We mentioned in Tuesday’s blog that hardwood floors are an especially good investment due to the fact that they can last a lifetime if properly maintained. Even if they are damaged, the kind of damage that homeowners most often face can be reversed with ease - something that can’t be said of other types of flooring. If you’ve been thinking about spending the money to replace your floor because you find it visibly damaged or out of date, keep reading. We may be able to save you a lot of time and money. 1. Surface Scars If your floor is scratched up or filled with dents, don’t worry! Often these cosmetic damages have more to do with your floor’s finish than the actual boards. You can use a nut or hardwood marker to get rid of the blemish if it’s this surface-level. If that doesn’t work, try sanding the area down lightly to even out the surface and then refresh the finish to get your floor looking good as new. In the case of deeper scratches or dents that affect the floor itself, you may have to fill the space with wood filler, sand it down and re-stain it, but even this is a pretty easy fix. If you’d like to learn more you can check out one of our other blogs, “Touch Up Time”. 2. Give Your Floor a Complete Makeover While your hardwood floor may last a lifetime, the style may not. Sometimes decorating trends change so much that it’s hard to make a room look fashionable without changing the floor. The good news is that there are a lot of creative solutions out there for changing the color of your floor without replacing it. Sanding and re-staining your hardwood floor is the most obvious solution. It’s a classic way to revamp those boards, but some more modern trends include whitewashing your hardwood with deluded paint or being extra zany and painting your floors altogether. These options can leave you with some stunning results. 3. Reverse Warping While not every floor can be saved from the affects of warping, there is a good amount that can be done to reverse crowning and cupping in floors just by regulating the climate in your home. Warping is a result of the humidity in your home being too high or too dry, so the best way to fight this phenomenon is to bring that humidity to a level that you can regulate and maintain. It’s amazing to see how much a floor can change with this simple adjustment. Happy flooring!