Protecting Your Flooring from Wooden Furniture
Wooden flooring and solid wood furniture complement each other perfectly. However, each of these need to be cared for and protected from damage to keep them in mint condition.
One of the main causes of damage to wood flooring is furniture. Heavy wooden furniture can cause dents when pressed into the floor both when moving, or when furniture is in place for long periods and has weight added on. Wood flooring is also incredibly susceptible to scratching, which is often caused by not using furniture protectors.
With the right care and prevention in place though, you can minimise potential costly damage. Read our tips for how to protect wood floors from furniture damage and how to protect wood floors from chairs, to keep your flooring looking pristine.
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Handle your furniture appropriately
First things first, when you arrive with your new furniture, by simply moving it from A to B, you can immediately cause a lot of damage. When moving your furniture onto wood flooring be sure you don’t drag, drop, haul or push the furniture around. These kinds of movements are the easiest way to damage your wood floors as you can easily scratch and mark the floor in transit.
It’s also important that when you have to manoeuvre an item of furniture into place, no debris or dirt gets caught underneath it. Pressing or dragging debris into wood flooring can cause major scratches so install good shoe mats at the entrance to doors so that as little as possible debris enters your home.
2. Furniture pads are an essential
The best way to protect your wood flooring from scratches from chairs or larger items is to attach furniture pads or glides to the feet or base of the furniture item. Made from a range of materials, choose pads that are made from felt or are a combination of rubber and felt to provide a soft barrier between your furniture and wood floors.
Some self-adhesive furniture pads are made from plastic which is great for carpeted flooring – but for wood flooring, felt pads are the ideal choice. Felt pads allow you to freely move your furniture without scratching or digging into the surface.
Easily found online, felt furniture pads can be used on most items of oak furniture in any room of the house. These include sofas, coffee tables and TV stands in the living room, or dining tables and dining chairs in the dining room.
The best rule of thumb is to add furniture pads or gliders to all furniture on wood flooring. Simple yet effective!
3. Keep an eye on your furniture protectors
Ensure to monitor self-adhesive furniture pads and glides, as they don’t always last long. Glides that are screwed into furniture legs do tend to last longer than felt pads, however glides can come loose with wear and are likely to cause more damage to the floor.
This is particularly relevant for heavily used items like dining chairs that are moved a lot and unstick, or on heavier furniture like sofas and bookcases that can wear pads down.
As time goes on, have a look at how your pads and glides are, and keep a few spares so you can easily replace them.
4. Protect wood floors from rolling chairs
With more of the population working from home, and offices turning to a hybrid way of working, there is a higher demand for home office chairs. But how do you protect wood floors from rolling chairs damage? Infamous for scratching and destroying beautiful wood flooring, rolling chairs can be a pain.
An easy way to protect your floor from the damage of rolling chairs is to place a plastic mat where you need your chair to be. This will stop your chair from rolling onto the wood floor surface, protecting the floor. It will also offer a more comfortable experience with a chair that doesn’t constantly glide away. Alternatively, if possible, secure the chair in a comfortable position to the floor to avoid it moving at all.
For a more aesthetically pleasing alternative, opt for a rug to brighten up your workspace. Rugs are great for protecting the floor and stopping chairs from rolling all over wooden floors.
5. Incorporate carpets and rugs into your room
On the topic of rugs, carpets and rugs are the perfect addition that add comfort, texture and wood flooring protection to any room of the house. With such a broad range of rugs available on the market, you can choose from bohemian patterns, faux fur, Aztec colour pops or vintage style rugs to complete your chosen look.
Rugs and carpets look great when arranged carefully under coffee tables, chairs and beds. Naturally, wood flooring can get cold underfoot in the winter months and rugs add that extra level of comfort, whilst also protecting your floors from your furniture.
6. Avoid rubber-backed rugs
Although rubber is great for stopping rugs and furniture sliding, rubber is known for discolouring and marking floors. Be careful to add carpet padding to rugs that are going to be used on wood floors and attach them with carpet tape to avoid leaving a mark on your floors after.