What Are The Best Chair Glides For Hardwood Floors? – Things You Should Know!

Luckily for you today, this article will take you through what are the best chair glides for hardwood floors.

On a hardwood floor, nobody likes to see things such as scuffs or scratches.

It not only looks bad, but it also makes other forms of harm possible like tiny holes and the like. 

All these could be caused by the choice of chairs selected.

The simple truth is that any furniture will do as long as it has a felt furniture pad or a caster. Though a caster is more applicable in an office setting than in a household.

Hardwood Floors

Before proceeding, I think it is important to know what hardwood floors are. And, also know why the wrong furniture can cause damage. 

Interlocking hardwood boards are used to construct hardwood floors. They are employed in homes, businesses, restaurants, and other settings.

The hardwood floors are made of polished wood framed into rectangular boxes. 

When people are standing or sitting there, it is common for the chairs to move around.

These inevitable movements could leave scuff marks on the hardwood floor if they are not watched for.

Ways To Protect Hardwood Floor From Furniture

We all know that it is inevitable for the furniture, especially the chairs, to move around.

The next best thing is to find a way to prevent the chairs from doing more harm to the hardwood floor.

Below are some of the things you can use to protect your hardwood floor.

Chair Glides for Hardwood Floors

Everyone has a chair in their home that doesn’t glide or move the way they would like.

Most people tend to move the chairs firmly out of frustration, which results in scuff marks. 

A chair glide is a material that is placed under a chair’s leg to help the chair move easily. But most importantly, it protects the floor from scratches.

There are different types of chair glides ranging from metallic chair glides to nylon chair glides. Each one of them has its unique properties.

Tip: Metallic glides are best suited for carpets than hardwood floors.

Felt Floor Protector

A felt floor protector is similar to a chair glide in the sense that it is attached to the bottom to reduce friction.

The felt protector is a pad made of felt, attached to the bottom of the legs of a chair. 

It is hard enough to withstand the weight of the chair during movement and soft enough to prevent the floor from scratching in the process.

This makes it one of the most important things to get when getting a chair. 

Chair Mat

A chair mat is a mat that is put under chairs and other similar pieces of furniture.

The majority of people use it to lessen rubbing between the chairs and the hardwood floor. 

Additionally, it removes stains from things like food spills. A chair mat has numerous benefits.

But on a hardwood floor, especially if the chairs are rolling chairs, it causes more harm than good.

Tip: It is not advised to use a chair mat on hardwood floors

The mat may move with a rolling chair when it does so. As a result, the mat damages the floor and occasionally leaves behind dirt.

Tip: Only use chair mats with chairs without wheels.

Hardwood Floor Casters

Office chairs cause the most damage to the hardwood floor. This is because of the presence of casters.

A new office chair comes with nylon-wrapped plastic casters. 

These casters are prone to spoil quickly and cause damage to the hardwood floor. The best thing to do in that regard is to replace the plastic casters with hardwood floor casters.

Yes, you heard me right.

There are special casters for hardwood floors. You can get them at any furniture retail shop or online.

These casters are specially designed for hardwood floors. They are unique smooth, and a tad bit soft around the edges.

In cases you can’t afford to replace the casters, you can wrap the casters in duct tapes or soft material like a sock.

Tip: This would prevent the casters from moving around randomly and scratching the floor in the process.

What Are The Best Chair Glides For Hardwood Floors

The best chair for a hardwood floor depends on the setting in which the floor has been installed.

The best chair for a hardwood floor in an office would not serve as the best chair in a dining room. 

Generally, chairs with wheels are the best options for hardwood floors. But they are mostly limited to an office setting.

Let’s be honest, it would be out of the ordinary to have a chair with wheels at the dining table. 

What To Look For When Choosing A Chair For Hardwood Floor

The one major thing to look out for is the wheels and the glides of the chair.

These are the two major things that would determine the state of the hardwood after continual usage.

The Type Of Caster

The type of caster that comes with a chair can damage the hardwood floors. It is better to go with a roller blade-style caster wheel. 

It not only makes the chair mobile but also provides enough support for the weight the chair is carrying.

It also has a soft rubber-like coating that prevents it from scratching the hardwood floors during movements.

Tip: You can get the casters online or at some stores around you.

The Type Of Glides

The main point of a glide is to reduce friction when moving the chair around. For chairs without casters, glides are the next best thing. 

The type of glide is equally as important. Though all the glides reduce friction, not all can truly prevent a scratch from forming on the hardwood floor. 

The best type of glides to use are the felt chair glides. They are the best option. No matter the peeling or friction, they never scratch the hardwood floors.

Note: This is because the felt pads are made of wool fibers or fur, leaving them with a very soft feel. 

How To Fix A Scratched Hardwood Floor

They say prevention is better than cure but in cases where it is too late to prevent, we must proceed to find a cure.

In this case, we are referring to a hardwood floor that has already been damaged by the wrong furniture. 

So how do we fix this?

Polish

Yes, you heard me right, polish. Sometimes the best way to fix your hardwood floor is to make it shine and sparkle.

There are polish specially designed for hardwood floors. 

This polish, though, might not fix the scratches but would make the hardwood floor look brand new.

Note: There are different types of polish you can get online or in supermarkets around you 

Replace The Hardwood Floor

Sometimes the damages might be too much to maintain with a polish. In such a case it is best to replace the hardwood floor with a new one.

I know it sounds extreme, but sometimes extreme is the only way forward.

The thing about replacing the hardwood floor is that it is really expensive. This is because you can’t do a particular side and leave the rest.

Tip: You have to do the whole floor to avoid uneven edges on the floor

Conclusion

Choosing the right furniture goes a long way, especially the right chairs.

In short, it can be established that the wrong furniture not only scratches the floor but also causes damage too.

To avoid such situations, you have to pay attention when picking the right chair for a hardwood floor. 

Prevention is better than cure. Picking the right furniture is better than having to fix the damages a wrong one has caused.

Knowing what are the best chair glides for hardwood floors might come in handy.