How to Maintain Hardwood Floors

Although solid hardwood floors are extremely hard wearing, the surface finish needs to be maintained to keep it looking beautiful and fresh.

Before you begin mopping, ensure all your floors are completely sealed, as any water applied to a worn area could cause the floor boards to warp.

An essetial product for your floor cleaning should be a three-headed mop set, which you can use to dust, wash and polish the floor.

Oiled Floors

For regular weekly maintenance, get hold of a concentrated detergent, that is pH neutral and treated with hardwax oil, so when mixed with water it will clean the floor without stripping off the surface wax coating.

If you have heavy duty stains, use a liquid wax cleaner, which can also be used to revitalise and polish up the floor. The liquid wax cleaner is a must for hardwood floor renovations.

If an area of your floor had hardwax oil applied as a finish and it becomes worn or damaged, it can be easily cleaned down with liquid wax cleaner, then you re-apply hardwax oil to the area, which will blend into the rest of the floor finish. Do not be tempted to over apply hardwax oil, two or possibly three coats will be sufficient.

Lacquered Floors

You can use the same detergents and liquid wax cleaner on lacquered floors. Although, unlike an oiled floor, if a lacquered floor is scratched or worn, then it will need to be sanded all over and another coat of lacquer applied to the full surface, as it is not possible to re-apply lacquer to a localised area effectively.

Always try to clean your floors on a regular basis with specially formulated detergents, it will not only revive your tired, dull or scratched floors, but it will continue to provide protection against wear.

Tips on Flooring Maintenance

1. Protect you floor from dirt and grit using suitable entrance matting or better still, remove your shoes before walking onto wooden floors.
2. Use felt pads or castor cups on your furniture, which also have the added benefit of making your furniture easy to move around.
3. Vacuum your floor using brush setting to avoid scratching.
4. Mop along the grain using a well rung out mop and make sure to use the correct cleaning product.
5. Tired floors can be brought back to life using liquid wax oil for oiled floors or a similar product for lacquered floors.

 

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