How to Prepare and Protect Your Hardwood Floors for the Holidays

Prepare. Protect. Enjoy.

A Holiday Hardwood Floor Survival Guide for Connecticut Homeowners

The holidays are about family, friends, food, and enjoying your home. They shouldn't be about spending the entire party worrying that somebody is going to scratch your hardwood floor.

I've been working with hardwood floors for approximately 55 years, starting as a little kid working alongside my father. Over all those years, I've seen just about everything that can happen to a hardwood floor—from scratches and dents to water damage, pet stains, worn finishes, and floors that homeowners thought could never be saved.

One thing I've learned is this:

Hardwood floors are meant to be lived on.

There are some simple things you can do before holiday guests arrive to protect your floors. And if something does happen during the party, don't panic. Many scratches, dents, and other cosmetic problems can be dealt with afterward.

I recently discussed some of these ideas on Great Day Connecticut, but a television segment only gives you a few minutes. So I wanted to put together a more complete holiday guide for Connecticut homeowners.

The idea is simple:

Prepare. Protect. Enjoy.

PART ONE — PREPARE

1. Start With a Good Cleaning

Before guests arrive, give your hardwood floors a good cleaning.

Start by vacuuming or removing loose dirt, sand, and grit. Those tiny particles can act almost like sandpaper when people walk over them.

Then clean the floor with a cleaner designed for your particular hardwood floor finish.

You don't need buckets of water. In fact, hardwood floors and excessive water aren't a good combination.

Avoid soaking the floor, and don't use a steam mop unless the flooring and finish manufacturer specifically approve it.

A clean floor not only looks better for your holiday gathering—it also removes the grit that can contribute to scratches when your house fills with people.

2. Check Felt Pads Under Furniture

One of the easiest things you can do before a holiday party is turn over your chairs and check the felt pads.

If a pad is missing, replace it.

But don't stop there.

An old felt pad can pick up sand, grit, or other debris. Then every time somebody pulls that chair in or out, that dirty felt pad can rub against the finish.

Check chairs, stools, tables, and any furniture that may be moved during the holidays.

It's inexpensive protection that can prevent a lot of unnecessary scratching.

3. Secure Area Rugs and Protect Entrances

Connecticut holidays can mean rain, snow, road salt, sand, and grit coming through the front door.

A good entrance setup can make a tremendous difference.

Use a mat outside the entrance and another appropriate mat or rug inside. Give people a place to wipe their shoes before they walk across the hardwood.

Area rugs can also help protect busy areas, but make sure they're secure.

Rug corner grippers or a compatible rug pad can help keep a rug from sliding when guests walk across it.

Just make sure anything placed underneath the rug is appropriate for hardwood flooring and your particular finish. Some rubber, latex, or adhesive-backed products can react with certain floor finishes or leave marks behind.

4. Protect Hardwood Floors Under a Live Christmas Tree

A live Christmas tree can be beautiful, but water and hardwood floors don't mix very well.

If you have a live tree, I recommend placing a waterproof protective mat or tray underneath the tree stand.

A decorative fabric tree skirt by itself is not waterproof.

Water can spill while you're filling the stand, or moisture can become trapped underneath without anyone noticing it.

Periodically check underneath the tree stand for moisture.

And when it's time to remove the tree, don't drag the stand across the hardwood floor. Lift it or protect the floor while moving it.

A little preparation underneath the Christmas tree can prevent a much bigger floor repair later.

5. Watch Those Stiletto Heels

This is one people don't always think about.

A high heel has a very small contact point with the floor. If the protective tip on the bottom becomes worn or falls off, a small metal pin can be exposed.

Now you have someone's body weight concentrated onto an extremely small point.

That's why a damaged stiletto heel can leave small dents in hardwood flooring.

People sometimes compare the concentrated pressure of a high heel to the pressure created by an elephant. I wouldn't treat that as an exact scientific comparison, but it does illustrate the basic idea: the smaller the contact point, the greater the concentrated pressure on the wood.

Nobody needs to inspect their guests' shoes at the front door.

Just be aware that a damaged heel tip can cause more harm than most homeowners realize.

6. Give the Kids a Place to Play

The holidays usually mean children, toys, and activity.

Hard plastic wheels, metal edges, and toys that are dropped or dragged can scratch or dent a hardwood floor.

You don't have to keep the kids off the floor.

Instead, consider creating a play area with a hardwood-floor-compatible rug or protective surface.

Let them enjoy themselves while giving the hardwood a little extra protection.

7. It's Not Necessarily Too Late to Have Your Hardwood Floors Refinished

Sometimes homeowners look at their floors a week or two before company arrives and think:

"I wish I had taken care of these floors earlier."

Depending on the size and condition of the floor, the repairs needed, the color selected, and the finishing system, it may not be too late.

Today's professional dust-containment sanding equipment can dramatically reduce the amount of airborne sanding dust compared with older sanding methods.

