Welcome back to Elemental Hardwoods’s Blog, the most in-depth hardwood species series on the web. Today’s blog is about the care and maintenance of your hardwood flooring.
After successful hardwood flooring installation the next critical step to ensuring adequate long term performance is proper care and maintenance. Hardwood floors are very utilitarian and probably take more daily abuse than any other part of a home’s interior. Because of this it is very important to institute a care and maintenance regimen that will not only extend the life of your floor, but will also keep your warranty intact.
Installed hardwood flooring
Elemental prefinished hardwood floors are manufactured with a UV cured urethane finish. Although this type of finish, which is common throughout the industry, is extremely hard and durable, it is still susceptible to scratching, denting, scuffing and dulling. This potential damage, however, can be minimized by instituting the following preventative measures.
Cleaning
Elemental prefinished hardwood floors should be regularly dust mopped and/or vacuumed. It is recommended that the vacuum have a hard-surface setting intended to prevent damage to the floors urethane coating. This will effectively remove the majority of dust, dirt and grit, which has the potential to harm your floors finish. For periodic cleaning of the entire floor an approved no-wax urethane wood floor cleaner should be used along with a micro-fibre mop. Spot cleaning with a water dampened cloth will also work in removing isolated spills and/or stains. Damp mopping the entire floor with water should never be done.
Maintenance
All furniture & appliances that come into direct contact with the floors finish should have felt floor protector pads and/or appliance glides placed under them. These will substantially minimize potential scratches and dents that may occur when moving these items.
Furniture pads will help protect hardwoods.
Walk-off mats should be placed at all exterior doors. These mats will trap grit and moisture that may otherwise be tracked into the home causing damage to your floors finish. It’s also a good idea to get in the habit of removing shoes upon entry into the home; especially high heel shoes.
Pet nails should be trimmed regularly. Scratches from dogs are one of the most common complaints.
There are many different types of hardwood floors on the market as well as many different types of finishes. Although most care and maintenance guidelines are very similar you should always consult with either the prefinished floor manufacturer or finish manufacturer for their specific recommendations. Using the wrong products on your new hardwood floor can not only void the warranty, but they may end up damaging the finish.
If you have any questions regarding this species, or any of our other products, please don’t hesitate to contact us.