Care and Maintenance of Your Hardwood Floors

How to Maintain A Wood Floor
With the floor finishes offered today, hardwood flooring has become much easier to maintain and the factory finishes are tough and extremely durable. Many hardwood flooring manufacturers are using some type of ultra-violet cured polyurethane for their hardwood floor finishes and the care and maintence for these floors is quite simple.

• Vacuum Regularly - Small stones, mud, and gritty dirt tracked in from outside can play havoc on the wood floors finish. To help combat this use long bristle welcome mats placed at all outside entrances for people to wipe their feet on before entering onto the floors. Also, vacuum using a soft bristle brush attachment.
• Don't Damp Mop - Water and wood floors don't mix! Use only the manufacturer's recommended cleaning products on your hardwood floor.
• Don't Use Oil Soaps - There are many over the counter oil soap based or silicone and wax based cleaning products that can damage and dull the finish of your hardwood floor. The best suggestion is to only use the manufacturers recommended cleaning products on your hardwood flooring.
• Never Wax a Urethane Floor - If you have a polyurethane finish on your hardwood floors you should never use a wax on them. The wax will cause a sticky film to build up on your floor, allowing any dirt tracked onto it to stick.  This creates black traffic paths on your floor. Because polyurethane will not adhere to any wax it also makes the floor almost impossible to recoat later with a fresh coat of polyurethane.
• Use the Proper Chair Glides - Narrow wheels and sharp wooden, or metal furniture legs can scratch and dent hardwood flooring, which can quickly turn a newly refinished floor into an old worn floor. Any furniture that rests directly on top of a hardwood floor should have felt protectors, or furniture coasters, under all it's feet. For extremely heavy objects such as a piano, use rubber cups. Purchasing chair glides is a very cheap insurance policy for your hardwood flooring.
• Wipe Spills Immediately - when accidents happen and some liquid gets spilled on your hardwood floor, you should use a slightly damp white cloth, or paper towel to immediately clean up and dry the effected area. For more difficult spots, follow the manufacturer's recommended cleaning procedures.

• All Hardwood Floors regardless of how the floor has been finished, there are certain steps that must be taken to maintain the beauty of the hardwood floor.
• Every floor must be dust mopped, vacuumed or swept with a soft bristle broom daily, or as often as necessary, to remove grit and dust from the surface. Walking on dusty or dirty floor is the fastest way to damage a finish.
• Place walk-off mats at all exterior entrances. This will capture much of the harmful dirt before it even reaches the hardwood floor. Shake out, wash or vacuum mats and area rugs frequently.
• Floor protector pads of soft felt or similar material should be placed on the bottoms of the legs of the furniture. Floor protectors must be kept clean of grit and periodically replaced.
• Keep high heels in good repairs. An unprotected tip will dent any hardwood floor.
• Kitchen floors experience the most traffic in a home. To prevent premature wear of the floor, place an area rug in front of the sink and stove area. Shake out or vacuum the rugs frequently.

• Urethane Finishes Routine Cleaning - Use the finish manufacturer's or the prefinished floor manufacturer's recommended cleaning system. If the manufacturer is not known or has no recommendation, use a cleaner that will not leave a residue that would inhibit bonding and recoating. NEVER wax a urethane finish. Do not generally wet a wood floor with water. When using any wood floor cleaner which requires mixing with water, follow mixing directions precisely. A cloth wetted with water and squeezed dry may be used to wipe up food stuffs and other spills, provided the area is buffed dry immediately. Heel or scuff marks and stubborn stains may be removed by lightly rubbing with a cloth and a wood floor cleaner.
  
  
•  Long-term Maintenance - Urethane finishes eventually will show wear patterns from surface scratching. When high traffic area begin to look dull it is time to recoat or restore the finish. Always follow the manufacturer's recommendations.

1. Always follow the manufacturer's recommendations (when known) for the proper care of a wood floor.
2. Know the type of finish on the wood floor. Follow the proper maintenance procedures for the particular finish.
3. Never wax a urethane floor. A majority of floors installed today have urethane finishes.
4. Never use sheet vinyl or tile floor care products on wood floors. Self-polishing acrylic waxes cause wood to become slippery and appear dull quickly. The only remedy in this situation is to sand and refinish the floor.
5. Consult with an installer, the finisher or the manufacturer if there is any doubt of the kind of floor finish.
6. Place mats and throw rugs at doorways, exteriors and interiors to help prevent the tracking of grit, dirt and sand.
7. Sweep or vacuum wood floors regularly.
8. Never wet-mop a wood floor. Standing water can dull the finish, damage the wood and leave a discoloring residue.
9. Wipe up food and other spills immediately with a dry or slightly dampened towel (wipe dry).
10. For a wax floor, buff to restore shine. You may want to invest in a buffer. ?
11. Do not over-wax a wax floor. If the floor dulls, try buffing instead. Avoid wax buildup under furniture and other light traffic areas by applying wax in these spots every other waxing session.
12. Put plastic or fabric-faced glides under the legs of furniture to prevent scuffing and scratching.
13. Remember: cleats, sports shoes and high heels can dent any floor surface.
14. When moving heavy furniture, protect wood flooring by slipping a piece of cloth or pile under the legs or covering each leg with a heavy sock or half of a milk carton.
15. For wood flooring in the kitchen, place an area rug in front of the kitchen sink to catch sink splashes and cut down on wear.