How To Keep Refrigerator From Scratching Wood Floor
Refrigerators are easy to reposition and move on hard surfaces. However, wooden floors can suffer from scratches due to those movements. You must be mindful of these issues before moving your fridge and damaging your floor.
You can keep your refrigerator from scratching your wood floor by installing protective layers between its legs and the surface underneath. Next, be careful when repositioning the appliance. Lift it up whenever you want to move it, either by hand or using tools like furniture sliders.
Keep reading to discover how to move your refrigerator without scratching the wooden floor. You’ll find plenty of options to help you do that safely.
How Do You Keep Your Fridge From Scratching A Wooden Floor?
Your heavy refrigerator can scratch your wood floor with even the tiniest movements. So, you must be mindful of that before you decide to move or adjust the appliance.
Here are 4 ways you can prevent it from damaging your floor:
1. Add Protective Layers
The first and most important way to prevent damage to the floor is by adding protective layers. Specifically, you should add thick layers between the fridge’s legs and the surface underneath so any movement won’t cause scratches.
That protective layer can include anything like:
- A layer of plywood
- Extra pieces of laminate flooring
- A mat made of rubber or other durable materials (e.g. anti-vibration mats designed for household appliances like washing machines and refrigerators)
Alternatively, you can use protective pads attached to each fridge’s legs. These will provide the same benefits without covering the entire area under the refrigerator.
Regardless of the material, the extra layer will absorb the fridge’s weight and prevent it from scratching the wood floor.
2. Careful When Repositioning Fridge
Another way to prevent scratches is by being extra careful when repositioning the appliance. People’s first instinct is to push the fridge to realign its position.
Unfortunately, even the tiniest push can cause the refrigerator’s legs to scratch the floor as it moves.
Instead of moving it that way, a better way is to lift part of the fridge off the ground when adjusting its position.
As you can imagine, that’s only practical with smaller, lighter appliances like a mini-fridge. However, that’s quite challenging with a standard and fully-loaded refrigerator.
If you’re trying to move or reposition a larger unit, use moving tools like the ones described below.
3. Use Furniture Sliders Or Other Moving Tools
Earlier, you read that scratches on your floor occur when pushing the refrigerator to move it. Also, you read that lifting the fridge whenever you need to reposition it is best.
You can rely on furniture sliders or similar moving tools when the appliance is too heavy. These tools help you lift the fridge one leg at a time to place a slider directly underneath. Once you’ve done that, you can roll the refrigerator to its not location without it touching the floor directly.
Doing so takes a bit more time and effort, but it keeps your wood floors perfectly safe while eliminating any risk of scratches.
4. Minimize Weight Before Moving
There are some situations when lifting the refrigerator is not practical. At that point, the only thing you can do is minimize the risk of it scratching your wood floor.
The best way to do that is by reducing the appliance’s weight as much as possible. Then, when done correctly, there will be less force pushing down against the floor when moving the fridge.
You can accomplish that by removing all items inside the fridge compartments. Then, take out all the shelves and crisper drawers as well.
Lastly, remember to defrost the unit. So much of its weight comes from ice that has solidified inside the compartment and its nooks and crannies.
Several of our articles are similar to these How To Keep Herbs Fresh In The Fridge, How To Remove Stains From A Stainless Steel Refrigerator and How To Keep Broccoli Fresh In The Refrigerator
Final Thoughts
Always remember that fridges scratch wooden floors because their weight is applied directly to the surface underneath. So, you can prevent that from happening by first installing a protective layer between the appliance’s legs and the floor.
Next, lift the appliance whenever you want to reposition or move it. That’s done by emptying the compartments of all objects, including the shelves and drawers.
Lastly, defrost any ice inside the appliance to reduce its weight further and lower the risk of scratches.
