How to Protect Hardwood Floors From Kids

Maintain the luster of your hardwood floor by recoating it.

Beautiful hardwood floors can add elegance and charm to any room. They are durable, easy to clean and last a long time. However, active children and pets can increase the wear and tear on hardwood floors by constantly spilling liquids, tracking in dirt or mud and scratching the surface. With daily cleaning and care, you can prevent your kids' mishaps from damaging your hardwood floors.

Things You'll Need

• Soft cloth
• Dust mop
• Hardwood floor cleaner
• Area rugs
• Hardwood floor wax
• Sandpaper
• Rotary buffing machine
• Wax remover
• Polyurethane sealer
• Paintbrush

Instructions

1. Keep your hardwood floors clean. Children often drop things on the floor, track dirt in from their shoes and spill food or liquids on nice hardwood floors. Immediately wipe away spills, water or other liquids with a soft cloth or mop. Use a hardwood floor cleaner on your floor weekly.

2. Place area rugs along busy paths to the kitchen, bathroom and door entries. The rugs not only protect the floor from dirt and scratches, but they absorb most of the moisture from spills. After a spill, remove the rug from the floor immediately.

3. Add felt pads on the bottom of the legs of dining room and living room chairs, tables and other movable furniture. Small children may push chairs around on the floor, causing scratches or deep gashes in the wood. The soft pads prevent scratches from occurring. Replace the pads as they begin to thin. The pads have an adhesive back. Peel off the protective paper, and stick them on.

4. Keep the coating on the hardwood floor shiny by waxing it. Use a good floor wax and a rotary buffing machine (you can rent one at a hardware store) to polish your hardwood floors when they start to dull. After three or four coats of wax over time, strip the wax with a wax remover from your hardware store. Follow the instructions on the bottle to remove the coatings. Then, recoat the floors with more wax. Waxing can help in preventing chewing gum and other sticky substances from adhering to the floor. If bubblegum sticks to your hardwood floor, rub an ice cube over it until it turns brittle and breaks off. Pour a little hardwood floor cleaner on the spot to finish cleaning the area. Once it's dry, add a little wax with a cloth to the damaged area.

5. Recoat your hardwood floors in high traffic areas with polyurethane, advises the National Wood Flooring Association. It suggests you do this every three to five years. To recoat, thoroughly clean the floor with a good hardwood floor cleaner. Lightly sand the top layer of polyurethane using a screen disk on a rotary buffing machine. If your floor is in good condition, sand the floor with a 120-grit screen; if not, use a 100- or 80-grit screen. The floor should be smooth after sanding. Apply a new coat of polyurethane sealer to the hardwood floor, and let dry.

References

• Hardwood Floors 101: Protect Hardwood Floors
• Hardwoodscene.com: Cleaning Floor Hardwood Protection
• Theflooringsite.com: Floor Wax: Easy Maintenance