Wood floors never go out of style. They give a sense of elegance and sophistication to your home and match all kinds of decorating styles. For this reason, you do not have to worry about your furniture or rugs clashing with your flooring. There is, however, a factor that you need to keep in mind if you plan on having wood flooring for your home. This factor is the maintenance and upkeep of the flooring. Wood, unlike other types of flooring, needs a specific care regimen to ensure that it lasts for decades on end.
Protection from Furniture Scratches
Furniture can pose quite an issue when you have a wood floor installed because any friction between the feet of tables, sofas, or chairs directly against the floor will cause scratches that will dull the wood and make it look uncared for. To avoid this, you need to get furniture pads to not end up with scratches all over your beautiful hardwood floors. While one or two scratches can be dealt with, it can be very hard to find a solution for scratched up wood except for complete replacement.
Regular Vacuuming
Some of the debris that accumulates can cause damage to your flooring. It might not be obvious at first, but over the years, it will be noticeable. To keep your floors in good condition for as long as possible, you need to regularly vacuum it using a brush floor attachment. You can also use a dry mop if you want to minimize the vacuum’s risk of scratches. There are different kinds of mops that work well on hardwood floors without causing any damage in dents or scratches. It is preferable to vacuum or mop your wood flooring once a week to ensure that there is no accumulation of dust, pet hair, and dirt that could ruin your floor’s shine and decrease its lifespan.
Monthly Deep Cleaning
As mentioned above, it is necessary to keep debris build-up to a minimum by vacuuming, but this does not mean that all the dirt and dust is completely gone. To get rid of the buildup of dirt ingrained in the wood, you need to deep clean your floor using a good quality wood cleaner. The first step in the deep cleaning process is dipping your mop into your choice’s cleaning product and waiting until it is soaked. Afterward, you need to wring it from all the excess liquid so it becomes damp rather than wet to the touch. You can then mop the wood thoroughly, dipping and wringing the mop again if necessary.
Refinishing Your Floor
Refinishing your floor means adding a fresh coat of finish to it. If you do not want to sand your floors repeatedly, you can add a finish before your floors reach the point they need to be sanded. Usually, you will need to refinish your floors every three to five years. If you ignore this for too long, it will just create a hassle, and you would be decreasing your hardwood floor’s lifespan by a lot.
Keeping It Dry
Wood rots if it is exposed to liquid and is left without being cleaned. Keeping your floors dry will ensure that they do not rot, and it will prevent pests that nest in wood from coming into your home. For example, termites are more likely to become a problem if you have damp or musty wood. Wet hardwood floors are something that you definitely need to avoid at all costs. Therefore you need to avoid any spillage that could occur.
Covering Scratches
If you have a scratch or two and want to cover them up to preserve the floor’s appearance, you can easily use a crayon to fix it. You need to make sure that its color matches the color of the hardwood. After filling in the scratch with the crayon, you need to get a hairdryer and slightly heat the wax to sinks into the wood and looks flawless.
Using these different maintenance tips, you can preserve the wood used to make your floors for a very long time to come. It might seem like having hardwood flooring requires a lot of effort in maintenance, but it pays off in the end. As long as you take proper care of the wood, your home will be elegant and beautiful.
