Posted on November 15th, 2022

If you’re considering redoing the floors in your home or rental property, one of the choices you have for flooring is hardwood. You may think it’s too expensive or difficult to install, but the truth is that depending on the living situation, hardwood floors can be a better investment in the long run.

1) Hardwood Floors are Easy to Clean and Durable

While your first instinct when choosing a floor material may not be to ask how easy it is to clean, depending on who lives in your home, this may be a huge selling point. If you have kids or pets, vacuuming or trying to remove stains and spills all the time can be taxing, especially if you have carpet. However, with hardwood floors, all you need to do is sweep and mop. Cleanup is a breeze with these types of floors.

In addition to being easy to clean, it is also very long-lasting: You can expect it to last as long as you own your home, and perhaps even longer than that. Hardwood floors get dirty, but they don’t absorb dirt and spilled liquids like carpet and carpet padding can, and though they may scuff from foot traffic over the years, you can get them refinished; they won’t wear out like laminate, carpet, or tile will. Carpet typically has to be replaced three to six times before most hardwood floors ever need repair; despite the higher upfront cost, wood floors will require less upkeep over time.

2) Wood Flooring Increases Your Home’s Value

Though hardwood floors are by no means the least expensive option for flooring, the payoff is far higher than other types of flooring. If you ever want to sell your home, many people will see the hardwood floors as a very big perk as it is durable, easy to clean, and won’t hold odors or stains from the previous owners or tenants. Because they are complementary to many styles of decorating, also, new owners won’t have to adjust their furniture or décor to match the existing floor.

3) Many Different Styles Are Available

While you might read that and think the same can be said for carpet, the truth is that in addition to being offered in a variety of different styles, hardwood styles never really go out of style. On the other hand, other types of flooring may come in many different options, but can they stand the test of time? Is that shag carpeting from the 1970s still popular? No.

Hardwood floors, either solid or engineered, come in many different finishes and colors, perfect for nearly any style imaginable. Want something versatile that will match virtually anything? Go with a transitional domestic hardwood floor such as a lighter maple or oak shade. If you prefer a more dramatic look in your home, there are many exotic hardwood options, like Tigerwood, or very dark colors that can look very rich and intense, such as Midnight Oak, which is nearly black. You’ll have the option to choose just about anything, and what’s best, you’ll be able to refinish them if the color fades after many years; with carpet, when the color fades or wears out, you’re out of luck.

4) Wood is a Renewable Resource

With talk of deforestation and the rainforest, it’s easy to think that hardwood floors might be detrimental to the environment. However, the opposite is true. Wood floor sales return money back to the wood industry, which actually supports the perpetuation of forests. Additionally, many exotic woods come from sustainable forests. According to the World Resources Institute, North America actually grows more trees than it cuts—in other words, your hardwood floors are not going to cause the forests to disappear. Further, some options are even more renewable than others. Take cork and bamboo, for instance—while not technically wood, these two materials are growing in popularity. Hardwood floors are, categorically, a safe choice for renewable flooring options.

5) It’s Good for Allergy Sufferers

If you’ve got allergies to pet hair, dander, dust, or anything else that can get stuck in carpeting, you know that it can be a huge undertaking to remove that from the floor. Carpets trap a lot of allergens, and if people suffer from respiratory distress from their allergies, this can be very dangerous. With hardwood floors, however, these allergens can’t be trapped. Have a visitor who is allergic to cats, but you have a cat? So long as they aren’t severely allergic, a good cleaning of the floor can ease the discomfort. With hardwood floors, you’re just a quick damp-mopping away from a perfectly clean floor, allergen-free as the day it was installed.

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