Easily Fix Scratches on Hardwood Floors
I love having hardwood floors. We have them in every room, but the kitchen and bathroom, and they are generally very easy to keep clean. Besides vacuuming and mopping the only other maintenance I do is to fix the occasional small scratch.
Before we bought our house, the bank that owned it painted all the walls, put in a new kitchen and refinished the hardwood floors. The day we closed on the house they were shiny and perfect, but the day after we moved in they had several large scratches from trying to move big furniture into our new small space.
Instead of getting upset (ok, ok...I did get a little upset when it first happened) I used an old trick that I've used in my other homes with hardwoods. This is generally for scratches that aren't deep. Scratches caused by moving furniture.
How do I quickly and easily fix scratches on my hardwoods?
After I make sure the floor is clean and vacuumed I take a cotton swab and dip it into some polyurethane (you will want to make sure that the finish of you poly matches your floor, I'm using clear satin on mine). A little bit goes a long way.
Lightly rub the cotton swab over the scratch until its covered. You want to try to only get poly on the scratch and not rub it all over the surrounding area. Also, be careful to not put too much on the swab or you will be able to tell when it dries.
I usually work in small sections at a time. Then I place my little step stool over the spot until it dries.
That's it. Scratch be gone!
Remember to protect your beautiful wood floors from scratches in the first place. Put felt pads on the legs of moveable furniture and rubber pads on furniture that you don't need to move.
This tip is really good for small scratches that aren't too deep. If you have a large area that needs work, it's probably best to rent a sander and refinish it or call in a professional.
Have you ever tried this to fix scratches on a hardwood floor? Do you have any useful tips to fix scratches?
MaryJean Zajac says
Kristi, I think I will need more than a swab to fix my scratches from 40 years of wear! LOL We will need to refinish the dining room floor. The rest of the house still looks pretty good!
Enjoy your time with your daughter, I will be having a sleepover with my grandson and just busy next week since I'm off from work! Yay!!!
Kristi says
40 years is a long time for a floor MJ. And yes, you probably need more than a swab. 😉
I hope you enjoy your sleepover and your well deserved time off. Thanks so much for stopping by today.
K.
Deb @ Frugal Little Bungalow says
That's a great tip ! ( no Q-tip pun intended, either! 🙂
Kristi says
LOL...Thanks Deb!
K.
Shirlee says
That's a great idea and obviously does the trick for small scratches. Our floors are in need of a good refinishing but we didn't have the funds to do so prior to moving in last winter. Nice that the bank did that for your home.
Kristi says
It does help with smaller scratches...too bad there wasn't an easier, and quicker, way to refinish a floor. I hear that it's unusual for a bank to do so much work to a house, although there was plenty that they didn't do, and I'm very grateful that they did. Thanks so much for your visit and comment.
K.
[email protected] Interior Frugalista says
Hi Kristi,
This was a very helpful post and I pinned it for future reference. After each of my children moved out we discovered several surface scratches on their bedroom floors. I've been hiding them with rugs but not anymore - thanks!
Kristi says
Hi Marie! Thanks so much for stopping by and for pinning. So glad that this was helpful to you and your floors can go bare now. 😉
K.
John Reich says
As long as we are talking about something larger than small scratches, my floor guy told me to just bite the bullet and have the floors resanded and sealed. That costs money but you need to protect your investment of your hardwood floors. Once you do that, monitor the wear of the finish to make sure nothing is breaking through to the wood. It costs much less money to refinish a floor than to sand each time. And most hardwood floors can only take so many sandings. We also went through all of the furniture and added felt pads on the legs, etc. so that they would slide if accidently moved and not scratch.
Love the tip about fixing small scratches. 😀
Kristi says
You are so right about having your floors resanded and sealed for large areas. Hardwood floors are a great addition to any home but it's so important to take proper care of them. Thanks so much for sharing you tips John, and for stopping in.
K.
Alan says
Tung oil works better for clear varnish scratch repair. It does not leave a noticeable edge, so you can treat larger areas and you can rub it on with a rag or brush and even apply more than one coat and it is durable. Minwax also makes excellent tinted scratch repair pens which you apply, wait a minute and wipe off, but it is a thin coating, good only for small spots.
Now, if you had just used stick on protector pads for your furniture legs when you moved in....
Kristi says
Thanks so much for the tips on other products to use on a hardwood floor. We actually did use pads on the furniture legs when we moved in but we had a lot of people helping and, well...things happen.
Sarah Kite says
Great suggestions! Thank you for sharing!