Tips on Maintaining Hardwood Floors

Another material that is widely used in home building and designing is hardwood. Usually it is used as flooring. It gives the impression of richness, elegance and the beauty of nature. It gives an earthy feeling to a room. It is very important to know how to take care of your hardwood floor. Like any other flooring material, hardwood is not that difficult to maintain. Actually it is one of the easiest to keep clean and maintain. Common sense is a key factor in preserving the beauty and richness of your hardwood floor.

Most of the times, manufacturers and fabricators provide maintenance guides for your hardwood floor. One of the best things to do is to consult with in regards of taking care of your flooring. They should know best when it comes to preserving the beauty of the material. But still you do not always need to pick up the phone and contact them. The means of taking care of your hardwood floor are already at the tip of your fingers.

First of all, we all know that water is the number one enemy of woods. It can cause a lot of damage to any type of wood such as warping, twisting, cupping, or edge crush just to name a few. It lessens the quality of the wood making it vulnerable to more serious damage. Minimize or eliminate too much exposure of your hardwood floor to water or any other damage causing liquid.

Second, avoid the build up of dirt and grit on your floor. These elements can act as sandpaper and may cause scratches to the floor. You do not want scratches to appear on your hardwood floor. It will lessen the elegant and rich look to your floor.

Like with any other flooring materials, try not to drag furniture when moving them. As much as possible, lift them to avoid scratches to the hardwood floor. It is also recommended that you put mats under the furniture.

You can also consider installing drapes or curtains in your room to filter sunlight. The sun naturally fades the color of any wood. You do not want discolorations on your hardwood floors.

Regularly sweep the floor to prevent dirt build up. Use brooms with fine ends so as not to scratch the floor. You can also use vacuum but without the beater bars. You may consider using vacuum cleaners with bare floor attachments.

Do not use hard cleaners on your floor. This may cause color fading and may create patches on the floor. Oil soaps can produce awkward build ups on the floor and that may cause a lot of bigger problems. You can use cleaners that are specially made for hardwood floors.

These are just some of the helpful tips you may consider in maintaining your hardwood floor. There are lots of different ways in taking care of your floor. By following these suggestions, the beauty of the hardwood floor may be preserved. Your floor may be as good as new even if it is years of age with proper care.

Floor Care & Maintenance Guide

1.    Never damp mop newly finished flooring.

Dry clean your floor only for the first 2 to 6 weeks. Every floor takes time to off gas water and other solvents used in the application of your new wood floor finish. Each floor is different in the time it takes to fully toughen if you damp mop your new floor surface too quickly it can permanently soften the wear surface thereby greatly reducing the life of your floors finish.

2.    Keep furniture and area rugs off the new floor surface for a minimum of 72 hours.

Area rugs should be moved occasionally during the first 2 to 6 weeks following finish application to allow off gassing and prevent uneven color aging particularly in bright sunlit areas.

3.   Regular cleaning should be done with a dry mop, vacuum or broom.

Periodic cleaning can be accomplished with a mop lightly dampened with water and a mild soap or other mild solvent. (DO NOT USE AN OIL SOAP TO CLEAN YOUR FLOOR!)

Recoat your floor periodically to preserve its life

To prolong the life of your wood floor we recommend periodic screening and recoating with one to two new coats of the finish that was used by your hardwood floors professional after 3 to 5 years when your floor begins to show wear or becomes hard to keep clean. This procedure can be done with a minimal amount of dust and only takes a few hours to complete. Screening and top coating is done without completely removing the existing finish on your floors. Once you have worn completely through your floors finish the only way to properly to redo your wood floors is by completely removing all the finish and totally resurfacing your floors. A little preventative maintenance can go a long way in prolonging the life and looks of your investment.

For information call:                            Old World Wood Floors

                                                           Andrey Vazhdayev

                                                            (206) 226 5507