How Do You Keep Furniture From Scratching The Floor

The problem with having wooden floors is that they can get scratched easily. The usual culprits are the furniture items. For instance, people tend to drag their dining chairs in and out. This will inevitably cause scratches on the floor. Furthermore, you may also need to move certain furniture when you do your cleaning. This again may result in unsightly scratches. So, how do you keep furniture from scratching the floor at home?

What you need are some furniture leg protectors or caps. They come in a few designs with their own pros and cons. Besides protecting the floor, they are also great at minimizing noises and reducing glides depending on the design.

Just imagine dragging out a chair. It is bound to make some noise especially on tiled floors. If you have a baby at home, this would be a really good reason to get chair leg protectors with pads so that they won’t be startled by such noises. After all, they can’t be sleeping with headphones on as some adults do to drown out external noises.

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Leg Covers To Keep Furniture From Scratching The Floor

The most common furniture leg covers that you can get are the ones designed for dining chairs since they often get dragged. But you can also use them for other types of furniture as long as the size fits. Otherwise, you will need to search for the bigger sized ones that could cover up thicker legs. Made of silicone, these covers are stretchable up to a point. Hence, they can fit both round and square legs.

Most of these chair leg protectors will have a felt pad on the bottom. If you want the chairs to glide more easily, then you should get those leg covers with a thicker felt pad. The pad is to reduce friction between the chair legs and the floor apart from minimizing noise. Thus, you don’t need to lift the chair each time. You just need to drag it and it should glide out smoothly without making too much noise.

The other good thing about these chair leg covers is that they could be easily removed for washing and reattached. Bear in mind that the bottom could get really dirty and dust could accumulate over time. But the felt pads could also wear out and then you would need to have the covers replaced.

Why Some Silicone Furniture Leg Covers Are More Expensive

One of the reasons why prices could differ significantly among the many brands and models is the thickness of the bottom part and how well the felt pad is wrapped around it. Some may not even have a felt pad to begin with and you could probably get these very cheaply. But most do have some kind of cushion at the bottom.

The leg covers with extra thick bottom layer may cost more but they would also last longer generally. The thicker bottom also ensures that the cover is less likely to puncture especially if you use it on chairs with metal legs. The noise reduction is also greater and the chairs will slide smoother. If the leg cover is of good quality, the felt pad will not detached either as some protectors tend to do.

Therefore, you may balked at the price at first glance but chair leg caps with a thickened bottom might prove to be more durable in the long run. However, they may also be more noticeable and may mar the look of the furniture for some.

Felt Furniture Pads

An alternative to leg covers would be felt furniture pads that rely on a nail or screw to attach it to the furniture leg. While these may seem more secure and appear less conspicuous, they also come with a huge disadvantage. That is they are troublesome to affix. You may have to drill a hole and hammer or screw in these protectors. If you have only one or two furniture items that you want to affix these protectors to, it might still be tolerable. But if you have quite a few to do up, then it becomes tiresome.

The other option is to get hardwood floor protectors with adhesive. Instead of a nail or screw, you can simply peel off the adhesive layer and stick the pad to the chair or table leg. While affixing these is how you can stop chair legs from scraping the floor, the problem with this design is that the stickiness may not last and the pads tend to fall off or scrunch up after some time. You also can’t remove them for washing.

Reusable Caster Cups

Using caster cups is how you can move or slide furniture without scratching the floor if you get those with a carpeted bottom. You will be able to glide the sofa, cupboard, chair, or other furniture across the room more easily without leaving a trail of scratches in the process due to reduced friction. With that, there will also be no screeching noises as you move the item.

If you have furniture with casters or wheels, you can also use these cups to keep them from moving and protect your floor from indentation and scuff marks. The same goes for the sofa which may move a little each time we plonk ourselves down on it. This could then create minor scratches around the sofa legs which may worsen and look ugly over time. Caster cups will prevent this problem and protect your floor from heavy furniture.

The great thing about these casters is that there is nothing to instal. You just place the legs in the cup and that is simply how you keep the furniture from scratching the floor.