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Wooden Flooring Protection When Moving
Most people wish that their hardwood floors were durable. On the contrary, they are easily damaged when appliances are dragged on them, heavy objects drop on them, and marking shoes walk on them. You wouldn't want to cause damage to the gorgeous floors of your new home.
You must try to avoid any damage to your floor as much as possible. Are you unsure of the best ways to prevent floor damages when moving? The moving tips below will guide you on how best to move without damaging your hardwood floors.
It doesn't matter whether your floors are made of tile, hardwood, or carpet. Your floors are always at risk when you are moving. For instance, you may be tempted to drag your furniture across the floor, especially when working by yourself. DIY is the last thing that should come into your mind at this point because it may cost you a lot.
What To Do To Avoid Damaging Your Wooden Floor
Enlist Help
It is not an easy process to move heavy furniture. Therefore, you must ask for help unless you move small items like plant stands. Pushing and moving heavy items on your own can be a hazardous exercise. You can easily hurt your shoulders and back and end up damaging your beautiful hardwood or pine flooring.
It's often advisable to get some family members and friends to help you move all the heavy items. These items include beds, coffee tables, couches, dining tables, desks, large chairs, buffets, dressers, and console tables. Don't worry if you can't get friends and family to help.
You can hire moving professionals to help you load and unload the items. The best thing about utilising professionals is that they are well trained and have many years of experience moving bulky items through short and long distances.
Disassemble Furniture
Never try to move your furniture as it is. Some items that call for disassembling first before moving include the bed frame and headboard. You can also remove cushions off your couch and take out all the drawers inside your dresser or desk. This process will only take a little of your time.
However, this lightens the load a big deal. Always keep your toolbox around you for those items whose stands and other parts need removal. You can therefore move your furniture quickly once all parts are apart.
Clear the Floor
Before moving your furniture, you must ensure that rugs, carpet, knick-knacks, miscellaneous baskets, and other objects are off the floor. Getting everything off the floor eliminates the danger of sliding or falling with the heavy items you carry. Bumping into things on the floor while moving the items wastes a lot of your time, which is why you need to clear all obstacles on your path.
The third reason you should remove everything from the floor is to avoid scratching your furniture and floors. You will not want to repair your furniture on the move day every time you move into a new home.
Work Slowly and Carefully
The best way to move your furniture is by doing it slowly and carefully. This protects you from any accidents and avoids spoiling your floors. Always ensure you apply the recommended techniques when lifting your furniture off the ground. Bend at your hips to squat down to the load, place it close enough to your body, then straighten your legs to lift it.
It is improper to lift heavy objects above your shoulder level. If you decide to pull or push your furniture across the floor, ensure that the gliders are firmly attached. Move slowly and keep checking to avoid scratching your floors. Keep in mind that you are not in competition with anybody. Sometimes you may be tempted to load your furniture into the truck speedily but always remember that heavy furniture requires special handling.
Don't Drag Furniture
When you drag your furniture across your floors without protecting it, whether light or heavy, it ends up spoiling the floor. That being said, regardless of the kind of wooden floor in your house, dragging your furniture on it will destroy its furnish and surface, therefore defacing it.
You can use dollies or rubber tires to carry stack boxes and lightweight items to avoid destroying the floors. This technique, however, is limited because the rubber tires pick up debris and pebbles, which easily cause damage. Therefore, the best practice is to use floor protection even if you are using a dolly.
Never drag heavy furniture like chairs, couches, and dressing tables when moving. Instead, you can cover their feet and edges with a soft fabric or wrap them using secure padding for proper protection.
If you or the mover accidentally drop heavy objects on the floor, be sure that the floor will be well protected. You must also ensure protective felt is fixed at the bottom of your furniture, especially if you regularly rearrange the items in your home out of habit.
