Floor Care
A Hardwood Floor Care
Guide ~ Wood Floor Maintenance 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. Don't know what type of finish you have? All
Hardwood Floors regardless of how the floor has been finished, there
are certain steps that must be taken to maintain the beauty of the
hardwood floor. 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. 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.
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 2-3 years 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. 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.
-------------- DiCioccio Flooring wood flooring contractor, Installing and refinishing, Newington Connecticut, Hartford County, Connecticut, wood floors, Connecticut floors, hardwood floors, Floors installed, floors refinished, Avon, Bloomfield, Colchester, Farmington, Glastonbury, Hartford, Manchester, Newington, Rocky Hill, Simsbury, South Windsor, Vernon, West Hartford, Wethersfield, oak floors, Nick DiCioccio 860 666-3216 |