The key to lasting beauty of your wood
flooring investment is proper maintenance for the life of your
floor.
The following are some excellent
guidelines for maintaining today's wood floors. What type of finish do you
have?
All Hardwood Floors regardless of
what type of finish, must be maintained properly to keep the beauty
long lasting. Every floor must be dust
mopped, vacuumed or swept with a soft bristle broom daily, or as often
as necessary, to remove grit and dust from the surface. Walking on
dusty or dirty floor is the fastest way to damage a finish.
Place walk off mats (carpet
runners) at all exterior entrances. This will
capture much of the harmful dirt before it even reaches the hardwood
floor. Shake out, wash or vacuum mats and area rugs frequently.
Floor protector pads
of soft felt or similar material should be placed on
the bottoms of the legs of the furniture. Floor protectors must be
kept clean of grit and periodically replaced.
Keep high heels in good
repairs. An unprotected tip will dent any
hardwood floor.
Kitchen floors experience the most traffic in a home. To prevent premature
wear of the floor, place an area rug in front of the sink and stove
area. Shake out or vacuum the rugs frequently. Recoat with compatible
finish as needed(12-18 months) This process will save you from having
to refinish to bare wood, which could be a major concerns as to down
time and if your engineered floor can be resanded?
Finally, using a humidifier or
dehumidifier in conjunction with a furnace or air conditioning
system to maintain relative humidity in the home at 30-50% will
maintain the moisture in the wood and minimize cracks between the
boards.
Urethane Finishes Routine
Cleaning - Use the finish manufacturer's or
the prefinished floor manufacturer's recommended cleaning system. If
the manufacturer is not known or has no recommendation, use a cleaner
that will not leave a residue that would inhibit bonding and
recoating. NEVER wax a urethane finish. Do not generally wet a wood
floor with water. When using any wood floor cleaner which requires
mixing with water, follow mixing directions precisely. A cloth wetted
with water and squeezed dry may be used to wipe up food stuffs and
other spills, provided the area is buffed dry immediately. Heel or
scuff marks and stubborn stains may be removed by lightly rubbing with
a cloth and a wood floor cleaner. Other maintenance tips for urethane
finished floors:
- Most finish manufacturers DO NOT suggest
wet mopping
- Never use household DUST
TREATMENTS
- Always use manufacturers recommended
cleaning products, if not know use a hardwood floor cleaner from a
local retail outlet/ wood floor contractor.
- NEVER use wax
- Wipe spills immediately with soft
lightly damp cloth, following up with cleaning solution and/or a dry
soft cloth.
- Never use petroleum-based floor cleaners
for waterbased finishes
- For stubborn stains use floor cleaner on
a soft cloth directly on stain, wiping with the grain.
- When the floor loses its shine/luster,
it's time to recoat. Screening
( light sanding is required)
applying a compatible finish of the desired luster shine level you
prefer. High gloss will show wear area faster, as satin tends to
give a waxed look
Long-term Maintenance - Recoating
Surface finishes - 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. Always follow the
manufacturer's recommendations. Screening (light sanding) and
recoating with same finish every 12-18 months will help maintain your
wood floor for years to come. Make sure no oil soaps, and other
"contaminates" have been used on the floor, intentionally or
otherwise. This can create an adhesion problem for the new finish,
causing peeling and flaking. If unknown, always inform the wood floor
contractor, as this improper maintenance can cause finish failure,
making for serious concerns as to the end results, and who is
responsible.
Wax Finishes
Routine Cleaning - Use the finish
manufacturer's or the prefinished floor manufacturer's recommended
cleaning system. Never use a water based cleaner on a wax floor. Once
dirt and dust have been removed, the luster may be restored by
buffing. Apply additional wax only in heavy traffic areas, if needed.
Caution, do not over wax. An application of a solvent based cleaning
product will remove dirt and allow the floor to be buffed clean.
Spills must be wiped up immediately with a lightly water dampened
cloth and then hand buffed dry.
To remove white spots caused by water
spills, use fine steel wool (#000) and a small amount of mineral
spirits, rub gently in a circular motion until spot is gone. Then
apply additional wax to the area and buff.
Long-term Maintenance - Wax floors that
have been neglected may be restored by deep cleaning. An application
of a renovating system with fine steel wool, proper dry times and a
complete re-waxing will clean and reseal the wood as well as restore
color and luster.
Note: Once wax, in any form, has been
applied to a wood floor, only wax may be used as a coating over the
floor. Urethane and other surface finished cannot be applied over an
existing wax finish.
Acrylic Impregnated
Floors
Non-Urethane Coated
Routine Cleaning-For general cleaning
always follow the manufacturer's recommendations and use their floor
care products. Long-term Maintenance - An acrylic impregnated floor
that has been neglected or improperly cleaned may need restoration.
Stripping, sanding or screening the floor may be required, always
contact the floor manufacturer for complete instructions.
Urethane Coated
Routine Cleaning - Some acrylic impregnated
floors are coated with urethanes. For general cleaning of these types
of floors, follow the manufacturer's recommendations and cleaning
procedures for surface finishes. Many manufacturers using a special
cleaning solution made for today's urethanes.
See Maintenance Products
What type of finish do you
have?
Here are some simple steps to help
you determine if the finish is a wax finish, shellac or varnish finish
or a surface finish. If the floor was installed, or last serviced,
before the mid '60s, you should assume the finish used was varnish or
shellac. To determine this, scratch the surface with a coin or other
sharp object in a corner or other inconspicuous space. If the finish
flakes, it is probably shellac or varnish. Shellac and varnish are
rarely used anymore and require full sanding to remove before
application of a surface finish or wax finish.
Next, check the
floor for wax finish. In an inconspicuous area, corner or behind a
door, apply two(2) drops of water. If, within ten minutes, white spots
appear under the drops of water, the floor has a wax finish. To remove
the white spots, gently rub the spots with #000 steel wool dampened
with wax.
If the finish does not flake from scratching with a
coin and white spots do not appear from the drops of water, the floor
has a surface finish and should be maintained
accordingly.
If in doubt call a professional wood floor
contractor for a free estimate. It's always good to get two or three
opinions.
