Best Ways to Protect Wooden Floors During a Move

Very few people can say that moving is fun. Mostly everyone agrees that it is tiring, stressful, requires a lot of planning, and can often be expensive, causing damage to items and floors. Moving can keep you busy for a long time.

Planning, packing, unpacking, cleaning, and protecting wooden floors is not simple, especially if you do it all yourself and do not contact a professional moving agency.

Let's learn how to protect your wooden floors when moving, and which materials, equipment, and shoes to use because once a wooden floor is damaged, it is impossible to repair the damage.

Why is it Important to Protect Wooden Floors?

During a move, floors are especially at risk due to the high volume of activity- carrying heavy objects, moving boxes, sliding furniture, or accidental spills. Wooden floors are sensitive to scratches, cracks, dents, and moisture, which can cause permanent damage and decrease their aesthetic and functional value.

Make a Furniture List

The first thing you should do is make a list of the furniture in your home, as well as the large electrical appliances:

• Beds
• Sofas
• Tables and chairs
• Closets
• Bookshelves
• The trail
• Fridge.

When you make a list, you can also prepare the necessary materials for packing and transporting furniture, as well as protective films and cardboard for wooden floors.

Measure Furniture

Before moving furniture, measure the width, length, and height, of each of your large pieces of furniture and take those measurements into account how items are moved to protect the wood floors.

Measuring and planning ahead can prevent mistakes that can lead to damaged floors. Don't risk a large piece of furniture rolling over and ruining the floors. In addition to measuring the furniture, be sure to measure the doors and rooms to make sure that large objects will come out of them.

Materials for the Protection of Wooden Floors

Many materials can help you protect wooden floors, and we will list a few:

• Special foils for floors
• Carpets
• Cardboard
• Slides for furniture
• Felt coasters
• Styrofoam
• Protective strips
• Foam pad
• A certain type of footwear suitable for moving that will not damage the wooden floor.

Foam Pad

The foam base is a light and effective material for protection. This foam provides good shock absorption and is used under heavy furniture. Placing this underlay along corridors or entryways can help reduce the risk of damage to floors when transporting large and heavy objects.

Special Foils for Floors

There are several types of nylon and plastic foils for floor protection. It's good to get films made of thick plastic, which are excellent for protection. Before buying, measure the floor area in all rooms, corridors, kitchens, and bathrooms so that you know exactly how many meters you need.

Carpets and Rugs

If you have old carpets or have decided to buy new ones, use them to protect the wooden floors so that they are not damaged. They are convenient because you can drag heavier pieces of furniture instead of pushing or carrying them, which would make moving easier.

Cardboard

Cardboard is very suitable for floor protection. But if you buy cardboard boards, buy thicker, larger grammage. The cost in your budget will likely be higher, but you will have peace of mind because the cardboard prevents direct contact of heavy objects with the floor and protects it from scratches.

Slides for Furniture

Glides are ideal for heavy and bulky furniture such as beds, wardrobes, stoves, and refrigerators because they are easier to move on the floor without loss.

Felt Pads

Put felt mats under all the legs on your chairs, dining tables, and desks. With bookshelves as well as under the lower parts of the furniture. This will protect the floor from scratches and moving will be easier.

Protective Tapes and Styrofoam

Tapes and styrofoam can provide additional impact and scratch resistance, especially on parts of the floor with a lot of movement. There are several types of protective tape.

Strips for hardwood floors

They are used to prevent the sliding of protective pads or cardboard. And they don't leave glue on the floors.

Tape for Carpet

They stick to the underside of the carpets to prevent them from sliding while not damaging carpets and providing stability when moving.

Anti-slip strips

They are used for sensitive surfaces such as shiny floors, bathrooms, and kitchens because they prevent slipping and provide stability for transporting things and workers.

Shoes to Wear

To protect your wooden floors from damage, you must also think about which shoes you will use, because it is known that shoes with hard soles or heels would surely damage the wooden floor. Therefore, get adequate shoes before moving.

Indoor slippers

Because they are soft and have a rubber sole, they are light and do not leave marks.

Canvas sneakers

They are comfortable for long-standing, light, have a soft sole, and do not damage floors.

Footwear with a soft rubber sole is ideal for moving because it does not slip, does not leave marks, and does not scratch the floor. Avoid shoes with hard leather or plastic soles, as well as those with metal decorative parts that will surely damage your floor.

Good to Know

You must know that in many cases protection depends on the furniture and that only one type of protection is not enough, so if you use cardboard when moving, it could cause minor scratches. For this reason, you should also put a protective plastic film that is soft, etc.

Clean the Floors

When moving and transferring furniture, regularly wipe, sweep, and vacuum the wooden floors, because due to the large flow of people, dust, small stones, and other rubbish that are brought in unnoticed can cause a lot of damage to the floors and cause additional costs.

After moving wooden floors that have certainly been exposed to chemical or mechanical damage, protect them with:

• Mild means for cleaning wooden floors
• Oils to maintain shine.
• Lacquers.

These preparations will help wooden floors to be more durable and resistant.

Carry the Furniture, Don't Drag It

If possible, always carry items instead of dragging them across the floor. Dragging heavy objects, even if placed on protective cardboard, can damage the floor. Employ enough people so that heavy objects can be carried, thus reducing the pressure on wooden floors.

Hire Professional

If you’re worried about damaging your floors, consider hiring a professional moving company. They have the experience, equipment, and techniques to move heavy items without harming your floors.

Key Takeaways

Protecting wooden floors during moving is not only to keep your floors beautiful but also to ensure their durability. Although the protection of floors during a move seems to be slow and demanding, if you use the necessary protective materials and techniques or hire professionals, your floors will remain undamaged and in excellent condition.