How To Repair Scratched Hardwood

Inexpensive Ways To Ready The Huge Scratch In Your Wood Floor

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The average cost of new hardwood floor installation in 2022 ran between $7,200 and $14,400 — and that'southward simply for a i,200-square-pes home, according to HomeAdvisor. At such a steep price, any tiny scratch or scuff on the flooring is bound to crusade a bit of a panic. It'due south kind of difficult to believe that nosotros spend so much money on something that nosotros just walk all over, but y'all have to admit: Nothing is quite equally homey as a slightly creaky, perfectly glossy, happily lived-in hardwood floor.

But there's a difference between normal wear and tear and something a bit more dramatic. You lot might have kids playing on the floor with toy cars, dragging a surface scratch in their wake, or dogs running to greet you when you become home from work, leaving a gouge in the woods side by side to the chump. Mayhap it's the original wood that came with your new-to-yous firm, or maybe you splurged on a fancy finish when building out your dream home. Either way, the sheer stress of the simplest scratch in your woods floor is the aforementioned.

Before you reluctantly dip into your emergency fund to refinish your unabridged floor, we've rounded up a list of budget-friendly ways to fix the huge scratch in your wood flooring. In the stop, information technology'll look like nothing ever happened.

Start by raiding your pantry

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We have some good news: You lot might be able to ready a run-of-the-mill scratch without even heading to your local hardware store. And, as a homeowner, you probable make plenty trips to Lowe's as information technology is. So, if the scratch seems minimal, it's probably best to start with a homemade remedy.

Endeavour making a solution of equal parts olive oil and apple cider vinegar, per Family Handyman. Dab it on the scratch, and let it sit down; check back after a twenty-four hours, and wipe the mixture away. The scratch should now exist unnoticeable. Notation that this option works best for shallower scratches on new floors with a more than contempo finish.

No apple cider vinegar in the cabinet? BobVila.com recommends using a combination of baking soda and olive oil. Simply let it sit down on the scratch for a few minutes, and and so vitrify it into the wood. If your floors were unfinished or recently sanded down when they were scratched, opt for kokosnoot oil instead. Either option should have your floors looking scratch-complimentary and with an added bit of smooth to boot.

Paste wax works wonders on scratches

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For shallow surface scratches — similar the kind that a dog or true cat might get out backside on your flooring — This Sometime House suggests a product like paste wax. There are even tinted options for darker floors, making everything look seamless and good as new.

All you have to do is allow it dry, and so rub it into the floor so the scratch goes undetected. Just be warned: Paste wax is non recommended for polyurethane floors, so do your research and know what kind of floors you lot're working with before you become this route (via Jabara'south).

You tin grab a saucepan of paste wax at your local hardware store to keep on manus for whatever boosted issues. A ane-pound bucket costs less than $vii at Home Depot, and there'due south plenty to tackle whatsoever and all future scratches that may pop upwards — without breaking the bank.

Selection upwardly a blending pen, pencil, or marker

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Blending pencils, pens, or markers work like paste wax, but they can exist a cheaper and more than user-friendly option for scratch repair. It all depends on what'southward more than suitable for your specific type of flooring and terminate. Polished Habitat said that Minwax stain markers were a lifesaver for her floors, and the deviation is clear as day with just ane swipe of the mark.

Another pro tip? Dissimilar paste wax, you tin can switch off between shades of stain with a pencil or marking, which allows you to accurately color lucifer the grain in your floors. Polished Habitat used a darker mark for some spots and a lighter one for others, which elevated this DIY set up into professional-looking territory.

With a blending pen, pencil, or mark costing less than $15 on average, this solution is workable for whatever budget level, specially when compared to the cost of new or refinished floors.

Walnuts might relieve your wood floors

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If you're rushing to remove a small scratch from older hardwood floors, you don't necessarily accept to jump to the almost expensive option and fully restore a small section. Yous might even have luck using the simplest hack of all, which could be in your kitchen pantry right now: walnuts.

BobVila.com explains that, since walnuts "contain fantabulous natural emollients and brown dyes," they human action as a piddling-known solution for removing scuffs and scratches in your wood floors. Kickoff by warming up the oil of the walnut with your fingers, and then slowly piece of work information technology into the problem expanse of your floor. The process is like to using kokosnoot oil to repair a scratch. Let it sit down for about v minutes, and and so buff it away with a soft rag or cloth. If you're feeling particularly lazy, Broad Open up Country also notes that you lot tin can crack open up the walnut and rub it directly on the stubborn scratch for a quick set.

Endeavour refinishing minor sections

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If none of the higher up hacks have done the fox to remove the behemothic scratch on your forest floor, you lot might take to look into refinishing. Fortunately, that doesn't mean sanding everything downwardly and starting over — chances are, you can become the job done on a much smaller scale.

According to Family Handyman, the first step in a case like this is to offset with a terminate restorer. If that fails, effort to lucifer the cease of your floor and give it a fresh coat instead. The same applies to a stained floor: Practice your best to color match so that the edges of this new section blend in seamlessly with the residuum. The new coat will cover the scratch without a hitch, but you desire to exist particularly conscientious to brand sure it doesn't come beyond like a patch job.

Jabara'due south notes a few actress precautions to accept, like using a scouring pad before going in with the terminate to buff out any raised edges left behind past the scratch. Once that's done, fill in any gouges with wood filler or putty, and then give it a calorie-free sanding. While this is ane of the trickier items on the list — and costlier, given the price of a new end — it'southward certainly worth a shot if it saves your prized hardwood floors.

And, if all this seems like a headache you desire to avoid entirely, you might want to consider laminate flooring in the future.