood floor protector is certainly unquestionable. Just have them cut open a bit and you’ll have your very own DIY furniture protective pads.
4. Old Rugs or Carpets
Any and every old carpet or rug can do the job most efficiently for you, just be careful about cutting the right size of the soft and absorbent fabric and you’ll be good to go.
5. Pieces of Towels
Old towels do work wonders when used as furniture protective pads since the plushness of the fabric goes gentle on the hardwood surface.
6. Leather
Leather, as well, is an excellent option for making furniture protective pads and the highest level of durability is an additional perk.
FAQs | Frequently Asked Questions
How To Protect Hardwood Floors From Dents?
Protective Furniture Pads, Felt Protectors, and barrel-type coasters are what you’ll be needing in this regard. Simply install either of these under the legs of your furniture, so as to keep any dents at bay. The protective pads must be added to every single piece of furniture and specifically to the large and heavy ones. Another preventive measure for keeping dents away is to never drag the furniture on the flooring. Instead, try lifting it whenever you need to shift or move something.
Are Chair Mats A Damaging Factor For Hardwood Floors?
While chair mats might be a beneficial element to use along with chairs, they actually turn out to be seriously harmful when it comes to the flooring, specifically hardwood floors. That’s because whenever the chairs are moved or rolled around, this causes the chair mats to rub against the surface of the hardwood floor. This, in turn, makes the dirt and debris build up in between to scratch the floor surface and ultimately make the damage irreversible over time. Therefore, avoiding chair mats as much as possible is for sure something that needs to be well assured.
Can Polyurethane Protect The Floors Against Dents?
Polyurethane is known for its excellent functionality as a protectant layer atop multiple surfaces and it does work wonders when it comes to keeping hardwood floors safe. Besides, the addition of Polyurethane coating is advised by a vast majority of flooring manufacturers as well as floor experts. That’s because Polyurethane serves as an addition to the resilience of hardwood floors, making them potentially safe from multiple damaging factors, such as moisture, dents, scratches, and impact. One or two coats of Polyurethane is generally fine to go with, however, you might as well, require to apply more than that, too.
How To Protect Wood Floors From Furniture With Wheels?
You can make use of large felt rugs or area rugs for protecting your furniture from damage. This will provide a smooth surface for the wheels of chairs or other furniture pieces to slide over and not essentially rub against the surface of the hardwood floor. Apart from standing furniture, this also goes the same for when there is a need to move the furniture pieces from one place to another, in order to not scratch or dent the floor in any way. In case, you’re using area rugs, ensure to place a felt rug pad under it, as well.
Which Furniture Pads To Use?
In the first place, furniture protecting pads with adhesive backing isn’t a very good idea, since they are much more prone to slipping off very easily and soon. And once the adhesion is gone, the pads do not serve their intended purposes anymore, instead doing more harm than good. That’s because the fallen-off adhesive creates a lot of mess all around and the stickiness is often a bummer to clear out. Instead, it’s best to invest in the pads that are to be nailed or screwed down to the bottom side of your furniture.
How To Stop Furniture From Sliding On Hardwood Floors?
The first and foremost remedy in this regard is to place felt rugs in between the furniture and the floor, so as to create friction that will prevent the sliding of the furniture. Additionally, you can consider wrapping the frame of your furniture pieces with rubber. Besides, in case it’s your bed, then you can have the application of Velcro pads or rubber pads to the feet to prevent them from sliding.
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