Care & Maintenance

 

Today's wood floor finishes are relatively easy to maintain. Enjoy your wood floor for many years by following the simple steps listed below.

 

• Place walk-off rugs at entrances. This will help trap grit, which can scratch your floor. The rugs should be vacuumed and cleaned on a regular basis. These rugs should occasionally be moved to provide equal oxidation throughout the entire floor, allowing the floor to age at the same rate throughout. Avoid using the rugs until 2 weeks after the finish has been applied to allow the finish to fully cure.

• Place mats near high spill areas (refrigerator & sinks). Do not allow soiled rugs to stay on the floor as they can trap moisture in the wood floor. Rugs should be cleaned on a regular basis.

• Never apply water on your floor. Never wet-mop your floor. A damp/dry mop is fine as long as the moisture is limited to an amount that will evaporate almost immediately. Any additional water will seep through plank cracks causing the finish to break down and wood fibers to expand. A wet rag may be used for cleaning up spills. However, be sure to dry afterward to avoid leaving any moisture on the floor.

• Vacuum your floor regularly to remove grit, dirt and rocks that can scratch your floor finish.

• Always use the manufacturers recommended cleaning products on your floor. If you don't know the manufacturer, use a generic hardwood floor cleaner designed for the type of finish that is on your floor.A cleaner for surface finishes, such as urethane, is quite common and readily available. This is generally a water-based product similar to Windex. Do not use Windex, as it will leave a film. Do not use a solvent based (petroleum based products) cleaner on urethane-finished floors (surface coated). Solvents/petroleum's will soften and break down a surface finish.Solvent type maintenance products were originally created for waxed hardwood floors and are still important products for floors that are finished with penetrating oil or wax finish. Although not as common, there is still a demand for this traditional finish. Using a water-based cleaner as in the urethane finished floor cleaners will ruin a penetrating finish. It will turn it first a white color (like a ring from a glass on a coffee table) and eventually black as it rots the wood.

• Put floor protector glides under your furniture legs. This will allow your furniture to move but not scratch the floor.

• Shoe Heels can exert a tremendous amount of pressure pounds per square inch. They can dent even the hardest of floors. Baseball cleats or even a dog with unclipped toenails can also damage a floor.

• Refrigerators and dishwashers with bottom motors should have appliance trays installed under them to protect the floor from heat. Heat can cause the floor to have varying degrees of dryness. This may cause uneven shrinkage and cracking. These cracks, while not obvious, will collect dirt causing them to become more visible over time.

• If the floor is beginning to show significant wear it may be time to recoat the floor. Consult an NWFA flooring professional regarding your options. By recoating the floor at the first signs of wear, you will be able to bring your floor back to new condition with just a recoating. If the floor is allowed to wear into the wood, it will require the floor to be resanded and then coated resulting in a much higher cost.