Once you’ve installed the perfect hardwood floors in your home, you’re obviously want to take care of them as much as it’s needed to keep them in their best shape. In order to do this, you’ll need to get not only a cleaning routine, but a guide to solve some problems that might show up along the way.
Get a cleaning routine
From day one, you’ll have to sweep your floors daily if your goal is to maintain them as good as new. Dust daily to keep dust and dirt off the floor. This way, you will prevent scratches and extend the beauty and life of your floor.
A good trick to do this is to use microfiber, since this material uses a static charge to attract more dust and allergens. Then, you should take care of cleaning your floors once a week with the right products. Using too much liquid or the wrong formula can severely damage your floors, so it’s recommended to search for pH-neutral, nontoxic, and biodegradable formulas to clean effectively and keep your home and environment safe.
Lastly, every two to three months, after dusting, you’ll want to use water-based polishes to restore luster and shine. If you follow these steps, your hardwood installations should stay brand-new for a long time.
Prevent accidents from happening
Once you become the owner of hardwood installations, rugs become your best friends. Placing rugs or furniture pads in high traffic areas can avoid one of the toughest problems to solve on wood floors: scratches. If you believe that rugs don’t let your floors be the main character in the house, furniture pads are a great alternative. You can add them to the legs of your chairs, sofas, tables, etc.
Even with a high gloss floor polish, wood is still wood, and standing water can do horrible damage to the boards you so carefully picked out or refinished. Whenever it’s possible, foresight and prevent anything wet from coming in contact with your floors, like boots and wet shoes in cold seasons. But, in inevitable situations, cleaning spills as soon as possible can help save your floors. Use a dry or slightly damp cloth to immediately wipe up anything you spill, avoiding wet or steam mops. Concerning this, it is important to keep humidity levels down to avoid cupping, splitting, and gapping of the wood, since wood swells and shrinks depending on moisture levels, both in it and in the air.
When it’s time to actually clean a stain, avoid using water and vinegar, soap-based cleaners, wax, or steam cleaners on your hardwood floor. Over time, vinegar and water will dull the floor’s finish, while soap or wax will leave a residue. Steam cleaners put heat and excessive water on your floor, which can lead to cupping and long-term damage. Instead, use cleaners specially made for hardwood floors.
Keep it up in time
Finally, after five to seven years, you’ll start to notice that your floors are starting to look a little dull. This is when the refinishing stage begins. Floors can be renewed through recoating, that is, applying a new coat of wood floor finish to restore its original shine and appearance. However, be careful because, for hardwoods that are only 1/4-inch thick, refinishing could do more harm than good by stripping away the entire floor.
These were some tips you might want to consider when it comes to taking care of your brand new hardwood floors. Fortunately, we are your best option for re-finishing hardwood floors. Contact us for a personalized quote!