Protect Floors from Furniture: Considerations and Options

How to Protect Hardwood Floors from Chairs and Furniture

In the realm of floor care, a lot of attention is placed on protecting floors against outside contaminants and making sure everyone in the home is aware of good floor-friendly habits. Sometimes, furniture and chair legs can get overlooked as potential sources of floor damage. Unprotected furniture and chair legs can still grind grit and debris into your floor’s finish. Greater concern for scratches and gouges comes from heavier pieces of furniture. For another added layer of hardwood floor protection, chairs and furniture legs need to be made more floor-friendly.

Furniture Protection Types

A popular form of chair leg protection is the chair glide or furniture pad. Quite simply, these are pads made of different types of material that are put on the bottoms of your chair legs. There are different types of chair glides, each offering different levels of cost and protection.

Tap-on/nail-on pads. These types of pads are very secure since they are attached to the furniture leg with either a small nail or screw. Tap-on pads use different materials to make contact with your floor, depending on your floor type. Care should be used with tap-on pads because if they are not properly installed, the nail or screw may be exposed to harm your floor.

Self-adhesive pads. These are peel and stick pads that can be found almost everywhere. They are typically made of felt or rubber and are the least expensive.

Slip-on pads. These pads are made to fit over a chair leg and are often made of rubber or soft plastic.

Floor Type Matters

While most chair glides and furniture pads are sold as universal pads for all floor types, some consideration is needed for the floor type you have. Common materials to make chair glides and furniture pads are felt, rubber, cork, plastic and metal. Be especially careful with chair glides since they are made to help furniture move on the floor. Choosing the wrong material with chair glides can lead to floor damage.

Carpet. A harder material like steel or plastic work best.

Hard Floors (hardwood, ceramic tile). Felt and rubber work best. If using rubber, be weary of potential scuff marks. Make sure the felt is thick enough for even heavy furniture.

Soft floors (vinyl, rubber). Felt, rubber and plastic work best.

This article was first published on https://us.bona.com/articles/how-to-protect-hardwood-floors-from-chairs-and-furniture.html