The entrance is the most prominent feature of a house and if you have hardwood floors installed in your house, your entrances are sure to be majestic and outclass.
However, this luxury comes at a price of high maintenance and many dangers which are constantly lurking around your wood floor entryway in the hope of spoiling and damaging it.
In such a situation one would surely think about how to protect wood floor entryway and keep it in the best condition possible.
To protect your wood floor entryway, place rugs/mats to trap dirt, and remove shoes. These measures prevent scratches and preserve the floor’s appearance.
Moreover, these methods might seem too simple but they are so important that you if fail to acknowledge their effectiveness, you will surely see a downfall of your hardwood floors entrances shortly.
However, there are a few other methods to protect your wood floor entryway as well so make sure you stick along till the end.
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How To Protect Wood Floor Entryway?
The best way to protect the entrances of your hardwood floors is to place rugs and doormats on the entrances, as this can take the harshness coming with the traffic from outside.
Not only can this prevent the floors from getting damaged, but it will also protect their pristine condition over an extended time.
The entrance of a house is one of the most attractive and noticeable features as it is the first feature you see when you step into someone’s house.
Similarly, you would want the entrances of your house to look spotless, clean, and beautiful with the luxury hardwood floors you have installed.
However, there are many other methods of keeping the entryways protected apart from placing rugs and doormats.
And that, too, has some important pointers that you must notice. If you are also wondering how to protect wood floor entryways, rest assured that we’ve got you covered.
Below are some important points regarding hardwood floor entry point protection that you must know.
Place Rugs On Entrances
Placing rugs on the entrance is one of the wisest decisions you can make if you want to protect the wood floor entryway in your house.
Rugs can receive the initial grit and debris from the hardwood floors and protect the wood against these harsh factors.
Moreover, rugs are also very helpful in adding contrast to your floors and enhancing the texture and appearance of the entrances.
Hence, placing rugs on the entrances is highly suitable if you want them to stay protected and well-maintained.
Rugs might be costly, but they are worth the money as the luxury and benefits they provide are exemplary.
Place Mats As Alternatives
While many might argue on this, placing doormats is also as useful as placing rugs on the entryways.
If you can’t afford expensive rugs or find something matching your hardwood floors, you can easily move on to placing door mats, as they are a suitable alternative and provide the same benefits as the mats at a significantly lower cost.
Door mats can also get rid of dirt and debris from your shoe, which might have caused damage to the entryway of your wooden floors.
Besides, it might do an even better job taking care of these matters in some cases than rugs. In addition, if it’s hard to follow the no-shoe policy in your house or you’re afraid others might not follow it, it is best to place floor mats on all house entrances.
This way, you can at least catch the moisture, dirt, and grime on the mats and prevent them from reaching the wooden floor.
Placing these on the entrances will also help reduce the effect of the grit on the hardwood floors and prevent the entrance from looking worn out and rough.
Place Felt Pads Under The Furniture
Felt pads are one of the best innovations for hardwood floors and can protect the place of the entrance on your hardwood floors. While you might be thinking about what felt pads are, allowing us to elaborate.
They are small mats which can be placed under the legs of furniture to soften the point of impact and prevent any marks or scratches on the floor.
Scuff and scratch marks from moving furniture are common, and even static furniture that doesn’t move around much can leave marks on your floor as the pressure is exerted from a smaller area.
Felt pads can help you in this scenario if you have some decoration items or furniture placed near the entrance on your hardwood floors.
Though the furniture is not moving, the sheer weight of it is concentrated on the floors through the legs, which can cause denting over time and create scratches when the furniture or items are moved intentionally or unintentionally.
Hence, it is important to use felt pads to soften the impact and ensure that the weight is evenly distributed and not concentrated on one small spot on the floor.
This can make a huge difference in the condition of your hardwood floors as they won’t have to bear the extensive amounts of tension all the time as earlier.
Remove Shoes When Inside The House
While many people ignore this method and even frown upon it, walking bare feet on your floors yields many benefits to you and the hardwood floors.
Even if you have placed rugs or doormats, the area immediately ahead of this will still receive some pressure, if not the dirt and grime from outside.
The sole of your shoes has a grit effect on the floor, similar to sanding.
When you’ve sanded the floor once and applied the finish, grit through shoe soles can cause unevenness in the textures of the finish.
Besides, it can also reduce longevity as wear and tear increase significantly.
Many homeowners believe that rubbing their feet on the rugs or mats will save them from this danger, but they are unaware that dirt and other unwanted substances can be cleaned right away, but you can’t sweep the grit which has already taken effect on the hardwood floors.
In addition, this grinding can first wear out your varnish and slowly move towards the surface of the hardwood floors. Hence, removing your shoes while entering the house is best to protect your hardwood floor entryway.
Clean Any Spillage Immediately
This one might seem a bit odd, but it is as important as all others.
Often, spillages can occur on the entrance of your hardwood floors in cases such as moving in bottles of water, bringing in groceries and accidentally dropping something while closing the door, and much more.
Besides, if you have kids in the house, this problem will surely be a common one in your house.
Spillages are a nuisance and can damage the entryway severely in your house. You or the children in the house might accidentally spill anything on the floor.
It’s not a big deal if you clean it immediately rather than letting it sit and dry on the surface.
However, if you let it dry on the surface, you might face serious problems later. The surface of the wood will absorb the liquid, slowly seep into the subfloor structure and get absorbed by wood fibers all over.
Resulting in swallowed or crowned floors at entryways. Hence, use any absorbent cloth or a towel to soak it up and wipe it off immediately to prevent further inconveniences.
Remove Potted Plants From The Entrances
Potted plants on entrances might look very beautiful, but they certainly are not the best way to protect wood floor entryways, but in fact, they actually act against it. It is not wise to place any plants, be they potted or not, on the wooden surface.
The main reason is that there is a high chance you would spill some water to water the plants, which might damage the surface over time.
The pots can leak, and you may also spill some water accidentally and increase the water exposure of the wooden floors in the entryway.
Besides, if the leakage is from the pot, it won’t be sooner that you will know how much damage your floors have taken.
Only when the floor’s texture starts to change around the pot will you notice something wrong.
Hence, it is best not to place any potted plants on the entrances, and you can use artificial plants as alternatives or place them somewhere else with a small mat underneath so they don’t damage the surface of the wood anywhere.
Final Thoughts
Hardwood floors require a reasonable amount of maintenance to keep them in the best condition possible.
However, there are a few steps you can take to limit the actions of wear and tear on the floors, especially on the entrances.
This would result in well-maintained hardwood floors which have an even and smooth surface all over and the entrance doesn’t seem extra worn out.
Follow the steps mentioned above and you will be able to protect your wood floor entryways without any significant hassle.
As a co-creator of FlooringFlow.com, Emma Sophia comes on board to answer all your questions related to any flooring problems. Together with John Henry, she’s gained extensive experience in fixing many flooring problems in their own house as well as in friends and family’s. Now, she wants to share her knowledge that she gained during floor remodeling, restoring, and DIY projects.
