Maintenance Guide for your Floors Plus Prefinished Floor
Keep your investments like new.
Most hardwood floors have the latest and toughest factory-applied UV-cured Acrylic Urethane finishes. The bottom line is that no wood floor is easier to clean and maintain. But there’s still a little work involved. And, even though our floors are as tough as they come, did we mention they aren’t bulletproof?
Keeping your wood floor looking like day one is just a matter of some preventive maintenance and, like most things in life, some good old common sense. Here are some dos and don’ts for keeping your floor looking brand new.
DO
- Use mats outside entryways to keep dirt and grit that can scratch your floor where it belongs. You might want to use an area rug inside for added protection. Plus, they look good.
- Sweep or vacuum when you need to. This will get the scratchy dirt and grit that makes it inside.
- When moving heavy things – appliances, furniture, and such – slip a blanket or carpet scrap face down under each foot of the piece and slide it over the floor to prevent scratching and gouging. It’ll move a whole lot easier, too.
- Use floor protectors on the legs of furniture to avoid scratching and gouging. Also, if your furniture has floor casters, make sure they’re the wide-barrel type. These work best. If your furniture doesn’t have these, we suggest changing them. Your local hardware store can help you with any of these products.
- Wipe spills up as soon as possible. Wetness and hardwood floors just don’t get along.
- Keep your home’s relative humidity ideally between 35-55%. will help prevent excess shrinkage, cracking, swelling, or cupping. You can keep your relative humidity just right by using a humidifier or dehumidifier or even with the proper air conditioning.
- Use runners or area rugs in high traffic zones to minimize wear. If you see wear developing, you should refinish the affected area. Catch it early if you can. If you re-coat before the finish is completely worn, you can avoid the need to completely re-sand and refinish. For information on refinishing worn areas, check out our guidelines for refinishing pre-finished floors. It’s also a good idea to ask your wood flooring professional for their advice.
- Wood floors age. It’s natural. Over time, your floor will change in color as it gains its final character and patina. Some wood species – cherry, for example – change more than others. So, your floor ages uniformly, it’s a good idea to move furniture and area rugs from time to time – especially in areas exposed to direct sunlight.
DON'T
- Don’t allow water to stand on your floor at any time. This will cause cupping, swelling and eventually, gapping. When cleaning, don’t “over wet” your floor. Use only a slightly damp mop, sponge, or rag.
- Don’t allow “spike heel” shoes to be worn on your floor if you can help it. Heel surfaces are so small that the pressure exerted can easily reach 3,500 pounds per square inch. Worn or broken heels can mark flooring even more. Avoid walking on flooring in footwear with cleats or metal-tipped soles.
- Don’t use products such as ammonia, pine soap, oil soap, chlorine bleach or any abrasive cleaners. All of these can damage your floor’s finish.
- Don’t wax your floor. Using waxes on our pre-finished floors can make them slippery and dull the finish. If you do wax your floor and it ever needs renewing, you’ll have to sand the entire floor down to the bare wood before re-coating.
