In your kitchen and laundry room, heavy appliances can stay in place for years, which can cause dents and ruts in the floor’s surface over time. If your appliance vibrates, it can also damage your floors. You may also need to move your appliances occasionally to clean under them or get them serviced, and you’ll want to use some additional precautions to protect your floors when this happens.

How to Protect Your Flooring From Appliances

You can do a few things to ensure your flooring stays safe from appliances:

Be extra careful when installing or servicing appliances:If someone’s installing a fridge for you, discuss refrigerator floor protection and make sure they have a dolly and the knowledge on how to install the appliance without causing expensive damage to your floors. Instead of moving heavy appliances to clean under them, consider using a wand attachment on a vacuum to remove dirt under and around them.Keep your appliances level:Measure the floor under your appliance to ensure there are no irregularities. Even a small tilt can cause it to move, which can create scrapes, dents and scratches.Place a barrier between your appliance and the floor:One of the most effective ways to prevent damage is to place your heavy appliances on a piece of plywood or use some other barrier to ensure the machine is not resting directly on your floor. You can purchase anti-vibration pads from manufacturers and many stores. When you place them on the bottoms of your appliances, you can even avoid scratching hardwood.Keep your appliances in good repair: Malfunctioning appliances can vibrate more, which can put your floors at risk. If any parts break, they can scrape the floor, and if your appliance springs a slow leak, there may be water damage under it for a while before you notice it. Regularly check your appliances to ensure they are in good working order, and call for repairs if they need any maintenance or work.Try to place your appliances on hard surfaces:Consider placing your appliances in rooms with tile or hard-surface flooring specially designed to withstand heavy weight. Your flooring should also be made to resist dents and scratches. Flooring with an added top coat or layer of anti-scratch surfacing can help you keep your floors looking their best.

Learn More About Protecting Your Flooring Under Large Appliances With 50 Floor

If your floors have been scratched or dented already and you need new flooring — or you want to install hard-surface flooring before you buy new appliances —set an appointment with usfor an in-home consultation. 50 Floor offers a unique in-home shopping experience because our flooring professionals understand your home is the best place to evaluate your flooring options.

During your in-home consultation, our team can bring flooring samples so you can test their strength for yourself. Our exceptional customer service is always there to assist, from the moment you decide you need flooring up to when your floor is correctly installed.

The post Tips to Protect Floors Under Large Appliances appeared first on 50 Floor.

Aiden Castaneda

xtreme-flooring.com

Different wood species have various levels of hardness, and the Janka hardness scale is one standardized way of comparing types of wood. While the Janka wood hardness scale is not the only factor you will want to consider when choosing wood floors, it is something to think about as you select the right floor for your lifestyle and needs.

What Is the Janka Hardwood Scale?

The Janka hardwood scale was named after Gabriel Janka, who worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Products Lab. His scale uses a test for denting and wear to compare woods. In strictly controlled conditions, a steel ball is pushed into similar planks of wood using a heavy force. Each wood species can take a different amount of pressure before the ball becomes halfway embedded in the wood — this test is what the Janka hardwood scale is based on.

Wood hardness is measured in the amount of force (in lbf, or pounds of force) needed to push the ball into the wood. Some popular examples of Janka hardness ratings include:

Douglas Fir:660 lbfBlack Cherry:950 lbfRed Oak:1,290 lbfAmerican Beech:1,300 lbfHard Maple:1,450 lbfBrazilian Cherry:2,350 lbf

Is the Janka Hardwood Scale Important When I Buy Flooring?

In general, experts recommend woods have a rating of 1,000 lbf or higher to be used for flooring, but there are a few other factors to consider. First, a higher Janka hardwood scale rating is not always better. Very hard woods may be difficult to cut or work with, which could limit your flooring options and may make floors more expensive.

The Janka hardwood scale considers wood in its raw form, but wood prepared for hardwood floors may be treated and coated with special finishes to make it more resilient and stronger. Today, many processes allow you to have the look of natural wood floors without worrying as much about dents.

Finally, many wood floors today areengineered hardwood. Engineered hardwood consists of layers of hardwood crisscrossed together, and this can truly make your floors more than the sum of their parts. Engineered wood flooring can sometimes be stronger than hardwood or consist of different woods with various ratings.

The Janka hardwood scale measures for indents, so it can approximate the effects of furniture, high heels and pets. However, it may not anticipate other damage. It does not consider how the wood reacts to moisture, how likely it is to crack or have flaws or how it performs in a home.

Talk to 50 Floor About Your Flooring Options

The Janka hardwood scale can be a useful piece of information when choosing your hardwood flooring, but it is not the only thing to consider. If you’re wondering which flooring may be right for you, get in touch with us to book a consultationin your home. Our professionals can answer your questions and guide you through the entire process of getting beautiful floors, right from your own residence.

The post What Is the Janka Hardness Rating Scale for Wood Floors? appeared first on 50 Floor.

Aiden Castaneda

xtreme-flooring.com