The chances are that when you first bought your home, there was very minimal traffic in the house because it was only you and your spouse. Now, you have a home full of foot traffic from several children and pets. You want to restore your floors to their glorious heyday when there was minimal movement throughout the house. You are undoubtedly tired of carpet because you are tired of cleaning it over and over, and the walkthrough traffic has not only created built in stains but has eroded most of the carpet fibers.

Hardwood floors are an excellent choice for any home, especially with heavy foot traffic.

Now you are considering having hardwood floors installed to minimize having to clean the mess on your carpet from your pets and your children. No longer will you have to scold the dog for tracking dirt in from the yard. Nor will you have to hear a 30-minute debate from your children about how neither one of them spilled red juice on the carpet. Based on your children’s debate, it’s safe to assume that there is an imaginary bad kid that comes into your home with the sole purpose of dripping red juice all over your freshly cleaned carpets.

However, once you install your hardwood floors, you won’t have to worry about this invisible rebel without a cause. It will be a relief to get rid of the imaginary red juice-dropping kid. But will hardwood floors be a better option to deal with your high-volume foot traffic issues in your home?

Choose the Right Hardwood Floor in the First Place

One of the best ways to keep your floor beautiful even if you have high traffic is to purchase best hardwood for high traffic. Pets can destroy a hardwood floor when the acid from fluids from their urine or even regurgitation ruins the finish. They can also destroy it by scratching it with their claws.

Children can damage hardwood floors too, not just by high levels of traffic but also because of rough play or also by dragging or rolling things around on it. A Hotwheel, racing competition can leave your floors a hot mess when it’s all done.

It’s best to choose hard hardwood to minimize the damages that pets and children can do to your hardwood floors. To do this, select a hardwood based on the Janka hardness scale. The higher it scores on the Janka hardness scale, the more resistant it is to damages, mainly scratching or denting. For instance, based on the Janka Hardness scale, Hickory, Tigerwood, and Brazilian Oak would be great choices because they are best hardwood for high foot traffic.

Ensure that Your Floor of Choice is Scratch-Resistant

Choosing hard hardwood is the first defense in minimizing scratches and dings on your hardwood floor and keeping them gorgeous. However, another thing to consider is purchasing wood that reduces the appearance of blemishes. These include woods like distressed hardwoods that provide a much more rustic look.

However, if vintage isn’t your taste, you can get a hardwood that is lighter in color. Light-colored floors will not show most of the damage from scratches. If you are not fond of light-colored floors, then another good option to minimize the appearance of blemishes and dents is to choose a wood that has stronger graining, such as Oak.

Is the Floor of Choice Easy to Clean?

Of course, you want floors that aren’t scratched and dinged up everywhere you turn. However, you don’t want to sacrifice having tough wood floors that are a pain to keep clean, either. You can have your cake and eat it too by choosing a strong wood type to minimize damage and simple to clean.

Hardwoods that are easiest to clean include Tigerwood and Oak. In general, the best way to keep hardwood floors clean is to use a microfiber mop. These mops are safe on the surface of hardwood and can be washed and reused many times. This is an excellent tool to use to dust and to pick up spills quickly. However, if your floors need deep cleaning, as floors sometimes do, then its best to choose these attributes in a hardwood floor cleaner:

  • Non-corrosive ingredients such as water, weak acids or weak bases
  • Oil-free
  • Concentrated
  • Premixed
  • Conclusion

If you are tired of carpet and you want to venture into hardwood, don’t worry! You won’t be worse off switching to hardwood because of scratches, dings, and other damages if you make great choices in the installation process. Be sure to choose hardwood floors that rank high on the Janka scale, minimize scratches’ appearance, and are easy to clean. Once you do these things, you will be well on your way to having beautiful floors that you no longer have to hide with furniture or rugs because they are so worn and unsightly.

Cameron the Sandman can help you get the wood floors of your dreams. We specialize in hardwood flooring services and have over 80 years’ experience. Each client is unique, and we work closely with them to customize their choices. Hardwood floors are repairable, refinishable, easy to clean, and instantly elevate the look and value of any home. Whether you are looking to restore wood floors, or install new wood floors, we are the only flooring company in Metro Detroit to turn to. Call us today to learn more about our hardwood flooring services and how we can help!