Best Hardwood Floors For Pets

When it comes to pets, the last thing you want them to do is to ruin the brand new floor you just put down. Unless you’re prepared to keep boots on your furry friends, you’re going to have to adjust your floor to your pet, not the pet to your floor. While most flooring is hard enough to take on scratches and dents, claws can still penetrate the sealer coat, creating scratches and divots over time. To keep your hardwood floors looking as good as the day you installed them, we recommend going with the following durable floor species.

BRAZILIAN

This wood ranks as the hardest wood on the Janka Hardness Scale. Options like Brazilian Cherry from South America are much harder than their North American counterparts. Colors range in deep, brownish-red tones with black streaks that darken over time. You can buy Brazilian wood floors in both solid wood and engineered wood planks. Both options are long-lasting, durable wood floors that can withstand Fido’s scratches.

ACACIA

Acacia wood is one of the most popular flooring choices out there. Its distinctive grain patterns and color variations make Acacia flooring a match for almost any room in your home. With a Janka Hardness Scale rating of close to 2400, these floors can handle the wear and tear of your pet. While Acacia Flooring tends to be on the pricier side, the cost is worth the durability it brings.

These two species of hardwood are excellent choices for homeowners with pets. Their lasting durability and hardness prevent scrapes, scratches, and dents for years to come. Woods like pine and fir are poor choices for homes with pets, due to their low ranking on the Janka Hardness Scale. Essentially, any floor that ranks under 1200 on the Janka scale should not be considered for pets. Other tips for maintaining a great looking floor with a pet is to lay down a mat under your pet’s drinking bowl so water doesn’t harm the floors, clean pet urine with warm water and vinegar instead of harsh chemicals, and trim your pets claws regularly to prevent scratching.