How To Protect Vinyl Flooring From Heavy Furniture? [Maintenance Tips]

Watching your newly installed vinyl flooring get scuffed by heavy furniture movement- is a nightmare. You will be surprised to know how easily furniture can make tears and dents on your favorite floor. You could be saved from such agony with some knowledge on how to protect vinyl flooring from heavy furniture.

It is only you who can protect your floor from your furniture. You can do it if you have the correct information, equipment, and practices. This article can help you with the information part.

I have been a floor technician and blogger for the last 10 years, and this is my take on protecting your vinyl flooring from heavy furniture. I will tell you ten sure ways to do that. I will also give away some personal tips and answer common questions in this article.

10 Ways To Protect Vinyl Flooring From Heavy Furniture:

Here are some measures that I recommend for the safety of the vinyl flooring in your house. They are as easy as they are helpful. 

1. Adopt A Comprehensive Planning:

It may sound like a nerd, but it’s always a good idea to have a proper overall plan, including your furniture and flooring solution. This is where the weight of your furniture and your flooring system’s capacity will be considered. 

For a new home, set the heavy furniture like a kitchen cabinet and refrigerator first and install vinyl flooring surrounding them. You should also have a strategy for moving your heavy furniture in the future. Because eventually, you will need to shuffle their place, and your refrigerator can always be repaired.

You will always feel safe if you arrange all the necessary tools to move the heavy furniture.

2. Choosing The Right Floor: 

After evaluating your need for heavy furniture, it is wise to decide on a flooring solution. There are different types of vinyl flooring solutions. Each one has its specific capacity to endure the weight. You may not need to move them frequently, but sitting the heavy furniture on the floor for years can also harm the floor if the weight is beyond its capacity.

Keep in mind that you can not get comfort, durability, and fashionability simultaneously in vinyl flooring. To make your vinyl floors comfortable for footing, you can make them softer with extra padding. But it will become challenging for the floor to sustain heavy furniture.

You can plan to install different vinyl floors for different spaces, depending on what furniture will be used there. 

3. Picking The Right Furniture:

We do not change our floor frequently, but we may need to buy furniture anytime. While choosing new furniture for your home, think thoroughly about the flooring where the furniture will be placed. 

Carefully observe the footing of the furniture. If the furniture is heavy and its footing is small, it can put intense pressure on a particular point in the floor. That is not good for any flooring. The salesman will say anything to hand you the furniture. You should do online research and see what other furniture users say about it.

4. The Furniture Pad:

Heavy furniture is a ⁽¹⁾ great threat to vinyl flooring. Use the best furniture sliders for vinyl plank flooring while moving them on the floor. Furniture sliders, or furniture pads, are made of plastic or felt. They come in different basic shapes like circles, squares, etc. Sliders play a crucial role in saving the floor and the furniture from possible friction while the heavy furniture is moved from one place to another over the floor. 

Appliance slider sheets are glued at the bottom part of your heavy furniture. Usually, furniture sliders are set under your furniture on some strategic points. Heavy furniture is evenly distributed over a wider floor area with a furniture slider. It makes life on your floor easier.

Besides heavy furniture, sliders attached under the legs of a chair or table can be handy to save the vinyl flooring under them. It also reduces the noise of the chairs significantly.

5. Furniture Glides:

Like furniture sliders for vinyl floors, furniture glides also support the furniture and the floor. They are different in the way they are attached to the furniture. Where slides use adhesives for attachment, glides have metal rivets. These rivets are hammered into the furniture. That implies glides can be used only on wooden furniture.

Glides work great with wooden chairs or tables. Slices tend to fall apart from wooden furniture easily. They come in both plastic and cloth forms. Remember to check the payload of glides.

6. Keeping Away Rolling Casters: 

Heavy or light, any ⁽²⁾ furniture with rolling casters is a big challenge for vinyl flooring. Try hard to keep them away. If not possible, attach a stopper with the rolling casters to save your vinyl flooring. 

The light chairs with rolling caster may look harmless. But in the longer term, they do their part in damaging the floor. Tears and dents are the obvious results. If it is impossible to get away from chairs with a rolling caster, add felt tips to the rolls or lay a protective rug on the floor.

7. Adapting the ‘Always Lifting, No Dragging’ Policy:

Maybe it’s one of our instincts to drag any furniture when we need to move them. Make it a habit of the house’s inhabitants always to lift any furniture rather than remove it on vinyl floors.

