Caring for Wood Flooring

Answer 1

Unlike carpeted floors, wood flooring requires some special maintenance to keep it looking nice. If you treat a wood floor properly, it will last for decades before it needs to be replaced. There are some regular maintenance items that you can perform to keep your floor looking great and lasting for an extra long time.

Keeping it Clean

Cleaning wood floors is very similar to cleaning a tiled floor. A regular mop with a non-abrasive floor cleaner mixed in hot water should keep your wood floor looking and smelling its best. When you mop the floor try not to use too much water. Dry a wood floor thoroughly after it has been mopped. Never use a cleaning floor wax on a wood floor because it will deteriorate the wood wax that protects the flooring from daily abuse. Depending on the amount of traffic they receive, wood floors should be mopped at least once every other week.

Waxing and Polishing

Once every few years you will need to strip the old wax off of the wood flooring and apply a fresh coat. You can buy wax stripper at a local hardware store, and they should have a standard wood floor wax available as well. Once the floor is completely stripped, apply the fresh wax one layer at a time. The layers should be very thin. It doesn’t take much wax to protect a floor, and if you put too much wax the floor will become too slick when you polish it. Once the wax has dried you can go over the floor with a buffing machine to bring out a nice polished finish.

Benefits of Area Rugs

If your wood flooring is in an area that receives a high volume of traffic, you may want to protect it from the wear and tear of all of those feet. Wood floors are relatively soft, and they can be marred very easily. You can use a long, thin runner along high traffic routes, or place square rugs underneath chairs and sofas where people put their feet all the time. Protecting the floor with a small rug gives you the overall look and feel of a wood floor while it keeps the floor safe.