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Hardwood Floors And Pets, Part 2

Pets are part of what make your house a home, but they aren’t always kind on your home decor choices. While many homeowners look forward to installing hardwood floors in their home, we all know that dogs and cats and solid hardwood floors are not quite a match made in heaven. At Good Ol’ Boy Hardwood Floors, we want to help you fulfill your dream of beautiful wood flooring that will last for years, even if you have a few fur-covered members of the family.

In part one of this series, we offered you suggestions on how to choose the best possible hardwood floors for your pet-loving home, from finding a harder, more scratch-resistant wood species to deciding on a strong grain or color that will hide damage. Today, we continue with advice on how to care for your hardwood floors once they are installed to help them coexist with your furry friends for years to come. Read on to learn more, and contact Good Ol’ Boy Hardwood Floors today to explore our Kansas City wood floor installation and maintenance services!

How To Protect Your Hardwood Floors

The first step in ensuring the longevity and beauty of your wood flooring is choosing the right species and style of wood for your needs, which we discussed in our last article. Once you’ve made your decisions and installed your hardwood floors, it’s time to think about what you can do to prevent dents and scratches. We have a few suggestions!

Add Rugs And Runners

Your first line of defense is to put an extra layer between running feet and your wood flooring. Rugs and runners are a great maintenance step for hardwood floors in any case, especially in high-traffic places like the entryway. If there is a hallway your dog always sprints down to meet the kids when they get home from school, then a runner can make a big difference in preserving that wood flooring.

Rugs and runners can also make your floors more comfortable if you took our advice from part one of this series and opted for a harder species of wood. The higher the Janka hardness rating, the more your floors will resist wear and tear. However, harder floors can also be harder on your feet. With the rug, you can enjoy more durable wood flooring and stay comfortable.

Clip Your Pets’ Nails

The truth is, your pets’ nails will likely scratch the floors no matter what you do, unless you take extreme measures. However, you can minimize the damage they can do by keeping their nails trimmed. You can do it yourself, or make nail clipping a part of their regular grooming appointment at the vet or doggy salon!

Wipe Their Paws

Scratching from your pets’ nails isn’t the only thing to watch out for — any dirt or grit on their paws can also cause damage to your floors. If you have indoor cats, this likely isn’t a big concern for you. If you have any dogs that like to romp in the back yard, on the other hand, try to wipe their paws before they come inside so they don’t introduce any small rocks or particles that can wear down your hardwood floors.

Watch For Accidents

The number one vulnerability of hardwood floors is moisture. That means you need to keep a sharp eye out for any accidents! Cleaning up anything you find as quickly as possible can help avert disaster, and you can look for advice on how to deal with stains in an upcoming blog post.

Keep Your Floors Beautiful With Good Ol’ Boy Hardwood Floors

These preventative measures can help reduce the amount of wear and tear over the years, but to make sure your wood flooring looks beautiful for years to come, it’s important to invest in regular maintenance. Good Ol’ Boy Hardwood Floors can help.

The great advantage of solid hardwood is that it can be refinished to erase surface damage and sanded down every decade or so to address more serious damage. Check out our blog for advice on important ongoing maintenance, and turn to our Kansas City team at Good Ol’ Boy Hardwood Floors whenever you need to clean, restore, or refinish your floor. Call today to learn more!