Reasons Why Your Hardwood Floor Looks Dull

Everyone enjoys the amazing beauty and elegance of a newly installed or newly refinished hardwood floor. All the shine, gloss, style, sophisticated look, and beauty. However, over time, no matter how good and regular you are in maintaining and cleaning your floor, you will notice that this initial glory and beauty start fading and in the end your favourite wooden floor becomes dull, aged, and tired burden. Thankfully, there are many ways and very efficient wood floor maintenance and restoration services that bring back the floor to its initial beauty and glory. However, you may be more interested in the reasons why a wood floor becomes dull over time and what you can do in order to prevent this from happening or at least slow down the process.

We don’t leave you to learn the wood floor maintenance lesson the hard way. Instead, we would like to discuss with you more about the top reasons why your floor may start looking dull and feeling distressed. Once you know the source of all the issues, you will be easily able to prevent problems with your wooden floor.

Too Much Exposure on Sun

Thankfully, nowadays there are some hard-wearing wood floor finishes with an added UV filter that protects the floor from the damaging power of excessive sun exposure and its colour from fading and dulling. However, the protective power of such finishes is to an extent. Therefore, some additional protection steps are recommended in order to avoid your wooden floor getting dull as a result of too much sun exposure.

In order to prevent fading of the colour of your wooden floor and discolouration, you are recommended to keep the curtains and blinds shut down during the day and especially in the summertime for as long as possible. Don’t forget to shut them down while you are at work during the day and there is no one at home and also during your summer holiday when you are away. You can also opt for installing UV-resistant tinted windows.

High Heels

Yes, it is a well-known fact that wearing shoes inside the house and especially high heels will leave so many micro scratches on the surface of the floor and its finish. Yet, there are many people who continue to wear shoes over the floor and this can lead to premature wear and tear of the floor as well as a dull and tired appearance. It is finally about time to reconsider wearing shoes inside the house and opt for comfy, fluffy slippers instead. Don’t forget to also put a few mats and rugs strategically around the house and especially on the front door to prevent too much dust and dirt from entering the house and leaving scratches on the floor. This all makes cleaning the floor significantly easier and quicker too.

Pet Nails

The nails of your pets are yet another reason why your floor may struggle with micro scratches and other imperfections that lead to a worn, dull, and tired look. To prevent scratches from being caused by the long nails of your pets, make sure to keep them trimmed and short at all times.

Pet Urine

However, your four-pawed friend and member of the family can cause some damage and dullness to your hardwood floor in another way too – by leaving puddles of urine on your floor. Pet’s urine contains ammonia and uric acid that can easily eat away the floor’s natural gloss and cause some serious dullness and discolouration. So in case such incidents happen in your household, make sure to clean up the mess immediately to keep the damage as minimal as possible.

The Wrong Cleaning Products

The upkeep of a wooden floor definitely does not require you to invest a lot of elbow grease, energy, time, and money. It is simple and effective, but only when you do it properly. Often, the main reason for dullness and damage of the wooden floor is when we don’t use the right cleaning products. Remember, the only cleaning products you should use for your hardwood floor are the ones designed for hardwood flooring.

They contain a neutral pH that is gentle enough and won’t damage the finish and cause discolouration and dullness, yet effective enough to remove even stubborn dirt. Here are some ingredients and types of cleaning products you should avoid at all costs: products containing ammonia and acids; abrasive products; harsh chemical solutions, even natural ones such as vinegar and other alkaline products; wood renewal-type products that can leave residue or film; oil soaps and waxes that can leave a film that is very hard to remove.

Excess Water

Excess water can really damage your floor and dullness is among the minor problems related to excess water. Always make sure to clean up spills and splashes of water and other liquids immediately and minimise the risk of permanent damage. In addition, when cleaning your floor, make sure the mop is only slightly damp and never wet.