Tag: dogs

Rocky Mountain region residents love dogs. Your friends at MacDonald Hardwoods are often asked which types of wood flooring will fare the best with dogs. There are many suitable options available but there are a few rules of thumb that will help you select the best flooring for you.

Choose Hardwood Flooring

First of all, it is important to mention that hardwood flooring has many advantages over other flooring options. It is completely natural. The wood is harvested from forests in a specific pattern and process that ensures its long-term sustainability. There is no better option for hygiene, air quality, and protection from allergens. Engineered hardwood is durable, but solid hardwood flooring is better for homes with pets.

Available Options

Years ago, the options available for hardwood flooring were very limited. A homeowner could select one of a handful of colors that had little or no grain or texture. This traditional look is still popular today but now it only represents a small segment of the options available. There are many different types of hardwoods in a full range of colors – some are naturally occurring while others are stained or whitewashed.

Dog Lovers

Dog lovers need to be concerned with three issues when choosing a hardwood floor: color, gloss, and species hardness. Experienced dog owners recommend that you choose a hardwood species that is very hard so that it will resist scratches and dents. They recommend a light color so that animal hair will not be easily visible. And, they recommend against using a glossy finish because it tends to shows the scratches more easily in reflected light.

Hardwood vs Softwood

The Janka Hardness Scale shows the hardness of each species of wood. While a softer species would not hold up well in a house with pets, a harder species will not be impervious to scratches and dents. In our 2015 survey of designers from around the U.S., more than 50% of them recommended Oak to their clients with dogs.  Other popular choices were bamboo and Hickory.  To determine which hardwood species is best with pet concerns and the Denver area climate, consult one of the experts at MacDonald Hardwoods.

Avoiding Scratches

A typical nail trimmer cuts dogs’ nails but leaves a sharp edge. If a dog owner also files the dog’s cut nails, the nail surface will not scratch as easily. Some dog owners use Soft Paws, vinyl nail caps that glue on to the dog’s nails. Problem solved!

Moisture

Dog lovers also need to be concerned with avoiding moisture on the hardwood floors. It is very important to avoid the possibility of the dog urinating on the wood flooring, especially when no one is home to clean it up right away.

The dog’s food and drink should be placed on a waterproof surface to avoid any moisture reaching the wood floor. Even homes without a dog should have an absorbent rug by the entrances to avoid tracking rain, snow, or dirt into the house. Having a rag handy to wipe off paws is very helpful as well.

Assistance

We all understand that sometimes accidents do occur. Visible scratches can be easily remedied with a new coat of finish applied periodically. Damaged or stained sections of hardwood flooring can be repaired or replaced. Learn more about the best hardwood flooring to consider other aspects of your lifestyle before making a final decision.

In the first part of this two-part series, we offered general floor maintenance advice to consider when choosing a vacuum for your hardwood, especially if you have pets around.  These days, more and more manufacturers are coming out with vacuum cleaners that claim to work miracles on the dirt, hair, and general messes that animals can leave around the house.

Unfortunately, many of these are designed more for carpet and upholstery and can be ineffective on bare floors and even cause damage to your hardwood. While some homeowners and landlords opt not to allow pets in their homes, this isn’t always an option — our furry friends are more than often part of the family. So, you need to know your best vacuum and cleaning options.

Several machines are great for cleaning both hardwood and carpets/ upholstery.  To help you pick the best, we did some research and came up with the list below.  Of course, no poll of this kind can be truly complete, and we know that a lot of variables besides the ones mentioned factor in when it comes to choosing the right vacuum cleaner.  But in case you’re not up for hours of internet research and on-site testing, here are what we found to be the most recommended vacuum cleaners specifically designed or easily adjusted for use on hardwood floors that also offer the power and flexibility needed for cleaning up after pets.

BONUS Coming Soon (we hope):  Though it is not on the market in the U.S. yet, we understand from Dyson Japan that the new Dyson Fluffy (DC74) may be the hardwood vacuum cleaner of our dreams.  It has a soft roller made of tiny microfiber bristles in place of traditional upright brush rollers, enabling it to wipe the dust off the floor without scratching.  Combine that with Dyson’s signature mastery of cordless, lightweight machines with powerful suction, and, well, it’s hard to imagine anything better.  You can check out the preview of the Fluffy at Gizmodo.

