The Best Hardwood Flooring to Prevent Scratches from Pet Paws

Reality

• Launch your search for a hardwood floor that won’t be destroyed by your pet’s claws by acknowledging this truth: No hardwood floor is guaranteed to stay pristine as long as your place is also home to one or more pets. This doesn’t mean putting off that installation because some hardwood floor varieties are pet-friendly, and sealing the floor with at least three coats of oil-based urethane, satin-sheen finish increases the chances that your floor will survive beautifully long after Fluffy I is replaced by Fluffy II.

Bamboo

• One of the best hardwood flooring choices you can make is to spend what it takes to install environmentally friendly bamboo. The quick-growing crop allows for continual replenishment of bamboo plants and you get bragging rights to both the floor choice and your pet. Other wood on what is known as the Janka scale for tree hardness include oak, cherry and walnut. The latter aren’t as environmentally desirable because their supplies are dwindling, but if you don't want bamboo and don’t mind their expense, then they are your best bets.

Color Matters

• When you get ready to choose a hardwood floor for your human and furry family, aesthetic decisions you make can minimize the appearance of claw scratches. Light-colored wood and floor planks that exhibit fine grains are best because they minimize the appearance of claw scratches. Dark wood floors can have a more dramatic appearance, but as a pet owner you may have to trade aesthetics for love and choose a floor color based on the family pet. Besides showing claw scratches easier than light hardwood floors, dark hardwood floors also show every dust bunny that rolls across a room.

Care Tips

• Using a floor buffer to go over scratches on a regular basis and then applying a new coat of floor finish in that area helps to minimize pet claw scratches. Keeping up with sealant applications can pay dividends; the sealant may stay on the hardwood floor even if claw scratches indent the floor. An option is to put booties on your pets and throw rugs on your hardwood flooring.