How To Care For Hardwood Floors
If you were wondering how to care for hardwood floors, this easy guide will teach you everything. This is the ultimate A-Z guide on hardwood floor care that you’re going to be so happy you read! Once you’ve poured through this guide to hardwood floor care, you will know exactly how to maintain and care for your beautiful floors.
Hardwood Floors Need To Be Maintained
Your hardwood floors are a beautiful accent to your home. Recently, hardwood floors have been popping up in shades of rustic gray and neutral brown tones too.
However, without the proper regular maintenance, your hardwood floors could become scuffed and dull looking. And the flooring in your home is a focal point, so you wouldn’t want that to happen!
Signs Your Floors Need To Be Refinished
There are a few signs to look for when deciding whether or not to refinish your hardwood floors. Here are a few of the major tell-tale signs:
Water Spots
Water damage is a very serious type of damage your hardwood floors could endure. If you notice any water or ceiling leaks that are dripping onto your hardwood floors, immediate intervention is crucial.
You will want to place a bucket under the leak or mop up the floor with a dry rag as soon as you can. Leaving it wet will cause serious damage to your flooring which could be irreversible.
Water damage spots and stains can leave discolored, murky looking spots on the floor. If water damage is serious, you might notice that the floors are buckling. Buckling wood is basically warped and looks as if it is raised and not attached to the foundation of the floor surface. In situations such as this, wood could need to be completely replaced.
However, just a little stain or two on the wood can be easily corrected with sanding and refinishing. If you want to find a reputable company that does floor waxing, try New Jersey’s Cleaning World Inc.
Scratches
If you have scratches all over your hard wood floors, this is nothing to be shocked about. As you know, over time, your floors will weather scratches. From moving furniture such as chairs and tables across the wood to anything else, your floor can experience a scratched and scuffed up surface. You will need to assess the level of damage and decide if it’s time to refinish.
When you look at the scratches in your hardwood floors, take note of how deep the scratches are. Are they just on the surface of the wood at stain level or do they scratch deeply into the wood?
If they are only at stain level and are superficial scratches, it’s not mandatory to refinish your floors. However, you may want to if the scratches are very obvious and make your floors look overly scuffed up.
If the scratches on your floor’s surface are deep, you will want to consider refinishing your floors as soon as you can. Deep scratches can expose the underlying wood to water. And as you know, water is the enemy and can seriously damage your hardwood floors!
Chips In The Wood
Chips in the wood present a more serious issue than do scratches. Chips in your hardwood floor could potentially expose your floors to water. If someone were to spill water on the floor and it enters into the surface and deeper levels of wood due to a chip in the wood, you could potentially damage the wood.
In addition, chips in your hardwood floors can expose you and your family to splinters. In the situation of having a major chip in your hardwood floor, it’s crucial that you refinish your floors.
Splintering Patches And Weathered Areas
If you begin to notice patches on your hardwood floors that look weathered and splintery, you should finish your floors immediately. Splintered and weathered patches present a problem and should be addressed as soon as you notice them.
Fading
Fading from the sun and an overall weathered look to your flooring could be reason to call an expert. Although fading doesn’t present a serious issue, it could be the sign of a bigger problems. In general, when floors are faded and weathered, the layer of protection that a stain and refinishing provides is no longer there. And the most important thing is for wood floors to withhold their protective coating of sealer so as not to experience a larger amount of damage.
When your floors have a faded look, it might be time to contact your local commercial cleaning company or house cleaning company. They will better be able to guide you and tell you if it’s the time for your floors to be refinished.
Gray Coloring
If your floors begin to show hints of a grey discoloration, this is a huge tell-tale sign that it’s time for them to be refinished. While most people associate gray, weathered-looking floors with age, this is usually not the case.
When floors are exposed to water, even in very small amounts, they begin to oxidize and turn gray. This can happen over time as the sealer on the floors wears away.
Seeing a grayish tone to your floors means you should contact an expert for a quote on services and find out if it’s time to refinish.
Perform This Test On Your Wood Floors
Now you know some of the tell-tale signs that your floors might need to be refinished, however you still may not be completely sure. You can keep your eyes peeled for potential problems with this simple but accurate test.
Step 1: Find a worn area of your floor.
Step 2: Pour 1 tablespoon of water on this part of your floor.
Step 3: Observe the reaction of the water on your floor.
If to water you spilled on your floors seeps into the wood, this means that the floors are no longer sealed sufficiently. If the water forms droplets and doesn’t seep into the wood, then your floors are still well sealed and don’t need refinishing.
This is a great test to perform every now and again if you have hardwood floors. It’s also a good test if you notice any sings of wear on your flooring.
Hardwood Floor Care And Maintenance
Here is an excellent action plan to follow that will help you preserve and maintain your hardwood floors properly.
Daily maintenance
Your daily maintenance routine should include maintaining your floors, keeping them clean and free of dirt and dust. Additionally, if you see any spills on your floors be sure to clean them up immediately.
Weekly maintenance
On a weekly basis, you should vacuum and Swiffer your hardwood floors. This will help to pick up and remove any debris and grime that could damage the floors. It will also help to sanitize your floors and make them free of germs.
Every few months
Every few months you can apply a polish to the surface of your hardwood floors. This will help to maintain the finish in addition to filling in any areas that might have scratches. Polishing floors regularly will add a protective layer to your hardwood floors as well.
Every 7-10 years
Unless you detect any major problems, hard wood flooring doesn’t need to be refinished frequently. Only once every seven to ten years is enough to revitalize and rejuvenate (and protect) your beautiful hardwood floors.
Some Other Things You Can Do To Protect Your Floors
There are other things you can do to protect your hardwood floors. If you want to maintain the beauty and luster of your wood floors, following these simple suggestions will help quite a bit.
Perform Regular Spot Checks
Perform regular spot checks and clean stains as you see them.
Use Rugs
Using rugs (with the proper padding underneath to prevent slippage) is an excellent way to protect your hardwood floors from scratches and damage.
Take Off Your Shoes
Shoes can track in dirt and scratch your floor (depending on the shoe of course). Take off your shoes before entering the home.
Conclusion
Knowing how to care for hardwood floor and when it’s time to refinish is crucial. And once it is time to refinish, you just don’t splatter sealer on the floor. In most cases, you sand down the floors first so that the sealer is properly applied.
This is a job for professional floor waxing and care specialists. It’s not something just anyone can do.
Cleaning World Inc. is a New Jersey based business. We also provide other floor services such as carpet cleaning. We hope this article has helped you learn how to care for hardwood floors and wish you the best!
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