|
Hardwood Floor Maintenance
The maintenance is the key to lasting beauty of your wood flooring.
However, cleaning the wood floor is no more effort than vacuuming
carpet or mopping vinyl. And wood floors don't need to be shampooed
periodically.
First two weeks
Long term maintenance
For the first two weeks floor is still curing, so:
- Be gentle when moving back furniture.
- Install proper felt protectors under ALL furniture.
- Wait with replacing area rugs.
- Avoid using water or any cleaner during this period.
- Avoid heavy traffic.
Back to top
Long term maintenance of your floors:
According to Oak Flooring Institute, "a good rule of thumb is to vacuum
or dust weekly." After vacuuming or dusting, use recommended flooring
cleaner for spills and general cleanup on floors which have non-waxed
polyurethane or Swedish finish.
Additionally:
- Place mats and throw rugs at doorways, exteriors and interiors to
help prevent the tracking of grit, dirt and sand.
- Never wet-mop a wood floor. Water and wood do not mix well together.
Use recommended flooring cleaner.
- Wipe up food and other spills immediately with a dry or slightly
dampened towel (wipe dry).
- Keep high heels in good repairs. An unprotected tip will dent any
hardwood floor.
- Using a humidifier or dehumidifier in conjunction with a furnace
or air conditioning system to maintain relative humidity in the home
at 35-50% will maintain the moisture in the wood and minimize cracks
between the boards.
- Put felt or fabric-faced glides under the legs of furniture to
prevent scuffing and scratching.
- Kitchen floors experience the most traffic in a home. Place an area
rug in front of the kitchen sink and stove. Shake out or vacuum the
rugs frequently.
- When moving heavy furniture, protect wood flooring by slipping a
piece of cloth or blanket under the legs.
- Do not use wax, oil soap, pledge or other household cleaners.
- Finally, urethane finishes eventually will show wear patterns
from surface scratching. When high traffic area begin to look dull
it is time to recoat or restore the finish. Call our company for
free evaluation of condition of your floor.
The recommendations made here are not intended to endorse specific
products or brands but to serve as general guidelines in the selection
and use of floor maintenance materials. Except for any directions on
using water on wood, wherever our guidelines vary from a product's
label instructions, always follow the label.
Back to top
|