If you’re considering solid wood flooring for your home with pets, then you will get all the information you need from this article. To help you make your decision we have explained the benefits of wooden flooring for pets from ease of cleaning to resistance to smells.
As a dog owner with solid oak flooring and feedback from 100’s of our customers, it’s all in the quality of the flooring where pets are concerned. A good quality engineered or solid oak flooring with a lacquered top layer is best due to their hard wearing qualities.
Our clients often ask us which flooring is best for pets because many of them believe that it is not suitable due to it scratching easily and being too slippery. Many homeowners even refrain from buying a dog if they have hardwood flooring already installed in their home, but they really don’t have to.
Your pets have claws that can damage flooring but you can prevent this by making sure they are clipped regularly. This not only stops the scratching but also helps with their grip.
Solid wood flooring and engineered flooring
There is hardly any difference between engineered flooring and solid oak flooring when considering pets so deciding on which flooring to opt for will depend on taste and budget.
All types of wooden flooring are tough and hard wearing but will still scratch like any wood will do. You will find that the scratches in the floor build character and become part the overall look. To give a higher resistance to scratching, we recommend several coats of lacquer that will need re-applying over time. This will give the top layer a strong and durable finish.
A lacquered floor is very east to clean and maintain as any moisture does not soak into the surface, so stains and dirt from muddy paws are easy to remove.
Having your floor protected with lacquer does make it harder to repair as we have to get through the several layers before we can get to the wood, but on the flip side, they are less likely to get damaged in the first place. If you do keep up with the maintenance and cleaning, this will also prevent any build up in odours caused by your pets.
Solid oak flooring and engineered flooring are far more hygienic than carpet. Carpets can hold on to smells and is a breeding ground for dust mites and fleas that hide in the fibres.
