Hardwood floors can last for decades, or even centuries. However, if they’re not properly maintained they won’t look good beyond a few years. Hardwood floor maintenance isn’t any more difficult than maintenance required by other types of flooring. It’s just different. Here is what you can do to help your wood floors look great and last for years.
Protect Them
First, ask that everyone remove their shoes when they come into your home. Even if they wipe their feet, there is almost always still sand and other things on them that can scratch your floors. Next, have area rugs in your entry and other high traffic areas. However, make sure to put down a quality rug pad beneath your area rugs or your rugs may actually do more harm than good. Finally, put felt on the bottom of your furniture feet. This will help reduce scratching and sometimes prevent dents in the floors.
Use a Dust Mop
You may think of a dust mop as something that your grandparents had, but if you think about their floors, chances are good that they were wood. Use it regularly to reduce the chances of dust or debris from damaging your floors. If you don’t love the idea of a dust mop, a Swiffer does almost the same thing. Brooms are also an option; however, we find that dry mopping with a dust mop does a better job for daily cleanings.
Use the Right Cleaning Products
Although using water on your wood floors should be done as infrequently as possible, we understand that you will need to mop your floors. Avoid products with oil and wax in them. They may make the floor look good, but over time, the wax and oil act as a glue and trap dirt. There are many home cleaning products intended for wood floors that will clean them without adding a fake shine.
Plan to Refinish Them
This is the hardwood floor maintenance task that is misunderstood. There are two types of hardwood floor refinishing. One takes the finish off down to the bare wood. Unless you have significant damage or want to change the color of the floors, you shouldn’t need to do that. The other, sometimes called rescreening or buff and refinish, only removes the very top layer of finish. You need to plan this type of refinishing about every six to ten years depending on your lifestyle and the finish your flooring company used.
Need New Floors or Wood Floor Refinishing? Seer Flooring Can Help
Seer Flooring is one of the most experienced and trusted flooring companies in the greater Tampa Bay and Sarasota areas. With offices in Palm Harbor, Clearwater and Sarasota, we can help with new floor installation and engineered and hardwood floor refinishing. Call us today at (727) 469-7963 and we’ll schedule an appointment for a free estimate for your needs.