The Best Way Fix Scratches on Hardwood Floors

The best way to fix scratches on hardware floors with a cotton swab and polyurethane.

I love having hardwood floors.

We have them in every room of our North Carolina house, except the kitchen and bathroom, and they are beautiful and 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. 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 it's 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?