How to Restore Worn Out Wooden Floors

Wood is a noble, warm and resilient material. But wooden floors require certain care and treatments to prevent damage. On top of that, daily use can scratch, wear out and discolor your floors.

You need to pay close attention to your floors as there are many possible factors that can affect them. By giving them the care that they need, you can maintain them in perfect condition.

Worn out wooden floors

Wooden floors inevitably feel the effects of daily use and wear down like any other material. Some of the most common causes of damage include the following:

• Excessive humidity in the room or underneath the floors.
• Pets.
• Poor cleaning or applying cleaning products that aren’t apt for wooden floors.
• Dragging furniture and objects across floors.

While floors will inevitably wear out to some degree, you can still take certain precautionary measures to reduce the damage. Look for the following signs to detect any serious damage on your floors that requires maintenance or restoration.

Loss of shine and color

Wood wears out over time and loses its shine and color. It’s completely natural, especially if you didn’t use a treatment on your floors or if it’s been a long time since the last restoration.

Elevated areas

Excessive humidity or other serious problems under your floorboards can cause them to lift up. When wet gets wet, it swells and as a consequence, floors rise in certain areas.

Scratches and nicks

Walking across your floors every day has consequences; it leaves behind scratches and nicks. But more often than not, scratches from dragging furniture and pets.

Restoring wooden floors

Now that we’ve gone through the possible causes of degradation, let’s look at how to recuperate, maintain and make them shine like new. The right treatment for your floors will depend on the types of damages it suffered.

Scratched floors

If your floors are all scratched up from everyday life, the most you can do is give them a little maintenance. By doing so every now and then, you can prevent serious damage in the long run. Wax and polish are essential elements for a homogeneous shine.

First, sand down your entire floor. Then, apply wax with an abrasive sponge. Make sure to use a wax that’s appropriate for the type of wood. When dry, hand or machine polish for a shiny finish.

Your floors will look like new after this treatment; scratch-free and shiny once again. Make sure to maintain your floors regularly.

Floors with moisture damage

Just as we mentioned above, excessive humidity can also damage wooden floors. The moisture causes certain areas of the floor to rise and degrade. Unlike the other cases in our post today, this is a serious problem.

Contact a professional that can advise you on how to proceed. In most cases, the wood has to be replaced because the damage is beyond resolve.

Adding on, don’t install wooden floors without a plastic shield in rooms that usually have high levels of humidity, such as bathrooms.

Wooden floors with faded colors

You should restore your wooden floors to gleam like new if they’ve lost their original color. First, start by sanding the entire area to eliminate any impurities and traces of old paint.

Next, apply a coat of varnish that can give you the tone you’re looking for. Your floors will look just like new.

General maintenance

Maintenance is essential for keeping your floors beautiful. Giving them treatment every now and then will also prevent the problems that we’ve talked about in our post.

Be gentle with your floors and avoid using abrasive cleaning products or chemicals that harm the wood. Give them a gentle clean every day.

You should also take extra care to lift furniture or objects instead of dragging them across the floor. By lifting them, you can prevent scratches.

Also, try to wax and polish your floors regularly to maintain their original color and shine. By following our tips, your floors will look shiny, beautiful and just like new.