If the furniture is too heavy to lift, you and all your family must lay a rug or any other protective layer on the floor before moving the furniture. Another alternative to mats can be carpets or plywood boards.

Statistics show most of the damage to vinyl flooring is done by dragging furniture over them. This particular issue has made the durability of vinyl flooring much more questionable. Change of habit can be a solution to this problem.

8. Using Area Rugs:

Placing rugs under heavy furniture can be a way to save vinyl flooring. Carpets are also helpful for floor safety against a high volume of traffic. But some people would prefer something else to this idea, as it diminishes the aesthetic value of vinyl flooring. 

9. Using Forearm Forklift Straps:

You can use forearm forklift straps to move a heavy washing machine or cabinet over vinyl flooring. Two healthy persons and a recommended forearm forklift are enough to save your vinyl floor from the weight of heavy furniture.

10. Using Furniture Lifter:

You can use furniture lifters to move your heavy furniture over a vinyl floor. They are easily available at local hardware stores and all online stores. With a furniture lifter, you can lift and move heavy furniture without the sweat. The rollers of furniture lifters are made to be gentle on soft floors like vinyl. The average furniture lifter can lift and shift furniture as heavy as 400 lbs.

Tips On How To Protect Vinyl Flooring From Heavy Furniture:

Here are some tips for you that I learned the hard way. I made those mistakes because nobody had told me about them like I am telling you now.

• Do Not Use Rubber-Made Slides Or Glides:

Some furniture protective pads are made of rubber. Vinyl flooring is stained when they come in contact with rubbers. So, while buying slides or chair glides for vinyl floors, make sure they are made of plastic or cotton.

• Use Larger Slides Or Glides For Bigger Furniture:

For the heaviest furniture, like the refrigerator or washing machine, use bigger slides and cover a larger surface of the bottom of the furniture. Heavy wooden cabinets should be attached with large glides before placing them on a vinyl floor.

• Keep The Big Plant Tubs Away: 

Big or small, plant tubs are not a good companion for vinyl flooring. They need regular watering, which triggers the risk of stranded water on vinyl flooring. Eventually, molds begin to grow under the floor, and the whole flooring needs to be changed.

Commonly Asked Questions About Heavy Furniture On Vinyl Flooring:

How Much Weight Can You Put On Vinyl Plank Flooring?

Vinyl plank flooring is known to be strong. An average quality vinyl flooring can withstand around 500 lbs of weight. High-quality vinyl flooring is claimed to endure around 600 lbs. 

You should consult the manufacturer’s agent before getting any cumbersome furniture into your house. You are also suggested to use protective pads or slides under heavy furniture when they are kept on vinyl flooring. 

Can You Put Heavy Appliances Or Furniture On Vinyl Floors?

Many people think that vinyl needs to be stronger to hold heavy furniture or appliances. However, it is not true, and vinyl flooring can easily handle a significant amount of weight without damage. You can put heavy appliances like washing machines or refrigerators on vinyl floors. 

But it is recommended to use protective pads or appliance sliders for vinyl floors under a heavy appliance before placing them. You have to be very cautious while moving them over the floor.

Does Heavy Furniture Dent Vinyl Flooring?

Heavy furniture can make dents on vinyl flooring if not handled carefully. The dent is made while moving heavy furniture on vinyl plank flooring carelessly. There are many solutions to prevent dents on vinyl flooring while using heavy furniture. One of the popular solutions is to use slides or glides.

Can You Use Rolling Desk Chairs Or Rolling Casters On Luxury Vinyl Floors?

The wheels at the bottom of a rolling desk chair scuff a vinyl floor. Sometimes, rolling casters leave floor prints. The floor may tear and dent eventually with a rolling desk chair. Scratches in vinyl flooring for rolling chairs are also common. They should not be used over vinyl flooring solutions. Rugs should be placed over the area where rolling casters move to prevent damage.

How To Use Forearm Forklifts To Carry Heavy Furniture?

You can use forearm forklifts while moving heavy furniture to save your vinyl flooring from scratches and cuts. To use forearm forklifts, you need two healthy people without a history of back pain. Because while lifting and carrying heavy furniture, its total weight will be distributed between the two persons according to their height and movement. 

Following the user manual, you need to cross the bottom of the furniture with the straps of the forearm forklift. Then the straps have to be put on the shoulders of the carriers. Then they need to lift the heavy furniture very slowly and walk it to its destination.

Does Luxury Vinyl Plank Scratch Easily?