What To Use To Protect Your Wooden Floor
Doormats
Contrary to the thought that doormats are unnecessary when protecting hardwood floors, they are some of the best protection items. When you or the mover walks on the grass with dew and then on dirty driveways, the shoes pick up these items and create a slippery condition which can be very risky. Therefore, using doormats to clean or wipe out most of the dirt picked up while outside can protect your wood flooring.
Rugs and Runners
For protection, you can decide to make a route in your room by creating a walkway running from your door to every part of the house. The only problem you will encounter with rugs is that they never stay still, especially if the surface of your floor is slick.
Therefore, ensure you eliminate all wrinkles in your tripping hazard or rugs. Some of the runners have a nonstick component to stop them from moving, but it's advisable to create some for those without. The smooth surface you make works well, especially when using a dolly to move, which can pose a lot of risk to the floor if it hits a bump.
Furniture Slider
There are various furniture sliders available for moving. They are handy gadgets and can excellently protect hardwood flooring when moving. They also make it easier for anyone to move heavy items. When using them, lift the corner of your object, then push one slider underneath.
Do this repeatedly until every part touching the floor has a cover on it. At this point, it's possible to slide your furniture to wherever you want to take them. These sliders are very helpful when moving bulky and super heavy objects like chests, armoires, sofas, etc.
Cardboard
Cardboard is very convenient, and you will most likely go for it. Take the extra boxes lying idly in your home and create a cardboard path on your floor using them. Sometimes they help but are often not the best since they slide easily. They are also rough and can cause damage to the floor.
If these boxes are wet, they can transfer the prints to the floor. Cardboard is useful when you need a quick fix like sliding a heavy appliance.
Red Rosin Paper
If you are wondering how to properly protect your floors, red rosin paper can be a good option. This paper is 100 percent recycled and is best for sliding and flooring purposes. It minimises moisture, and some have a polyurethane coating, making them resistant to moisture and tearing. You can get one in shops that sell building supplies or a Home Depot.
Ram Boards
Ram boards can also be of excellent service to you when moving. It is costly to acquire, but you can't compare this cost to that of repairing damaged floors. It's a heavy-duty product, and it is made using recycled materials. You can reuse it any time you plan on moving. Ram boards provide maximum protection and are used mainly by contractors as they are constantly moving materials and toolboxes over all types of surfaces.
How To Repair A Scratched Wooden Floor
When moving, the tips on best-preventing damages to your hardwood flooring can work for you quickly when you apply them appropriately. However, no matter how cautious you think you are when moving, it's inevitable to eliminate all danger of scratching wooden floors.
In case of any scratches, you should be ready to handle them. If the scratch is only on the surface of the bare wood, fill it in with a stain that matches the colour of your floor. Stain markers and blending pencils can be beneficial. Ensure you instantly wipe away any excess stain before the floor dries.
Apply a pre-coloured latex wood floor filler to cover gouges that go deeper into the wood. Make sure that the filler used matches your floor colour. Use a plastic putty knife to apply it, and once it dries up. Once dry, use fine-grit sandpaper to level the surface. Apply a coat of varnish to finish up the repair.
Hire Movers With The Right Equipment
Most movers have the best reputation, having moved a lot of customers over the years. They are well equipped with the necessary moving skills, and they can comfortably work around the hardwood. When you hire the right movers, they will come with the necessary equipment for protecting your hardwood floors from damage.
For instance, the movers may bring Masonite, a compressed wood which they lay down in places with heavy foot traffic when moving. This means your entryways and hallways will not get scratches. For floor protection on the high-traffic areas, these professionals also have vinyl rolls that come in different colours, such as red, which looks more like a red carpet.
You should, however, be careful of movers who appear wearing booties over their shoes because they can easily slide on the floors while carrying the heavy appliances and destroy them. Instead, ensure your movers wear non-slip rubber-soled shoes. This is because rubber is a safe material for walking on hardwood floors.
Moving dollies are safe to use because they have rubbers on their tires which roll and bounce on the floor without damaging it. Therefore it is recommended to always check to ensure that your movers are licensed with good customer reviews.
