How to seal hardwood

Question

I have old (1954) hardwood floors in my house. If water or anything gets spilled on it, it will leak through I to the basement. How do I seal that?

Answer 1

There is nothing you can do to turn an existing hardwood floor into something waterproof, short of covering it with something like vinyl.

Wood expands and contracts seasonally across its width, so filler between the cracks would either have to be very flexible (and thus terrible as a floor surface) or would crack with expansion or contraction.

Mop up spills promptly and very little if any water will get into the basement. If it puts your mind at ease, many people have lived with this exact situation for many years.