Do you wear high heels? Are the pads you are using heavy duty and thick? The pads will also need to be cleaned regularly and replaced every few months (if on furniture that is moved frequently). We are having our solids hardwoods refinished right now and chose a lightly distressed look just to help hide the dents, scrapes and scuffs. NOT because we like the distressed look! Our solid hardwoods dent like heck too! They are white oak.

floorguy said it best. Its not only the 'hardness' but the last of character makes maple show things more than an oak with lots of graining etc. If your floor has a gloss finish down the road you can screen and recoat using a matte finish. That may help but its an easy remedy.

Ok, this is what I don't get. It seems most my indentations are due to my Dyson vacuum. But not the beater brush, but the ball and wheels. Yet my BDI coffee table (heavy, glass, wood and steel), leaves no indentations.

In reference to the finish, I thought the shiny look was due to the aluminum oxide. Can you get a matte finish with the aluminum oxide?

Thanks!!!!

The ball is actually a rolling point load and the wheels probably have sharp edges, which also make them point loads.

Your coffee table's load is static and spread out over an area...whatever the area of the coffee table feet happens to be...not a point load.

When I finally have the engineered wood floors installed that are in boxes in my other room, how should I clean them if a vacuum cleaner causes damage?

aluminum oxide are 'crystals' that are mixed in with the urethane during the coating process. AO actually clouds the finish so some mfctrs put the ao on then top coat with pure urethane. It has nothing to do with the shine, and yes you could recoat with a matte finish.

Is that the Dyson DC25 all floor vacuum your using?

Yes, it's the DC25.

I have Hickory floors with Aluminum Oxide finish. I clean my floors by taking a dust mop to them, and then damp mop them according to my flooring manufactur by using very little dishsoap and water; I also switch off with Bona floor cleaner.

I had hickory engineered flooring installed one year ago in my entire downstairs. It is a shiny smooth finish and the color variations are truly beautiful. Aluminum oxide coating. However, it dents even if I drop a teaspoon on it. It also scratches easily. Honestly I would not have gotten this floor if I'd had any idea it would wear so poorly. I don't think the Jenka rating is useful at all. I think I would have gone for a distressed floor with a matte finish. Disappointing.

@donnaprovenza

This is why you have seen the wood floor market overall has dropped the sheen level greatly. Some has as low as 5 to 7 % sheen level.

Hickory UV Oiled Natural Hand Scraped Solid Engineered 7 Inch · More Info

We can say it until we are blue in the face but it takes educating the homeowner one at a time to get things to stick.

Lessons to be Taken TO HEART:

1. Engineered hardwoods do NOT follow Janka Hardness ratings - ignore them.

2. Wood floors scratch - some more...some less. Janka hardness ratings don't deal with scratches - ignore them.

3. Aluminum Oxide (AO) will scratch - it just takes a bit more effort.

4. AO finishes are NOT created equal - an EXPENSIVE 9 coat system is going to outperform the 3 layer "cheapo" finish

5. Scratches are not "quality" of material issues and are not considered "defective".

6. High-gloss shows scratches.

7. Low gloss shows "oily foot prints".

8. Low gloss finishes can look "hazy" at certain times of the day - this is the nature of the beast.

Good luck.