If you have chosen to add hardwood floors to your home renovations you have made a great decision if you are planning to maintain the hardwood floors. Flooring that is hardwood is made using mature trees, it is then treated and finished. Maintaing hardwood floors can be difficult because they scratch easy and also absorb moisture.
It is not a good idea to leave a pool of water on your hardwood floors. The cracks in between the hardwood will absorb the moisture and swell. If water happens to be spilt in even a small spot and sits it can still be seen. If there happens to be any liquid at all spilt on the hardwood floor you need to clean it up immediately. Use a damp mop only when you clean your hardwood floors. You may want to use a floor cleaner for hardwood, like area rugs usually. Whatever you choose you must use only a damp mop.
Dents and aslo scratches happen to hardwood floors often. High heels are torture to hardwood floors. Over a long perios of time furniture legs cause dents and scratches also. You can choose to put area rugs under the furniture to protect the floors or you can put felts on the bottoms of the furniture legs. This can be the same as area rugs to many people. Also you could add some area rugs to the highly traveled areas in your home such as kitchens, hallways, in front of the couch.
There are some people that feel that the scratches and the dents give their hardwood floors character. But when you feel that you are in fact sick of them you can get your hardwood flooring refinished. You may need to have your hardwood floors refinished every ten years or so, this will also add a protective top coat to your hardwood floors, just like area rugs usually. Moving anything across your hardwood floors to letting your dog run in the house can cause scratches and dents.
Edmond Hebert