This is exactly like what happened to me with grout lines before I started actually looking at the tile before scrubbing. I spent years treating every floor the same way because that is what I was taught, and it turns out half the damage I was doing came from not slowing down to look first. The thing is, we get into habits because they work most of the time, and then we stop asking if they still make sense. Then one little weird sound or one off job wakes you up and you realize you have been on autopilot for years. It happens in every trade, honestly. The fix is almost always the same too, just take ten seconds to look at what you are actually working with before you start.