Hi there, so I've been living in my apartment for almost a year now and I've been preparing to move out. I pulled up my rug by my desk and noticed that the hardwood floor was damaged. There are definitely scratches, but I have no idea how that is possible given I've had a rug there for a year. I believe it may be mold damage given that the underside of my rug had some mold where the damage on the floor is.

Ripping up the hardwood is not an option. I am so far trying to use a light gloss to make it look half decent but it won't help the darker spots. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I could try to fix this?

Thank you in advance.

for there to be mold there had to be water..that is your problem..the finish is now worn/peeled away it appears and discolored..the only thing that will fix it is to sand the area..

Im guessing you anticipate security return issues..that would be the case regardless if the flooring was perfect..Thats what landlords do.

Your right in regards to the security deposit, however I'm not that concerned about it given I never had an inspection with my landlord when I first moved in. I do believe that I may have spilled something on my carpet and it leaked through the rug causing the mold/mayhem.

I wish there was an easier fix to these problems. I went to Canadian Tire and the guy was very condescending telling me it's near impossible to even fix a bit (might be I don't know). I just need it to look a bit better, thank you for your suggestion so far!

Maybe he was condescending because you went to a Tire shop with a floor problem?

( no condescension intended)

Usually discoloration is due to water damage. Generally, the best way to fix is to sand & refinish. You can replace the boards/weave in new ones & then refinish natural. Or, if the stains are still there after sanding (which is likely), you can do a stain that is darker enough to cover then up.

Debbie Gartner, aka The Flooring Girl
http://TheFlooringGirl.com
Westchester County, NY

Also, BTW, you should always use an area rug pad underneath area rugs...otherwise the backing can scratch the hardwood.

Debbie Gartner, aka The Flooring Girl
http://TheFlooringGirl.com
Westchester County, NY

Hopefully you didnt do anything and let the land lord take care of it the way he chooses. You didnt do anything wrong unless you cleaned the rug over top the wood. You could screw it up worse, leave it alone.