Hardwood floors make any room look better, adding character, beauty, and the feeling of extra space. This goes especially for offices. If you compare an office with hardwood floors to an office with standard industrial carpeting, the difference is significant. The hardwood floored office will look sunnier, classier, and more inviting. When our team at Floor Craft Sanding installs hardwood floors, the change is stunning.
But how do companies keep their hardwood floors looking great with all those rolling chairs, all that foot traffic, and all that hot coffee that can spill?! Here are some good tips on how to keep it looking as good as possible.
Use Floor Mats
With the repeated movement of office rolling chairs, hardwood floors can become damaged over time. The best way to prevent this is by using rolling chair mats. Every desk should have its own floor mat, and there should be no “rolling” from desk to desk—no matter how fun that is!
Different Flooring for the Breakroom
Consider installing a different type of flooring for the breakroom, or adding rugs. The breakroom is just like a kitchen: lots of spills, traffic, and stains. It will be worth it to install vinyl or tile.
Always Refinish When Needed
Fortunately, most hardwood floors don’t need to be refinished that often—maybe every ten years or so. However, it’s important to have them refinished when they need it. You can also change the color of the floor when it’s refinished, and this can be a fun way to change up the office’s look a bit! Refinishing takes a little time, so if you decide to do it, you may want to schedule it during a company retreat or a long weekend.
Watch the Animals
If your office is a pet-friendly one, as many are these days, make sure employees know the damage that dog’s nails can do to a hardwood floor. Dog’s nails should be trimmed, and if anyone sets out a water bowl, it should be on top of a mat.
Water & Hardwood Floors Don’t Mix
Don’t let anyone “clean” the office hardwood floor with water. This situation may happen if someone spills something near their desk, for instance. And if that person is unfamiliar with hardwood flooring, they may not know any better than to use water—but everyone should be informed that water will damage the wood.
Take Advantage of Floor Protectors
Every piece of office furniture that comes into contact with the hardwood floor should have something under it to protect flooring. There are many options online for this, including all sorts of pads, sheets, mats, and rubber stoppers.
Enforce a “No-Heels” Policy
This might be tough since women often wear heels to the office. The only real threat to hardwood floors is stilettos. If you feel that asking women to avoid stilettos is taking the protection too far, that’s fine. But you never know; some women may love the idea of a non-heel dress policy!
Make Sure Maintenance Understands
If your office has a cleaning person who will be cleaning the floor, speak with them to make sure they know the proper way to clean it. Chemicals should never just be dumped onto the floor; no steam mops, and absolutely no water. The wrong way of cleaning a hardwood floor can ruin it, and this should be very clear to whoever will be taking care of it.
Don’t Move Equipment on the Floors
This should be obvious, but no office furniture or equipment should be moved across the flooring. It could scrape or dent it. Be sure to pick everything up (with help, of course), and carry it to wherever it needs to go.
Keep a Mat by the Entrance(s)
Simple, but effective. By keeping a mat at the entrance(s) to the office, you’ll help decrease the dirt that gets tracked onto the hardwood flooring.
A hardwood floor can truly elevate the aesthetic of your office, but it does take some maintenance. At Floor Craft Sanding, we are hardwood floor professionals who install and refinish hardwood floors in Indianapolis, Carmel, Fishers, Zionsville, IN, and the surrounding area. If you’re thinking about installing or refinishing hardwood flooring in your commercial building or anywhere else, give us a call at (317) 759-2575.