Luxury vinyl plank flooring is one of the top choices for flooring styles in the current market. One of the top features of this flooring material is that it has a top layer that prevents scratches and stains on the floor. This makes the luxury vinyl plank suitable for homes with kids and pets. 

However, rolling chairs, heavy furniture, appliances, etc., can easily cause scratches on the floor. Make sure that you rely on furniture pads for luxury vinyl plank flooring to prevent damage.

Do I Need A Chair Mat On the Vinyl Floor?

Vinyl flooring is quite durable and comes at a reasonable price. But the vinyl plank flooring gets scratched easily due to dragging furniture, chairs, and so on over the floor. If you want to protect your home’s flooring for a long time, investing in chair mats is a great idea. 

These under-chair pads ensure that the chairs do not easily damage the floor. You can also place the furniture coasters for vinyl floors under desks, sofas, and other furniture to prevent damage. 

Why Rubber-Made Slides Are Bad For Vinyl Floors?

Many people prefer to use rubber-made slides in their homes. However, these items are not suitable for use on vinyl plank flooring. This is because the chemical formation of a vinyl floor reacts while in contact with rubber. 

And this reaction causes the slides to leave permanent marks on the vinyl floor. The stains from the slides significantly damage the look of the vinyl flooring. That is why rubber-made slides are not recommended for vinyl flooring solutions.

What To Put Under Heavy Furniture On Vinyl Plank Flooring?

Even though vinyl plank flooring is less strong or durable than timber or wood flooring, it can still hold a decent amount of weight. However, placing heavy furniture can often damage the flooring and require expensive repairs. And to protect the floor, it is essential to put a few things under the table. 

You can use rugs, carpets, and pads for LVP flooring to protect the floor from damage. Furniture protective pads also come in handy to prevent flooring damage. Only drag the furniture across the floor by relying on furniture glides. 

Can We Place Heavy Furniture On Click-lock Vinyl Plank Flooring?

We should not place any heavy furniture on click-lock vinyl plank flooring. Because it is a floating type floor and an interlocking system connects all its planks. It enables the floor to shrink or expand with temperature without creating any buckling on the surface.

If heavy furniture is kept on a click-lock vinyl plank floor, it stops the thermal adaptation process. Gradually the floor becomes damaged with random bucklings.

How To Remove Dents From A Vinyl Floor Caused By Heavy Furniture?

There is more than one way to remove a dent from vinyl floors caused by heavy furniture. The simplest way to do that is by waxing the floor with car polish and pressing it with a soft cloth. 

Another way of removing dents from a vinyl floor includes a wet dishtowel and an iron. After rigorously cleaning the dent, you must rub it with a wet dishtowel. The towel needs to be heated with an iron priorly. Simultaneous action of heat and moisture do the job.

How To Prevent Dents In Vinyl Flooring?

Dents on vinyl plank flooring will not only ruin the house’s aesthetic but will also make it harder to walk on the floor. Replacing the flooring or repairing it can be expensive. One of the best ways of vinyl flooring protection is to carpet the floor. 

You can also use floor protectors or protect feet under the legs of your furniture. This will ensure that the items’ weight is equally distributed, decreasing pressure on the floor. 

Will Rolling Chairs Damage Vinyl Flooring?

Even if you rely on the best quality vinyl plank flooring in the market, rolling chairs will still cause damage as time passes. When the rolling chair moves on the floor, it produces friction which damages the flooring over time. However, this damage can be prevented easily with a few tips and tricks. 

Ensure regular maintenance of the vinyl plank flooring to minimize damage. And use a thick carpet, protective layers, or floor glides for furniture under the chairs or sitting area to prevent damage. 

Bottom Line:

There is an old saying – “Prevention is better than cure.”This is so appropriate for vinyl flooring solutions. Inclusive planning about your flooring and furniture, using some accessories, and your cautiousness can ensure a long life for your vinyl floors. Above all, your knowledge of how to protect vinyl flooring from heavy furniture will help you the best.

References

1. Tips to Prevent Scratches From Your Vinyl Flooring. (2022, July 15). GiantWorks Singapore. Retrieved January 5, 2023, from https://www.giantworks.sg/post/tips-to-prevent-scratches-from-your-vinyl-flooring
2. 10 Tips For Vinyl Flooring Maintenance. (2014, January 20). Remland Carpets. Retrieved January 5, 2023, from https://www.remlandcarpets.co.uk/about/news/10-tips-for-vinyl-flooring-maintenance-2