Why Do My Hardwood Floors Scratch So Easily

Hardwood floor finish is peeling off.

Why do my hardwood floors scratch so easily. Hardwood floors are always in style now seemingly more so than ever. Many of my customers in westchester county ask me how to prevent scratching in hardwood flooring so i thought i would provide some tips. But like wood bamboo can be scratched and it is prone to cracking in conditions where humidity levels swing dramatically. However the ideal look for hardwood is polished and gleaming not tired trodden and scratched.

We have wood floors that were installed 5 or 6 years ago. Insufficient drying equals delamination and easily scratched floor. I love having hardwood floors. These finishes easily absorb water and water can warp wood floors so use only solvent based cleaning products instead of water based ones on floors with penetrating finishes.

First let me caveat this by saying that all hardwood scratches. Wood floors are a prized element in many homes because of their beauty warmth and durability but some homeowners may be concerned about how easily wood flooring will scratch. The hardest and most scratch resistant species such as ipe cumaru and jatoba come from the tropics and they typically score 3 000 pounds or more domestic hardwoods and raw bamboo on the other hand are about half as hard. I would never suggest a homeowner rent a sander and do this.

The simple answer. Softwoods such as pine fir and carbonized bamboo rarely score more than 1 000 pounds making them particularly vulnerable to scratching. Start by busting dust. Besides vacuuming and mopping the only other maintenance i do is to fix the occasional small scratch.

Anyone that tells you the hardwood won t scratch isn t telling the truth. Duraseal quick coat which has a 2 hour drying time has ethanol denatured alcohol. While you probably don t have the time to tackle a detailed floor cleaning more than once every week or so you should give your hardwood some tlc throughout the week to keep it. I had them recently recoated and the coating is peeling off.

We have them in every room but the kitchen and bathroom and they are generally very easy to keep clean. As a flooring material bamboo has many of the same benefits and drawbacks of hardwood flooring like wood flooring bamboo is an attractive natural material that generally adds real estate value to a home. It s a big job and one best left to hardwood floor pros who will charge about 1 50 to 4 per square foot to refinish the floor. Drying is much faster so if allowed to dry overnight there is a low to no risk of adhesion issues.