Nothing can beat the look of beautiful hardwood floors. The natural grain of the wood and the warmth of the color convey a sense of coziness or even elegance to your home.  But no matter what end look you’re going for, you should expect some amount of mess whether you’re installing new hardwood or refinishing existing floors.  

Both processes involve several complicated steps, each of which can produce plenty of mess. So, before you begin installing or refinishing hardwood floors, it’s important to understand exactly what to expect. That way you can prepare and make it a bit easier on yourself.

Refinishing = Sanding

In order to refinish existing hardwood, it will be necessary to sand the floor to remove the existing finish and prepare the wood to accept the new finish. No matter how careful your installer is that will mean creating plenty of dust. There’s no way to avoid it completely but you can take some measures to help minimize the mess. 

Clear the room

You’ll need to remove all furniture and rugs from the room so that the workers can have complete access to the floor.  In order to prevent your belongings from being covered in dust, you should also remove anything hanging on the walls or any clothes hanging in closets.

Move your family and pets

You and your family will need to stay out of any room where the floors are being finished.  If your house is big enough you may have the option to stay but in most cases, it’s recommended that you leave the house while flooring work is being done. You’ll also want to keep your pets away so that they don’t damage the floors.

These simple steps can help minimize the inconvenience and the overall mess, which should make the whole process easier on you and your family. There are also important steps that the workers can take to further contain the inevitable disorder.

Use plastic to contain the mess

Before they begin, the workers should put plastic drop cloths down on any areas that aren’t being worked on so that they won’t be damaged. The plastic will also help to contain the dust and make removal easier.

Vacuum

The workers should vacuum between each coat. Again, this will help to minimize the overall production of dust and keep your home cleaner.

Dust removal

Many flooring companies use specialized equipment to suck the dust out of the room and collect it in a special container outside the house. This can go a long way toward reducing the amount of dust that settles in your home.

Of course, no matter how careful the workers are, they still can’t guarantee that there will be no dust. Chances are, after the work is done the dust will have settled on window ledges, base molding, chair rails, and the tops of doors as well as any other surfaces in the room. So, expect to be doing a lot of dusting once the floors are done.

Installing can be messy too

Installing new hardwood can be just as messy as it can involve several steps including removing or preparing the existing floor and cutting the planks of the hardwood to the proper size. While the saw will usually be set up outside of your house, even that can’t prevent some dust from collecting inside. Again, most flooring companies will use some sort of dust containment equipment but even that can’t completely eliminate dust.

As with refinishing, there may also be some sanding required when new hardwood is installed before you can apply stain and finish.  Sanding will also cause dust to settle on unprotected surfaces but that can easily be swept up before the stain and finish is applied.

Staining and finishing 

While sanding and cutting the boards to size usually comprise the worst of the mess, applying stain and finish can be dirty business as well. Just as with painting, it’s important to protect any surfaces directly adjacent to the floor so the stain and finish don’t get on them. As with sanding, most companies will take necessary measures to protect the rest of your room as best they can but you can expect to do some cleanup no matter how careful they are.

Avoid foot traffic to keep the mess from spreading

The longer you can stay out of the room being worked on, the better your chances of confining the mess to that room.  As you walk through, dust, stain and other substances may get on your clothes or shoes and can be transferred to other rooms. Let the newly refinished or installed floors rest fully before you go into the room and you can minimize the headache.

Clean up quickly and thoroughly

Once you do regain access to the room, you’ll want to thoroughly dust every surface as soon as possible. You’ll likely need to wait as long as a few days before returning rugs and furniture to the room and when you do, you should put felt or rubber pads under the legs to prevent damage to the floor.

If you had to move any appliances or other electrical equipment during the flooring work, be sure to test them to make sure there are no leaks or electrical problems that could damage the floors. You also may want to wait a few days longer before you let your pets have access to the room as their claws can also cause damage to the newly applied finish and the floor beneath it.

Bottom Line

No matter how careful you and the flooring professionals you hire are, there is no way to completely avoid the mess when it comes to refinishing or installing hardwood floors. Most homeowners feel that the tradeoff is worth it when it means enjoying the unparalleled beauty of hardwood. Just do what you can to help contain the dust and thoroughly clean afterward and you can put the mess behind you and begin enjoying your new hardwood floors.