Maintenance of Your Floor

Whether it’s a newly installed floor or an existing floor, a maintenance program is extremely important. We can set up a schedule to maintain your wood floors to keep them looking beautiful and to get the longest wear out of them. This program can be annual or bi-annual, depending upon the floor type and usage.

Cleaning

Sweep or vacuum regularly. Wipe up food and other spills immediately. For spot cleaning, spray Hardwood Floor Cleaner on a terry cloth or sponge and wipe surface clean and dry. For daily maintenance on entire floor, spray Hardwood Floor Cleaner directly on a sponge mop and damp wipe floor until clean. 1 cup of white vinegar to 1 gallon of warm water can also be used as a cleaning solution.

More about cleaning hardwood floors

Door Mats

Dirt trapping mats at all exterior entrances collect elements from shoes that may harm your floor. Abrasives such as sand, rocks and grit are floors’ worst enemies. Interior floor mats also remove excess moisture.

Humidity Control

Wood floors are designed to compensate for a natural amount of shrinking and swelling. High temperatures and extreme ranges of humidity can cause extreme contraction and expansion in your wood floors. We recommend a 50% humidity level in your home year round.

Moving furniture and appliances

Place fabric-faced glides on the legs of your furniture. These allow easy movement without scuffing or scratching the floor. Inspect the glides regularly for placement and wear. Replace when necessary. Appliances with wheels must be checked for uneven or barbed rolling surfaces. Avoid any type of plastic castors. Grey, non-marking rubber castors are the best for use with hardwood floors.

Shoes

Keep high heels in good repair. Heels that have worn or have lost their protective cap will dent your wood floor surface.

Aging Gracefully

Chemicals in some species of wood oxidize in strong light causing the wood to darken or age. To avoid an uneven appearance through this natural process, move area rugs occasionally and diffuse strong light from windows.

Cleaning, Buffing and Re-coating

When general maintenance no longer returns your floor to it’s luster, it may be time to have your floors professionally cleaned, buffed and re-coated. As a general rule of thumb we recommend this treatment every 3-5 years, depending on the amount of use a floor receives. This process removes surface scratches and prolongs the life of your hardwood floors. Buffing roughens the surface to allow proper adhesion of the new surface to the original finish. If the original surface has deteriorated to where bare wood is visible, this process is no longer an option and refinishing will be necessary.

More about re-coating hardwood floors

Refinishing

Refinishing of a wood floor will need to be performed if the original finish is worn down to bare wood or non-removable stains are present. You may also decide to refinish to change stain colors or if the floors have been covered for many years. We use advanced high quality floor finishes that resist scratches, moisture and contain uv stabilizers. With proper maintenance you can expect your floors to last a lifetime.

More about refinishing hardwood floors

Cleaning Supplies

Supplies for the care and maintenance of your hardwood floors can be purchased at our store.