It seems like my hardwood floors are dull where my area rugs are. Is there any way to prevent them from permanently damaging my floors?
When you clean this room, take the rug outside and shake it vigorously. If it is too big to shake, get it up over something like a washline and smack it repeatedly to remove the dirt grit. This dirt grit is what is damaging your floor. Do your best to remove this junk, maybe even try to vacuum both sides of the rug. When you walk over a gritty rug it acts just like sandpaper to your floors finish.
Vinyl flooring does not live up to hardwood flooring. If you can afford it, get the hardwood. It's easy to clean, the look is so much nicer and it lasts a lot longer. Short term care is easy with the vinyl but in the long run you replace it etc. Hardwood never goes out of style. Even if you get a similar look to hardwood with the vinyl it's not the same feeling. Good Luck
Actually, no. And to boot, the color of the hardwood will change underneath the rug after time.... it's never a good idea to put area rugs on hardwood flooring.... sorry.
The rug is supposed to be protecting the floor. The exception is when you have cherry floors which darken from the sunlight. Then when you move a rug you have a much lighter area of wood where the rug was. Sometimes the backing from the rug may dull the floor but a quick clean up with soapy water will restore the finish shine. Good luck---
Area rugs are meant to protect your floors from scratches and dents, although admittedly, keeping it in one place will eventually affect the color and sheen of your floors. It is good practice to move your area rug/s and furniture every 6 months to ensure your floors color evenly. Using a hardwood floor refresher kit like BonaKemi will help to restore it's luster. Depending on the finish used on your floor, you may need to avoid using any wax or oil-based cleaners. It would be good to check with the supplier or retailer of your floor on this one. There are installation manuals and quite a bit of useful info on cleaning and maintaining your flooring at SimpleFLOORS. Hope this helps you. :)
