Your dog brings you endless joy and unforgettable memories. However, if you have hardwood floors and dogs, you might wonder how to keep your floors looking nice with your furry friend constantly running around.
You love your dog, but their nails can scratch your floors. Additionally, some types of flooring contain harsh chemicals that can actually hurt your dog, so it’s essential to ensure your hardwood floors are not only scratch-proof but dog-safe.
Authentic Hardwood Flooring explains what you need to know about choosing the right hardwood floor for your home — and your dog — and how to keep your hardwood flooring in Atlanta looking beautiful.
Make Sure Your Hardwood Floors Are Dog-Safe
Although you might not realize it, some floors can be harmful to dogs. For example, several hardwood flooring manufacturers make their products using high levels of formaldehyde, a type of volatile organic compound (VOC) that can travel through the air and cause health or respiratory problems.
While this isn’t an issue for you, your furry friend likes to sniff, and their nose is always closer to the ground than yours. As such, they have a greater chance of inhaling these VOCs, putting their health at risk.
When looking at different solid hardwood floor options, check if the manufacturer uses any VOCs in the manufacturing process to ensure that you install dog-safe floors.
How to Keep Your Hardwood Floors Looking Great with Dogs in the House
Now that you know how to pick flooring that’s safe for your favorite pooch, you need to know how to keep your flooring looking great, even with Fido running around.
Trim Your Pup’s Nails
When considering hardwood floors and dogs, most people think about how pet nails can easily scratch their nice floors. The simplest way to keep your dog’s nails from scratching your floors is by regularly trimming them.
Choose a Light to Medium Color for Your Floors
Scratches on dark hardwood floors are significantly more noticeable than scratches on lighter floors. Lighter-colored floors also don’t show fur or dust as much, which helps you keep a cleaner-looking home.
Install a Hard Species of Wood
If you want floors that truly resist scratches, choose a harder species of wood. Soft wood, like cypress, cedar, or Douglas fir, is more susceptible to scratches and nicks from your dog’s nails. Plus, softer wood is more likely to dent if you have larger dogs running around.
Find Flooring With a More Pronounced Grain
Hardwood flooring with a more pronounced grain can hide scratches easily. Consider installing oak, hickory, or ash wood floors.
Stay Away From Gloss
Glossy floors show scratches and other imperfections more than matte or satin hardwood finish options.
Use Texture as Camouflage
You can use texture to camouflage scratches and dents on your floors. Add texture to your floors by wire brushing or hand scraping the planks.
Put Mats Under Your Pooch’s Food and Water Bowls
Although modern hardwood floors, especially engineered hardwood, are very durable, constant exposure to water can still lead to damage. To protect your floors, put a mat under your dog’s food and water bowls.
If your dog tends to dribble and drool more than others, consider putting their bowl on a tilted surface. A constantly soaked mat doesn’t do any good for your hardwood floors, either.
Clean Up Messes Right Away
If your dog leaves a mess on your hardwood floors, clean it up as soon as possible to prevent the urine from damaging your floors.
At Authentic Hardwood Flooring, we can refinish and repair your hardwood floors if your furry friend leaves a few scratches. We love hardwood floors and dogs, so contact us online or call (678) 985-0110 to schedule an appointment and explore your options for hardwood flooring in Atlanta!
