Floor Maintenance

Maintenance of wood floors

How to maintain your wood floors.

How to maintain hardwood floors?

Maintaining your home is essential so that it retains its value, especially hardwood floors. Indeed, during a visit to purchase a house, the potential buyer will notice at first glance if the condition of the floors leaves something to be desired. It is therefore essential that the flooring is impeccable.

The average family can create a lot of traffic on wood floors. The traffic of adults, children and even pets wears down the protection of wood floors. Sometimes it's even one of your children who is a sports fan and carries equipment that will definitely damage the surfaces. It is certain that it will always show wear over time, but there is a way to protect your floors by resorting to regular maintenance. There are also useful little tips that can be added to family life habits.

For best results with parquet floors, we recommend that you polish and recoat them every 3 to 5 years for the best longevity of your floors. Between your coverings, we offer you some of our hardwood floor maintenance tips. Below are our top five maintenance tips for beautiful wood floors.

Our Top 5 Tips for Maintaining Hardwood Floors

• Use a mop to remove dirt

A mop is the best way to effectively remove dirt, dust, sand and hair. It is important to clean at least once a week as these particles and grit can grind up your finished floors. Of course, sweeping and mopping will also remove dirt, but dust mops work best. If you choose to vacuum, be sure to use the attachments with softer bristles.

• Avoid using polish or wax.

To avoid problems, it is best not to use waxes or similar products on your hardwood floor. A layer of film will form on your floors from the wax, preventing them from being properly coated when you want to recondition them. But don't worry, if this has happened to you, we can help you.

• For heavy dirt or damage on wood floors, use a damp mop

When you have a large spill, either mud, leftover food, or any other misfortune, we recommend using a damp mop with a cleaner suitable for wood floors.

The product should be easy to use. With most cleaners, all you have to do is spray the floor and wipe it with a microfiber cloth or even a “sponge” cloth. Make sure you use a wood floor cleaner that won't damage your floors and won't leave residue or sticky layers. The key word here is wet; you don't want to use a mop soaked in water. You also don't want cleaning products to sit on the floor for too long as they will penetrate the woods and create visible damage.

• Use felt protection under furniture.

Most marks caused by moving furniture can be avoided by using felt protection under the furniture. These are small felt pads that you can stick under the legs of tables, chairs or sofas. These barriers between your furniture and the parquet will ensure that the floors are adequately protected against wear and scratches. Even cardboard strips can be suitable protectors.

• Maintain humidity in your home Maintaining a consistent humidity level will prevent your floors from getting linear cracks or deteriorating too quickly. Flooring product manufacturers recommend maintaining a relative humidity of 30 to 50% and an ideal temperature of 20 to 28 degrees Celsius. With our northern climate, this might mean using a dehumidifier or air conditioner in the summer, and a suitable humidifier in the winter.

Cleaning with Vinegar

You've probably heard that a cheap and effective way to clean hardwood floors is to use a combination of vinegar and water.

Firstly you never want to add water to your hardwood floors. In fact, too much humidity on the floor will damage the finish and the wood will become permanently deformed.

Therefore, we always recommend keeping your floors dry and wiping up any accidental spills that occur. Intentionally cleaning your hardwood floors with a solution of water and vinegar would go directly against this advice.

Second, vinegar is an acetic acid compound. This is what makes it a great window cleaner. It also does a fantastic job of removing hard water stains from metal surfaces because it breaks down mineral deposits quickly and effectively. However, this is not something you want in a wood floor cleaner.

When you clean your hardwood floors, you are cleaning the floor finish. Unfortunately, vinegar will quickly break down this finish, leaving you with dull, lifeless floors that are vulnerable to anything the finish would normally protect them from.