Here at MacDonald Hardwoods, we get a lot of questions about how to choose the right hardwood for a home with pets.  But what about maintaining your hardwood once you and your pets move in?

The key to keeping hardwood beautiful, pets or no pets, is keeping it clean.  When dust is allowed to accumulate on your hardwood, it becomes like very fine sandpaper underfoot, slowly rubbing away the finish and causing your floor to appear dull and uneven.  One of the best ways to do that, especially when dogs or cats are tracking dirt and dust around throughout the day, is to vacuum or dry mop several times a week.

What to use?  Well, we have a favorite dry mop that we recommend and even sell in our store, but there are a variety of options. Try to make sure that, whatever you use, the head is made of soft cotton, terry, or microfiber cloth that will attract even the smallest dust particles and will not scratch your finish.   Also, whether mopping, sweeping or vacuuming, always try to go with the grain of the wood; this will enable you to capture those little bits that may have filtered down between boards or into the ridges.

More and more often, people have started using vacuum cleaners to remove dust, dirt, and pet hair from their hardwood floors.  They can be more effective for getting the smaller particles out from between hardwood planks and for getting into the tight areas where the wood meets the wall.  Many vacuum cleaners also have filters designed to remove allergens, including pet dander, from the environment.  There are some things to be careful of when using a vacuum cleaner on your hardwood, though.

1. SAY NO TO BRUSHES.

First and foremost, never use the beater brush typical of most vacuum cleaners on a bare floor.  Not only will it scatter dust and debris away from the suction of the vacuum, the hard, but powerfully spinning bristles will also cause damage to hardwood finishes.  Most modern vacuum cleaners have a switch that allows you to raise or still the rotating brushes.  Many also have unique heads or pads designed especially for hardwood that can be attached to the vacuum hose or cleaning head.

2. BEWARE OF BAD WHEELS.

You will want to make sure that any wheels that will be rolling over the surface of your floor use higher-quality rubber, rather than cheap plastic.  The hard plastic can easily scratch hardwood.  Even rubber wheels should be checked to make sure they are free of debris before they come in contact with your floors.  It is for this reason that canister vacuum cleaners are often more popular with hardwood floors owners, as their bulk remains relatively stationary while you clean.

3. THINK ABOUT LARGER DEBRIS. 

With pets, you also want to consider whether your vacuum cleaner is powerful enough and designed to pick up larger debris like pet food, kitty litter, or the unrecognizable remains of whatever it was your new puppy just devoured.  If you try to clean these things up with a low-quality vacuum, you will end up pushing and dragging them around under the machine, leaving a mess at best and damaging your hardwood.  It is better to gently sweep debris up before vacuuming or to use a machine specifically designed with this in mind (we mention a few below).

4. DON’T MAKE A MESS CLEANING YOUR CLEANER.

An increasing number of vacuum cleaners these days utilize a bagless collection method, which allows you remove a canister, empty it out, and replace it for reuse.  Some of these, though, can cause a real mess when you open them.  You want to make sure that your vacuum’s disposal process is not going to make an even bigger mess than what you started out with, so consider machines that use bags or that have self-sealing collars or dust cups and smooth-release mechanisms.

5. CONSIDER THE WEIGHT.

When vacuuming carpeting, having the extra weight of a sturdy upright can be helpful for getting down to the grit that tends to get embedded in the pad and deep fibers.  The opposite is true for bare floors.  With hardwood, you want a machine that is light and agile.   Everything you need to clean is right there on the surface, so you don’t need the extra weight, and the heavier your vacuum cleaner, the more likely it is to cause scratches as it rolls over the floor, especially on turns.

There is a lot of information out there about which vacuum cleaners are best for hardwoods floors, and there is a lot of information about which ones are best for collecting pet hair and other pet-related debris.   Check out our Guide to the Most Recommended Machines to learn more about which vacuum cleaners seem to excel at both.