In general hardwood floors are pretty easy to maintain. In fact that is one of the major selling points of hardwood floors. Easy maintenance however does not mean that you don't have to do anything to look after them. There are a few simple things that you are going to want to do in order to make sure that you keep your floors in the best shape possible. This will make it far less likely that you will have to replace your floors in the future.
The biggest thing when it comes to maintaining your hardwood floors is to make sure that you keep them clean. Dirt on a hardwood floor can scratch it so constant effort is required to make sure that they stay clean. The easiest way to clean a hardwood floor is simply to sweep it, a soft broom with fine bristles works best. It is also a good idea to vacuum the floor at least once a week. You also want to make sure that you vacuum any rugs regularly so that the dirt can't seep through and scratch your floor.
The other big enemy of a hardwood floor is water. Water can seep into the seams, when that happens it will ruin your floor. Make sure that if you spill anything on your floor that you clean it up immediately. If you need to use a mop to clean your floor make sure that you use a mop that is very dry. You do not want to have so much water on the floor when you mop that you have to come back and sop it up. If that happens you can be sure that some of it has made its way through the seams.
It can be very easy to scratch your hardwood floors so you are going to want to be careful about this. The most likely thing to scratch your floors is going to be your furniture. It goes without saying that you don't want to drag any furniture across the floor. In many cases the furniture may move just from regular use like when people sit down in a chair. In order to protect your floors from that it is a good idea to use furniture pads. You can get these at any hardware store and put them under the feet of any chairs or tables.
Most hardwood floors don't really require any maintenance beyond keeping them clean. However there are some floors that will need to be buffed and waxed occasionally. Obviously you will have to know if this is the case with your floors. Beyond that it is just a matter of following the manufacturer's recommendations when it comes to buffing and waxing your floors. It is a good idea to make sure that you do this as required or you could end up damaging your floors and having to have them replaced.