Expert Guidance on Caring For Your Wood Flooring

The characteristic glossy, almost glass-like appearance of wooden flooring is what draws people to it. Wood flooring demonstrates natural strength and beauty with a delicate radiating glow to finish – one that demands daily maintenance to keep its sparkle alive. The beauty of this gorgeous and diverse material is that its daily maintenance routine is minimal.

Experts recommend a once-daily microfiber mop – most supermarkets or online stores such as Amazon sell these. Running a dry microfiber cloth over the flooring will keep the dust off the floor – an essential factor in keeping that all-important shine. Another tip – spilling drinks or food is easily done, but don’t let it sit on the surface for long. Greasy, sticky, and oily spillages may penetrate and stain or cause warping.

Yes, it’s impossible to stop dirt and grime from touching the floors entirely but getting into the habit of taking shoes off before walking on the flooring can prevent unnecessarily dirt from sitting on the floor surface.

Similarly, if you do want to remove dirt, avoid using all-purpose floor cleaners. These are renowned for leaving an unwanted residue and can even damage the finish of the flooring. The same goes for steam cleaning – despite major floor cleaning companies promoting the use. Steam can debase and damage the flooring and its finish.

A more invasive clean — one that should happen weekly — requires an attentive wooden flooring owner to consider the type of flooring installed. The two most common finished are oiled and varnished; both need a different sort of maintenance.

Oiled flooring is relatively easy to clean if you remember that oil and water are not a good mix, and therefore you shouldn’t use excessive amounts of water. There are some great oil finished floor cleaning solutions online, such as those sold by Osmo – but any brand with a product tailored specifically for cleaning oil finish flooring will do.

Always ensure the floor is hoovered or mopped with a dry mop to start, and then apply the cleaning solution as instructed. Sometimes you may find that aggressive cleaning techniques can remove some oil that gives the floor its shine. In this instance, you can buy a replacement oil and apply a thin coating using a microfiber mop – it’ll bring that shine right back.

The method for cleaning varnish finished wooden flooring doesn’t differ much from oil – the products are what counts. Start the same way by using a hoover and microfiber mop to remove any residue and dirt before getting stuck in. Using a cleaner specific for varnish finishes will get you the best results. For any stains, use a pH-balanced solution with minimal amounts of water. Much like with oil finishes, water can infiltrate the flooring between the cracks and cause damage.

In terms of long-term maintenance, avoiding scratches is the ultimate goal. Some tips just make sense – like removing shoes (especially heels), keeping plastic toys directly off the floor (if you have children), and try not to push furniture over it. Still, sometimes the inevitable happens.

For oil finished wooden flooring, use 120 grit sandpaper and to remove a mark or stain. Recoat with specifically manufactured oil floor coating, and it should look brand new.

It’s much harder to get rid of marks from varnished flooring, so, as the saying goes, prevention is better than cure. Flooring specialists may be able to rejuvenate the varnish, but there’s not really a home remedy for it. Remember that the varnish is delicate, so anything hard that gets dragged along it might scratch it.

Wooden flooring, in our eyes, is the superior flooring material. Naturally handcrafted to produce such bold yet delicate flooring is what makes wooden flooring so good. Following the tips above should make care and maintenance a breeze. If you have any other finish on your flooring, cleaning and maintenance guides can be found online.