Your floors are a huge investment. You spent a lot of time carefully choosing the perfect material for the room and deciding exactly what color it would be. You spent a good amount of money and a lot of time having it installed. You want it to last, to maintain the same beauty as when it first went down. But you have to put your furniture back. So how do you prevent it from causing scuffs and dents? Namely, how do you protect flooring from chairs, couches, tables and the like? Here are a few ways you can protect the flooring in your home, based on type.
How to Protect Hardwood Flooring
Hardwood floors make any room inviting. But they are highly susceptible to scratches, dents and dulling. Yet they are placed in kitchens, living rooms and dining rooms – all rooms that contain a lot of furniture.
There are several solutions to protecting hardwood flooring. For furniture that is not meant to move much, such as cabinets and bookshelves, you can use tap-on pads. In the event that you do need to move these large pieces, you can place towels underneath to allow them to slide easily. For chairs, you can use adhesive felt pads, which let you slide items with ease.
Another way to protect hard surface flooring is to use area rugs. These can be used to protect larger areas. For instance, you can fit a sofa, end tables and a coffee table on a larger rug in the living room. A medium sized rug can be used in the dining room or kitchen for a table and chairs.
How to Protect Vinyl Flooring
Vinyl is very susceptible to scratches, dents and even rips. For this reason, it is often advised that you lift furniture instead of sliding it along the floor. Or, like hardwood, you can use adhesive felt pads or an area rug. Wheels also provide a great way to easily glide across vinyl surfaces. In areas where moisture occurs, such as the bathroom, plastic caps work exceptionally well. These allow for movement where felt would not.
How to Protect Tile Flooring
Though a very strong flooring material, even tile is not exempt from the damage that can be caused by furniture. You can use stick-on felt pads for pieces that are moved frequently, or you can make your own foam pads.
For furniture that isn’t meant to move often, rubber caps not only protect your floors, they help keep those pieces in place. Area rugs not only help protect your tiles from the potential damage from furniture, they also provide your feet with a little reprieve from the unforgiving and cold surface.
How to Protect Carpet Flooring
Carpet is highly susceptible to dents from furniture feet. Even coffee tables can leave permanent marks, crushing the fibers underneath. For that reason, it is often advised that you periodically rotate your furniture, but Feng Shui every few months may not be feasible.
One solution is to place an area rug with sturdy backing underneath your furniture, but you may not want to put a carpet on your carpet.
A more popular solution is furniture coasters, or caster cups, that sit underneath the legs of your furniture and have spikes that face into the carpet. The coasters help distribute weight more evenly and the spikes keep the fibers separated, preventing them from becoming flattened.
You love your new floors. But you want to be able to use the rooms in which they were installed. Protect your investment from furniture damage with proper buffers and you will provide your new addition with a long and happy life.