newmaintenance

Follow the flooring manufacturer's recommendations for flooring care.

If you floor starts to show ware in high traffic areas, have the floor buffed and covered with another coat or two. Having adequate layers of polyurethane on your floor will keep your flooring in good shape. If your floor begins to show wear, to the point where the wood below the polyurethane becomes exposed; then you should have your floor re-finished.

If you are having new floors installed, have three coats of oil-based polyurethane applied or a sealer and two coats of water-borne finish applied.

If you are having new floors installed, don't put rugs down for a full two weeks. This will allow the polyurethane to cure fully and prevent minor scuffs or indentation patterns caused by the rug.

Place entrance rugs in front of your exterior doors so family and guests can wipe their feet off and keep dirt off the floor. Sweep and/or vacuum your floor on a regular basis to keep dirt off the floor. Excess dirt on the floor gets ground into the floor and causes pre-mature wear.

Pictured is just one brand of hardwood floor cleaner, this particular on from Minwax. There are several on the market and they are available at most home improvement stores.

These cleaning kits consist of a spray-on or squirt-on solution and a wide head mop. The mops have a removable, washable fabric wrap over a large square-head mop. This cleaning kit is great for cleaning lots of flooring fast!

When moving furniture...LIFT AND CARRY!. Don't drag furniture across the floor. Scratches and depressions from furniture contribute significantly to wearing of your hardwood floors.

Put furniture skids under all of your furniture. You can stick them directly to the bottom of the legs. Use rubber skids under the heavy pieces that you don't want to move around like large coffee tables and couches. Use felt skids under the light pieces that you do want to move around; like chairs and end tables. Furniture skids can be purchased at most home improvement stores.

No...you can't roll a fridge or a piano across a wood floor without it leaving long, narrow indentations! Even though they have wheels, they are inadequate for protecting natural wood floors. Don't roll anything heavy across your floor unless it has large, rubber wheels on it.

No...the large, plastic and/or vinyl discs they sell do not protect your floor from indentations and scratches! If you slide heavy furniture across the floor on these discs you will more than likely leave deep scratches or long, narrow indentations in your floor.

Don't wet mop, its just too much moisture. Use an approved hard-wood floor cleaning product on a regular basis.

Wipe up spills as soon as possible to prevent possible staining or absorption of liquid by the flooring.

Use common sense when controlling moisture. For example, close doors and windows when it rains. Also, don't let wet clothes sit on the floor and don't let spills sit on the floor.

Maintain proper moisture levels in your crawl space and basement. Excessive moisture under your floors can cause all kinds a bad things to happen to your floor. Use a dehumidifier to maintain a consistent moisture level if you have it. It's worth it and a lot cheaper than having to replace your flooring!

Sometimes pets use the bathroom on the floor. This is usually not a big problem if you clean the mess up quickly. House train pets as soon as possible.

Large dogs can scratch flooring with their nails. Put rugs down in high traffic areas to keep this to a minimum. Teach the dogs not to run in the house or keep the dog(s) outside. Choose a dense flooring material to install. Install a pre-finished flooring which has a very thick, durable, factory finish. Or refinish using an extra durable finish such as Traffic, by Bona. Learn to accept some 'character' in your flooring.

There is no natural hardwood that can't be scratched or dinted!

Ladies, wear protective caps or soles on your high-heel shoes.

Don't drop heavy objects on your flooring.

Don't drag or roll heavy objects across your floor.

Install furniture skids on the bottom of your furniture.

Don't bang on your floors with a hammer!

Natural flooring darkens over time, especially with exposure to direct sunlight. To prevent extreme difference move your rugs around every now and then or just roll them up and give the flooring underneath a chance to darken naturally and evenly.

You can also slow the discoloration by drawing the curtains or blinds in the heavy afternoon sun.

What you see here is an example of extreme difference in color that can occur over time when a rug is left stationary for long periods of time. The wood on the left side of the picture has been protected from the effects of the sun by the rug and has maintained more of it's original color. The wood on the right side of the picture has darkened naturally over time. This example is one of the more dramatic, but it makes the point.