Dover Flooring Blog

May 15th, 2015

Hardwood Flooring Care and Maintenance

Basic Hardwood Flooring Care.

Vacuum or sweep your floor regularly with a soft-bristled attachment or broom, especially in high-traffic areas. This prevents gritty dirt and particle buildup that can scratch the wood’s surface. Don’t use vacuums with a beater bar or power rotary brush head.

Use protective window coverings to block fade-causing UV rays and excessive heat from direct sunlight. Most wood types will gradually age when not covered, so it’s a good idea to rearrange rugs and furniture periodically to help it age evenly.

Damage prevention for your hardwood floor.

• Keep pets’ nails trimmed and their paws clean. Pets can track in substances that cause scratching and stains.

• Use a humidifier during heating seasons to help reduce wood shrinkage and keep humidity between 35% and 55%.

• Wipe up spills and spots immediately with Mohawk FloorCare Essentials Hardwood & Laminate Flooring Cleaner applied directly to a clean white cloth.

• Use ice to harden tough substances like wax or chewing gum, and then gently scrape with a plastic scraper or a credit card. Be careful not to scratch the surface and wipe the area clean with a soft, slightly damp cloth.

Some Do's for hardwood flooring.

Invest in high quality floor mats and protective pads on heavy furniture for an extra layer of protection on your hardwood floors. Place floor mats at entrances and exits—they collect and trap corrosive substances that can be tracked in, like dirt, sand, oil, grit, asphalt, or even driveway sealer. Placing mats in high-traffic areas—in front of vanities, kitchen sinks, and stoves—is an effective way to reduce wear.  

Things to avoid with hardwood floors.

• Avoid walking on your hardwood floors with spiked or damage-heeled shoes.

• Resist wet-mop, damp-mop, or cleaning your hardwood with water or other liquids.

• Don’t use oil soaps, liquid or paste wax, or other household products containing lemon, citrus, or tung oil, or silicon to clean floors.

• Stay away from harsh cleaning aids like steel wool pads, any scouring pads containing metal, or scouring powders.

• Don’t use 2-in-1 cleaners that contain acrylics or urethane polish to restore gloss.

Keep your hardwood flooring looking great for years to come. Your hardwood floors will love you for it.

Hardwood Flooring Maintenance

Let's talk hardwood flooring and Winter weather. Hardwood flooring is a beautiful addition to any home and is durable and long lasting. With that being said, let's get into proper care for hardwood flooring during the winter months in cold climates.
When the weather turns cold and your home is closed up for the winter (windows closed and furnace is running) the air inside your home will dry out. The drier the air, the less humidity. When the humidity drops, your hardwood flooring will lose moisture. When your hardwood flooring loses moisture is starts to shrink.
When hardwood flooring starts to shrink it will contract, possibly causing gaps that will form between planks.
Low relative humidity in homes is bad for any hardwood flooring. Ideally, the home is humidified during the winter months and de-humidified during the summer months. Hardwood flooring does best when the relative humidity is stable between 45 and 55 degrees. When the home is maintained at 45 to 55 degrees relative humidity, then the hardwood flooring itself will maintain it's intended dimensions and minimize gapping due to expansion and contraction.
Wider planks made with solid hardwood flooring are the most susceptible to changes in humidity levels.
Engineered hardwood flooring, being made with quarter turned plys of wood, are much more dimensionally stable than solid hardwoods so inside humidity levels are not as critical.
The most important thing you can do to maintain your solid hardwood flooring is to keep your relative humidity at 45 degrees or above. Have a whole house humidifier in your home to regulate your humidity levels during winter months. You can also add a single room humidifier in the rooms with hardwood to supplement your whole house humidifier.
If you see gapping in your hardwood flooring or cracking in your finish, low humidity levels will probably be the cause. Keep your humidity levels up during winter months and you will keep your hardwood flooring happy!

Call today for your in home consultation. 248-505-4648