Hardwood floors can get scratched up, whether by moving furniture or rambunctious kids. But many scratches can be easy to repair.

Read more: How to Choose the Right Stain for Hardwood Floors

“Surface scratches are caused by everyday use, grit on the bottom of shoes, or running a vacuum cleaner across the floor,” Brett Miller, vice president of education and certification for the National Wood Flooring Association, told realtor.com®. “Anything that can run across the surface of the floor can cause scratches.”

Here are a few tips and tricks for getting rid of these floor marks:

Lick your finger and you may be able to even rub out some minor surface scratches. Or, clean the area with a dry cloth and rub a fine steel wool pad such as Brillo over it, with the grain, Miller recommends.

Deeper scratches require a little more TLC. Scratches can be colored with a wood stain marker, which can be found at a hardware store. Or, try the “walnut method”—rubbing a walnut on the floor. Test it out first in a different spot to ensure the walnut isn’t darker than the surrounding color of the scratch. Then, dab the repair with urethane finish that matches the floor’s sheen.

To remove gouges from hardwoods, fill the divot with wood putty. Then, sand, stain, and finish with urethane to blend in with the rest of the floor. Miller says this one is often best left to the hardwood floor pros.

Source: “How to Remove Scratches From Hardwood Floors (With a Walnut),” realtor.com® (Nov. 30, 2017)

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