You have made a substantial investment in hardwood flooring to get an impeccable home décor - now it is time to learn how to care for your precious hardwood floor, so that your investment is well protected and keeps on adding value to your property for years and for generations.
Here is a simple hardwood care and maintenance guide for every homeowner.
With the proper care and maintenance regimen it is possible to retain the original richness, warmth and natural beauty of your hardwood floors for years. And the good news is: hardwood floors are among the easiest to maintain and keep clean.
Maintenance of hardwood flooring has two aspects
Prevention
Regular care
How to prevent damage to your expensive hardwood floors
Whenever you enter your home, you import great amount of dirt, grit and sands on your shoes and these are the worst enemies of your precious hardwood floors. They are responsible for the innumerable scratches and dents that appear in the floors over the years. You can prevent this damage by placing a large floor mat on the entrance.
Water and spills of the other beverages kill the finish of the hardwood-soak it up as soon as possible with a soft dry towel.
Another enemy of your hardwood floor is the UV rays of the sun. Use dark colored heavy drapes over the windows to protect the floor from direct sun exposure.
Dragging furniture over the floor often result into dents and scratch marks on the floor. To prevent this damage, fix rubber padding below all the legs of your furniture.
Don’t walk on the floor on your work shoes or on the stilettos.
Easy steps to keep your hardwood floor clean
Daily dusting is important-sweep the floor with fine bristled brooms with exploded ends to drive away the dust and grit effectively.
Follow it up with vacuuming once or twice a week. Use those vacuums that come with special bare floor attachments to prevent scratching.
Use a good dust mop and a special dust mop treatment to wipe it clean of any marks. You will need to spray the treatment onto the cotton head of the mop 12 to 24 hours before dust mopping.
Never use water or other products like soaps, detergents and oil soaps to clean your hard wood floor. Consult your manufacturer’s manual to learn about the recommended cleaning products. You can also use standard hardwood floor cleaners like Bonakemi, Bona Kemi, Bona X and other alcohol-based wood cleaners. Also don’t wax the floor without consulting your manufacturer.
Place solid cotton area rugs in every entrance way and in the kitchen area to trap dirt, grit and water.
Also use a humidifier to reduce excessive shrinkage in the winter and a dehumidifier for the summer for humidity control.
These are some of the easy to follow ways how you can care for your hardwood floor-follow them to retain the natural shine for years.
Tania Penwell provides information on hardwood flooring and other DIY topics for A1 Wood Flooring - your guide to finding and caring for beautiful wood floors.
Tags: care, decor, floor, floors, hardwood flooring, home, tips, wood flooring
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