How to Care for Hardwood Floors
Living with natural hardwood floors: Take a close look. Preventing damage: Regular care: Does your new hardwood floor look old? What condition is your floor in? What type of finish does your floor have?
How to Care for Solid Hardwood Floors!
Living with Natural Hardwood Floors
Solid hardwood floors repay a little care with a lifetime
of value. When you first glimpse a solid hardwood floor, you
sense richness, warmth and natural beauty. Gradually, you get to
know its distinct personality -- visual harmonies, the traces of
history in the forest and in your home.
Take a closer look.
Nature's diversity lets you create dramatic looks with unique
textures, colors, patterns and styles of solid hardwood flooring.
Solid hardwood floors are among the easiest to keep clean. Protect their warmth and character with simple, everyday cleaning techniques. It's important to know how to prevent damage to your solid hardwood floors.
Oak and maple are the most popular hardwoods used in
flooring. Ask, beech, birch, cherry, hickory and walnut are other
favorites for floors and decorative accents.
Does Your New Hardwood Floor Look Old?
Perhaps your hardwood floors were installed just a few years ago, but you haven't taken care of them and now they look old. What can you do? Before you do anything, check the condition of the finish and the wood to see whether they need special cleaning or more involved repair.
What condition is your floor in?
Follow these steps to evaluate the condition of your hardwood floor and its finish.
Finish Condition
Has the finish been worn off or is it just dirty? See if the finish is dull, chipped, scraped or gouged. To test if the finish has worn off, begin in a high-traffic area and pour one to two tablespoons of water onto the floor. If the water soaks in immediately and leaves a darkened spot, the finish is worn and water can damage the wood. If the water soaks in after a few minutes and darkens the wood only slightly, the finish is partially worn. If the water beads on top, the surface is properly sealed. Repeat this test in low- and medium-traffic areas.
Wood Condition
It the finish is worn, the wood may have been damaged. Are
there stains, burns, cuts, gouges, holes, cracks or warped
boards? If the wood is damaged, repair or replacement may be
required before you deep clean your floor or apply a maintenance
coat.
What type of finish does your floor
have?
The same care and maintenance techniques are used for all finishes in good condition, but when it comes to removing stains or restoring the finish, methods differ. If you don't know what kind of finish your floor has, ask your contractor or Realtor, or try these simple tests.
Surface Finishes: (pre-finished floors, polyurethane, water-based urethane and catalyzed)
Nearly all floors installed today have surface finishes, mostly polyurethane. They are often glossy and may look like a layer of clear plastic on top of the wood. A small amount of paint remover in an inconspicuous area of the floor will cause the surface finish to bubble (unless it is a water-based urethane, in which case there will be no reaction). Surface finishes shield floors from harm by forming a protective layer on top of the wood.
Penetrating Seals: (acrylics, oils and waxes)
Oils and waxes usually have a satin or matte finish. If you
can feel the wood grain when you run your hand across the
surface, it's most likely a penetrating seal. Paint remover will
have no effect on a penetrating seal, but wax stripper or ammonia
will soften and whiten the surface. Oils and waxes penetrate the
surface of the floor protecting the wood from within.
When Your Hardwood Floor
Needs Extra Care
Your hardwood floor will eventually need extra care. It's here that much controversy exists.
DAMP MOPPING
Some professionals recommend that you damp mop your hardwood floor and others cringe at the suggestion. Just remember, if your floor's finish is in good shape and mopping is done correctly, the water won't penetrate even the oil and wax finishes. You're cleaning the finish, not the wood, so don't use water if the finish is in poor shape.
Damp Mopping is the fastest and best way to deep-clean solid hardwood floors. Depending on how much use your floor gets, you may have to mop it as often as once a week. Use a neutral pH wood cleaner and water, or manufacturer-recommended products. Wet the mop and wring so it's about half-dry. Wet the floor with the mop. Dip the mop into clean water, wring it as dry as you can and mop over the floor again.
Heavy-Duty Mopping
If floors are property sealed, the little extra water and cleaner
required will not injure your hardwood floor, but use common
sense. Vinegar -- often prescribed to clean hardwood floors
-- does nothing for removing grease and soil.
MAINTENANCE COAT
If you can't restore your solid hardwood floor's luster with deep cleaning or by simply buffing, you may want to apply a maintenance coat. Waxing is an easy way to restore your hardwood floor's natural beauty. Though a controversial treatment for surface finishes, floor polish or wax can give you a good-looking floor in a matter of minutes. If you don't want to apply a wax to your surface finish, consult a professional.
| Pros: | Wax can be easily cleaned, buffed and rewaxed to make it look like its original condition. Wear and tear will be on the wax, not the finish. It is easily stripped and reapplied. | Cons: | Waxing may limit some refinishing and re-coating options down the road. If not properly stripped, the wax can cause adhesion problems when re-coating the surface. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Only wax a surface finish if the original finish is in poor shape and you don't plan to refinish your floor in the near future. | |||
REMOVING STAINS IN WAXED
FLOORS
No matter how careful you are a stain can still occur.
Water Stains
Rub the spot with No. 2 steel wood and rewax. For more serious water stains, lightly sand with fine sandpaper, clean the spot with No. 1 or 00 steel wool and mineral spirits or floor cleaner then refinish and wax.
Cigarette Burns
If not severe, the burn can be removed by rubbing with steel wool moistened with soap and water.
Heel and Caster Marks
Rub vigorously with fine steel wool and floor cleaner. Wipe dry and polish.
Ink Stains and Other Dark Spots
Use No. 2 steel wool and floor cleaner to clean the spot and surrounding area. Thoroughly wash the affected area. If the spot remains, sand with fine sandpaper, re-wax and polish. Stubborn stains may require that you replace the affected area.
Chewing Gum and Wax Deposits
Ice until the deposit is brittle and crumbles off. Pour floor cleaner around the stain so the fluid soaks under and loosens it.
Alcohol Spots
Rub the spot with liquid or paste wax.
Repairing Wax Finishes
Rub fine steel wood in a puddle of reconditioner or paint thinner and clean as you go. Apply wax and buff. Always start cleaning at the edge of a stain and work toward the center so it won't spread.
Removing stains and
repairing surface finishes
Use steel wood or sand paper to remove one or two complete
layers of finish along the entire length of the board where
damage has occurred. Remove all dust. Apply the same type of
finish that was removed, being careful not to build additional
layers on top of adjoining boards.
When the air in your home becomes extremely dry, your floor will lose moisture and contract. Conversely, when humidity is high, your floor will absorb moisture and expand slightly. As humidity stabilizes, hardwoods regain their original dimensions. Air conditioning in summer and humidifying in winter will keep your home's humidity comfortable for you and your floor. Prolonged cycles of shrinking and swelling of your hardwood floor may result in squeaks. They can be easily corrected.
Silencing Squeaks
Apply liquid wax, powdered soap, talcum powder or powdered graphite between floor boards that are rubbing together. If that doesn't stop the squeak, drive two-inch finishing nails through pilot holes on both edges of the board then hide the hole with matching color putty or wax. If you need to refinish or replace your hardwood floor, consult a professional for best results. Information furnished by: Hardwood Manufacturers Association 800/373-WOOD