Hardwood floors are a lovely, warm flooring option that brings richness, style, and polished sophistication. However, there are times when dropped items, rough shoes, pet’s claws, or the kid’s horse play can scratch or dent your exquisite, hardwood masterpiece. Most of these scratches can be easily fixed or disguised until the next time the floor is refinished. So, cease your huffing and follow these easy steps to take care of those inevitable blemishes.
1. Determine How Deep the Scratch has Penetrated
Oftentimes, the scratch has only scored the surface layer or finish of the floor. These can be easily treated using the following steps. However, a gash that has penetrated through the surface layer, gouging deeper into the wood, will not be easily fixed by the tips detailed below. If your floor has been gouged rather than scraped, you may need to have the board replaced or repaired by a professional flooring company or contractor.
2. Clean the Damaged Area of the Floor
Before applying any stain or color to the scratched area, it’s important for it to be cleaned properly. This can be done with two types of cleaners. The first type is simply warm water; use a warm, damp cloth and clean the scratched area in a circular motion. The second type of cleaner that can be used is mineral spirits. Mineral spirits is a versatile solvent that cleans easily without much scrubbing necessary. Wet a cloth with the cleaner and apply in a circular motion to cleanse the area.
3. Color the Scratch
There are three ways to color the scratch to your hardwood floor. Your choice mostly depends on the availability of the materials required for each coloring option.
A. Stain Marker
The first is a stain marker, which can be bought from most hardware stores. When selecting one of these markers to fix a scrape in your floor, you will want to choose the shade that best matches the color of your floor. Simply color over the scrape so that the area blends into the floorboards around it.
B. Cotton Swab Dipped in Floor Stain
The second way to color a scrape is simply by dipping a cotton swab into the staining liquid that was originally used to stain the boards. If you don’t happen to have a sample of the stained used on your floor, you can contact the manufacturer who installed your floor, ask for the stain they used, and purchase a sample. Some manufacturers even sell hardwood floor touch-up kits. It may behoove you to purchase one of these kits in order to be prepared for any future scrapes or scratches.
C. Colored Permanent Marker
The third option for coloring in a floor scrape is to simply use a Sharpie or other type of permanent marker that is a similar color as your hardwood floor. Color over the scrape, being careful to use as little of the marker as possible. Excessive coloring with a permanent market can cause the scrape to stand out instead of blend into the wood grain. It’s best to apply minimal coloring and then stand back at a distance to see if the area needs to be filled in further.
If you’re looking to replace your current flooring with a new hardwood, tile, laminate, carpet, or vinyl, Remnant King Carpets is an experienced, professional flooring company that can meet any and all of your flooring needs. Feel free to contact us today with any questions you may have about any of these flooring options.