Solid hardwood floors repay little care with a lifetime of value. When you first glimpse a solid hardwood floor, you sense richness, warmth and natural beauty. Gradually, you get to know its distinct personality -- visual harmonies and the traces of history in the forest and in your home.

Mess Prevention

Children, guests, pets, and furniture will all find their way across your hardwood floor soon after the glue dries. Youll likely find a mess or two on the floor during in its expected lifetime as well. While you cant stop all spills from happening, you can take steps to avoid some.

Now that you have a hardwood floor, youll probably want to show it off. Youll have plenty of guests and kiddos dragging in dirt from the outside. Sand, grit, and dirt are your hardwood floors worst enemies. They act like sandpaper on the finish, causing scratches, dents, and dulling. Place floor mats at entrances to trap dirt and prevent damage. Consider a no-shoes policy if your floor will see heavy traffic.

Standing liquid can also warp a poorly finished hardwood floor and can damage the finish. Simply wipe up all spills as they happen. Unless your hardwood floor is in the kitchen or dining room, think about enacting a no-drinks policy.

Your best friend for prevention is a broom (FULLER Household Broom or FULLER Angle Broom paired with FULLER Upright Dustpan) and a mop (FULLER Spatter Mop.) Make sure your mop is as dry as possible on your hardwood floor; standing water will damage your floor permanently.

Damage Protection

Tables, chairs, desks, couches and all those wonderful pieces that make your house a homeand hold the potential for gouging the asset under their feet. Youll need to move your furniture into your room and theres a correct way to do this. Lift the furniture to move it, never drag it. Felt contacts, available at most discount stores, under the legs will help prevent scratches.

Direct sunlight will discolor and bleach your hardwood floor. Close your curtains and blinds or add sheer drapes to protect from the sun's intense UV rays. Rugs will help protect the color underneath where they are placed but the surrounding areas, if exposed to sunlight, will still discolor.

Oil soaps can build up and create problems when it's time to put a maintenance coat on the floor. Avoid the oil soaps and instead go for a milder soap like FULLER Wood Floor Cleaner & Polish.

Cleaning Care

So you have a regime of sweeping and mopping on a regular basis. Youve taken great care to prevent scuffs, scrapes and drag marks along the floor. No matter how careful you are, you may still find you have stains, heel marks and problematic blemishes appear every once in a while.

For water marks, heel marks and scuffs, cigarette burns, ink stains and dark spots from unknown origin, use a mild soap formulated for hardwood floors (FULLER Wood Floor Easy Clean Mist) and steel wool. Apply a small amount of soap, rub with the steel wool and rinse with water, then dry.