How to protect your kitchen hardwood

At Gowdy Flooring, we understand how protective you might feel towards your new hardwood floors – and for good reason! A substantial investment to your home that adds great value, hardwood flooring is durable, hard-wearing, and beautiful. However, especially in the kitchen, this installation requires extra care to ensure its prolonged lifespan. So, how do you protect your planks from water spills and high traffic? Here are some easy tips to keep your hardwood in tip-top shape for a long time.

Well-placed rugs work wonders

“High risk” areas in the kitchen, such as in front of the dishwasher, sink, and around the pet bowls, need a little extra protection from food, water, and liquid mishaps. Rugs are a great solution to keep your investment well-protected. However, when choosing a rug, check the backing to make sure you’re not getting one that will trap moisture and in turn discolor the floors. Avoid rugs with underpadding that have substances like PVC, plastics, chemicals, adhesives, and glues that can damage planks, sticking or staining the wood.

Add felt protectors

In kitchens with an island that has barstools, minimize scuff and scratch marks by adding felt protectors to the bottoms of chairs. Ideally, you're looking for felt-backed, non-abrasive products. Plastic or rubber-backed options can discolor your floors by trapping moisture underneath the pads.

Clean regularly

The great thing about today’s hardwood floors is they’re very quick and simple to clean and maintain. With a little preventative maintenance and a few inexpensive cleaning tools, your planks will remain stunning for decades. Upkeep-wise, daily sweeping or dust mopping, and occasional damp mopping are all it takes to keep planks in great shape. Look, it's a kitchen, so messes are bound to happen – that's life! However, no matter what the mess is, what's key is the quick clean-up routine. When spills and drips occur, just clean it up immediately with paper towels or a clean cloth – and that's it!

Get quality materials from a dedicated hardwood flooring retailer

At our hardwood flooring store in Amarillo, TX, our showroom professionals have extensive experience and industry knowledge of all flooring materials. As such, we can help you select the best soft or hard surfacing for your rooms. Servicing the Canyon, Dumas, Borger, Amarillo, and Hereford regions, we can simplify the confusing world of flooring!