How to protect wood floors from chairs and furniture In the realm of floor care, a lot of attention is placed on protecting floors against outside contaminants, and making sure that everyone in the home is aware of good floor-friendly habits. Sometimes, furniture and chair legs can get overlooked as potential sources of floor damage. Unprotected furniture and chair legs can grind grit and debris into your floor’s finish. Greater concern for scratches and gouges comes from heavier pieces of furniture. For another added layer of wood floor protection, chairs and furniture legs need to be made more floor-friendly. Furniture protection types While most chair glides and furniture pads are sold as universal pads for all floor types, some consideration is needed for the type that you have. Common materials to make chair glides and furniture pads are felt, rubber, cork, plastic and metal. Be especially careful with chair glides, as they're made to help furniture move on the floor. Choosing the wrong material with chair glides can lead to damage. Carpet. A harder material like steel or plastic work best. Hard floors (wood, ceramic tile). Felt and rubber work best. If using rubber, be wary of potential scuff-marks. Make sure the felt is thick enough for even heavy furniture. Soft floors (vinyl, rubber). Felt, rubber and plastic work best.
Furniture traffic considerations Just like foot traffic, how often your furniture moves will play a part in choosing the right type of furniture pad or chair glide. For heavy pieces of furniture that won’t be moved at all, you have a wider range of furniture pads to choose from. Thick pieces of felt or rubber work well with heavy furniture. In dining rooms or kitchens, you will have high furniture traffic, so choosing a felt pad can be a good option. Plastic pads or glides will wear down over time, so be sure to check the life of your chair glides periodically. Depending on your kitchen floor, rubber might need to be avoided for scuff marks. In family rooms with couches and sofas, consider how hard the furniture will be treated. Will kids be jumping on the sofa, or will you plop down in your favourite chair after a long day of work? These types of actions will cause small movements, so choose your furniture pad wisely. A rubber pad might do well in this scenario, since it will help to restrict movement. Old carpet Old scraps of carpet can be cut and placed on furniture legs. Make sure these pads are installed with the carpet-side touching the floor. Felt pads While felt furniture pads can be store-bought, any thick felt will do nicely. Cut the felt into the appropriate size and glue on. Velcro If you have industrial-grade Velcro, you can use the soft (looped) side as an effective furniture pad. Towels Old towels can be cut into pads, but make sure that they're of an appropriate thickness. Tennis balls Tennis balls that are slightly cut open can make good DIY slip-on pads if you don’t mind how they look on your floors. Leather Leather is another soft, durable material that can be made into a good furniture pad.