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"  Carolyn Forte, the Director of the Good Housekeeping Research Institute Home Appliances and Cleaning Products Department, shared these words of warning. 1. Vacuuming with a rotating brush Your vac&amp;#039;s rotating brush can be very abrasive to wood floors. Turn off the brush roll or use a floor brush attachment instead. But make sure you vacuum often \u2014 gritty dirt and dust particles can scratch your floor when they sit for too long. 2. Wet-cleaning too often Unless your wood floors get tons of foot traffic, you don&amp;#039;t need to wet-clean them more than every one to two months. Instead, keep your wood floors well-vacuumed (see number one) and spot-clean as needed.  RELATED: 12 Kitchen Wall and Flooring Ideas  3. Drenching the floor with cleaner Today&amp;#039;s wood flooring finishes are much more resistant to water than ones in the past, but that doesn&amp;#039;t mean you should flood your floors with cleaning solution. When it&amp;#039;s time to wet-clean, tackle small areas at a time with a damp, not wet, mop or cloth and dry them promptly. 4. Using steam willy-nilly Exercise caution when using steam cleaners. If your floor has a wax finish or if its finish is old and worn, skip the steam. For other finishes, make sure the floor is intact before breaking out the steamer. Use the lightest level of steam your appliance offers and keep it moving across the floor, not stationary in any one spot too long. RELATED: How to Organize Your Garage  5. Choosing the wrong rug pad Rubber-backed mats or rubber mesh pads can dull your floor&amp;#039;s shine, and even cause discoloration. To protect your floor, use a combination felt and rubber pad to keep your area rugs in place. 6. Letting them sunbathe Sun exposure can change the color of wood flooring. Keep the blinds or shades drawn when the sun is at its strongest to limit discoloring and drying out the wood&amp;#039;s finish. 7. Not using caution with sharp objects You probably know that wood floors and sharp objects don&amp;#039;t mix, but there are two often-forgotten perpetrators: your pets&amp;#039; claws and high-heeled shoes. Solve this problem by keeping your pets&amp;#039; nails trimmed, and leaving your shoes at the door.  Tell us: What&amp;#039;s the worst thing that ever happened to your wood floor?   This article originally appeared on Good Housekeeping.  ----- Plus: Hearty vegetarian recipes even meat-eaters will love \u00BB11 gooey grilled cheese recipes \u00BBEasy weeknight meals \u00BB37 ways to make something new out of something old \u00BB "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.countryliving.com/home-maintenance/a4753/wood-floor-mistakes-good-housekeeping/>