One of the best things about hardwood floors is that they can last a really long time. This is partially because you can refinish the floors, as needed, several times throughout their life. Refinishing basically involves sanding off the old finish, and then applying the new finish. But how do you know when your hardwood floor is ready to be refinished? Here are the key signs to look for.
Splinters
Do you ever find that you develop splinters in your feet after walking across the hardwood floor? If this happens once, it might just be a fluke. If it happens more than once, your floor is probably developing patches where the finish is starting to wear off, which means it requires refinishing. This can happen when you have a hardwood floor in a really high-traffic area. All of the traffic wears the finish off the floor. Luckily, the floor will be re-sanded as a part of the refinishing process, which means you should no longer get splinters once this work is done.
Dull Spots
If you have a hardwood floor with any degree of sheen, a good way to tell whether it needs refinishing is to look straight across it. Do you see any areas where the floor looks dull and flat, rather than shiny? If so, these are probably patches where the finish has worn away or is really beginning to wear away. It's a good idea to have the floor refinished at this stage so you don't reach the splintering stage.
White Marks
Most finishes that are used on hardwood floors these days are not as sensitive to water and won't turn white if you expose them to water. However, older finishes were not all as nice. Some of them will develop white patches where they are exposed to water. If your floor has some of these white spots, the only good way to get rid of them is to have the floor refinished. Your hardwood floor refinisher should be able to recommend a hard wax finish or another sort of finish that won't react to water so you don't have the same problem again.
Hardwood floors can almost always be refinished. So, if you are having any of these or other problems with your hardwood floor, reach out to a refinishing company in your area like NJ APC Hardwood Floors. They'll typically send someone out to take a look and tell you what they can do.