5 Reasons To Choose A Textured Hardwood Floor If You're A Pet Parent

Do you share your home with one or more companion animals that feel more like a member of the family than a pet? No matter whether you have a single cat or an entire pack of dogs, you're sure to have noticed how your fur baby has a noticeable effect on your flooring. Get the hardwood flooring you've always wanted without giving up your animal companions by picking a textured finish that is perfect for pets.

Hiding Scratches

While cats may tuck their claws into their paws when taking a stroll around the kitchen, even the smallest dogs and most other household pets end up scraping their nails over the flooring with every step they take. Even a cat can leave the floor scratched if they start running around and digging their back feet in for more speed. This has led most pet owners to assume they can't have hardwood floors and pets, but wire brush textured wood is actually the perfect flooring for this purpose. It's covered in uniform and attractive scratches created with a wire brush, so any scratches created by your animals will blend in completely without any work on your part.

Disguising Wear

Of course, pets can create marks on hardwood flooring apart from scratch marks left behind by claws. One bathroom accident or knocked over vase can leave a very visible mark in the middle of an otherwise spotless hardwood floor. Skip the usual smooth polish and try

• Full distressing, which includes aging and staining steps that create the perfect backdrop for disguising messes
• Light distressing and hand scraping, which preserve the color and grain of the original wood while adding some marks and dents to texture the surface
• Circular scraping, which is particularly good for hiding surface wear and tear caused by a pet who paces or plays in the same area every day.

Assisting with Traction

The power of proper texturing for hardwood flooring goes beyond just improving the appearance of the material. Many dogs and cats struggle to walk and run properly on a slick and smooth polished floor, whether it's made of wood, tile, or vinyl. Unlike with other flooring materials, any type of wood can be textured to add grip for better friction. This allows your pet to walk around without slipping or losing their balance. While your young puppy may look cute sliding around now, all that extra stress on the animal's joints can accelerate aging and result in arthritis. Wire brushing and aggressive hand scraping are the best ways to add enough texture to the surface to make a difference.

Reducing Polishing

Keeping floors clean takes enough hard work when you're dealing with pet hair and muddy paw prints on a daily basis. By choosing a distressed or hand scraped floor that is covered in attractive scallops and wavy marks, you can skip most polishing chores while enjoying a beautiful floor that hides its own scruffs and wear spots. You'll still need to seal the wood regularly to keep it from drying out or absorbing moisture from the air, but this is usually an annual event. Eliminating the need to polish monthly prevents you from accidentally exposing your pet to chemicals that irritate their sensitive respiratory system.

Adding Interest

Finally, don't forget that a textured wood floor is more interesting and eye-catching than a plain smooth polished set of planks. A bold and exciting hand scraped or distressed wood floor is the best way to distract guests from that stray pet hair tumbleweed that escaped your vacuum. Choosing a floor that is a work of art all on its own helps balance out the concessions you make in the rest of your decor to protect your pets, such as covering couch sides with bulky pieces of plastic to prevent cat scratching.