Modern water-based finishing systems also offer lower odor and generally lower VOC emissions than traditional oil-based polyurethane.

And depending on the particular project, some hardwood floors can even be professionally sanded and finished in a single day.

That doesn't mean every project is a one-day project. Staining, repairs, square footage, floor condition, drying requirements, and the finishing system all affect the schedule.

It's also important to distinguish between completing the work and the finish being fully cured. Your flooring professional should explain when you can walk on the floor and when furniture, rugs, pets, and normal household activity can return.

So if your floors are looking tired before the holidays, don't automatically assume you've waited too long.

PART TWO — PROTECT

8. Keep a Bona Mop Handy for Holiday Spills

During a holiday party, something is eventually going to spill.

Wine, soda, water, food—it happens.

The important thing is not to panic and start flooding the area with water.

Blot up the liquid first.

Then use an appropriate hardwood floor cleaner and a microfiber mop.

I like having a Bona spray mop or microfiber mop available because it makes dealing with a small spill quick and simple.

The goal is to remove the spill rather than spread a puddle across the floor.

And don't let liquid sit on hardwood longer than necessary.

Take care of the spill, make sure nobody slips, and then get back to your party.

9. A Little Scratch Doesn't Always Mean You Need to Sand the Floor

Here's another place where homeowners sometimes panic.

Somebody moves a chair and leaves a small scratch.

That doesn't necessarily mean you need to sand the room.

For certain fine or superficial scratches, a product such as a Tibet Almond Stick can sometimes help disguise the appearance of the scratch and make it blend better with the surrounding floor.

It's important to understand what it is doing.

The scratch is still there.

You're changing or disguising its appearance so it doesn't stand out as much.

Color-matched wood touch-up crayons can sometimes accomplish something similar on certain minor scratches.

These products should be used carefully. Oils, waxes, or other residues left on a floor can potentially affect a future professional recoating or refinishing process.

But for the right small cosmetic scratch, you may be able to make it far less noticeable without sanding an entire floor.

10. Sometimes a Maintenance Finish Can Help Your Floor Last Longer

This is an area where my opinion may be a little different from some flooring contractors.

There are situations where a homeowner can get more useful life out of an existing finish with an appropriate maintenance product.

Two products I discuss with homeowners are Quick Shine Multi-Surface Floor Finish and Bona Professional Series Hardwood Floor Refresher.

These aren't ordinary floor cleaners, and they're not substitutes for professional sanding when the protective finish is worn through and you're down to bare wood.

They're maintenance products that can be useful on the right floor under the right circumstances.

Compatibility matters. You need to know what is already on the floor, and homeowners should understand that maintenance coatings can sometimes affect future professional recoating procedures.

But I've always looked at it this way:

If I can help somebody get more life out of their hardwood floor before they need to pay me to sand it, I'm happy to do that.

I've been sanding floors for a long time. I'll still be here when the floor actually needs sanding.

Not every worn-looking floor needs to be sanded today.

PART THREE — ENJOY

11. Don't Let a Scratch or Dent Ruin Your Party

This may be the most important piece of advice in the entire article.

Enjoy your family and friends.

If somebody spills a drink, take care of it.

If there's something on the floor that could cause somebody to slip, take care of it.

But if you notice a small scratch or dent during the party, you probably don't need to stop everything and deal with it immediately.

I've repaired a lot of hardwood floors over the years.

Most cosmetic damage can wait until tomorrow.

Your family is there now.

Your friends are there now.

Enjoy them.

When Should You Call a Hardwood Flooring Professional?

Not every scratch needs professional repair, and not every hardwood floor needs to be sanded.

But there are situations where it's worth having an experienced hardwood flooring professional take a look.

That includes floors where the protective finish has worn through to bare wood, deep gouges or dents, significant water damage or buckling, dark stains or pet stains, and widespread wear that can't reasonably be handled with normal maintenance.

Even then, don't automatically assume the entire floor has to be replaced.

Depending on the problem, individual boards can sometimes be repaired or replaced, damaged areas can sometimes be woven into the existing flooring, and a worn floor may be a good candidate for professional hardwood floor refinishing.

The important thing is figuring out what the floor actually needs rather than automatically choosing the most expensive solution.

A Holiday Message From Brian Daigle

I've spent approximately 55 years working with hardwood floors, beginning when I was a little kid working alongside my father.

Our family's hardwood flooring history goes back four generations to 1927 in Maine, and our Connecticut operation began around 1972.

I've watched hardwood flooring products, sanding equipment, finishes, and maintenance options change tremendously during that time.

But one thing hasn't changed.

A hardwood floor is part of a home, and a home is meant to be lived in.

So prepare your floors before everyone arrives.

Protect them where it makes sense.

Clean up liquid spills when they happen.

And if somebody leaves a little scratch or dent?

The floors can wait until tomorrow.

Enjoy your family. Enjoy your friends. Enjoy your home.