In Praise of Hardwood Floors

As a person who looks at homes and their finishings everyday, I understand the popularity of hardwood flooring.   It's pretty; it shines; it has the ability to update a room and add warmth and class.  I have hardwood floors, myself, and love them but it wasn't until last night that I truly appreciated one of the other very important aspects of a hardwood floor... how easy they are to clean!  Excluding major abuses, like, say, dragging a 25 lb potted palm across the floor, hardwood withstands the various trails and tribulations, drops, spills and messes that everyday life can, and does, dole out.

My reflection on the forgiving nature of hardwood started early, early, this morning, sometime around 2am. I had already been up for a few hours cleaning up after my extremely sick dog and was laying on the couch lamenting the fact that my (previously gleaming) maple floors, were now covered in cough syrup, honey, water droplets and doggie spit up.   You are probably wondering about the cough syrup and honey... Well you see, Harley (my dog) came down with a cold yesterday, well really a horrible hacking cough that not only sounded painful but caused him to choke and cough stuff up.... I will spare you all of the nasty details.  At any rate, not having much experience with sick dogs, I consulted the all knowing internet and read that honey was a good natural remedy for dogs with a cough; not only are they supposed to like it (they lie), but it is supposed to sooth their scratched throat.   Harley does not, in fact, like honey and preceeded to dribble it all through my dining room.  
The next thing I read was that children's cough syrup would help suppress his cough... great I thought, now we can both get some sleep!   Surprise, surprise!!!! Imitation, medicinal grape flavour, goes over with dogs about as well as it does with children and most adults, which is not at all.  So now added to the honey I also have sticky purple cough syrup on the floor, on Harley, and on his blanket.

Now.. I digressed. This post was not supposed to be about my sick dog, but how wonderful hardwood floors are; and dear reader, it is.  As I said, early this morning I was reflecting on the forgiving nature of hardwood floors, as I lay on the couch grossed out by the state of my flooring, I knew that in the morning, all traces of the traumatic night passed would, and could be, washed away.  All I needed was a bucket of warm water and the help of my good friend Murphy's oil soap.  No steam cleaners, no permanent stains... just my beautiful golden floors ready for another day.   

Poor Harley and my Hardwood floor.