Devon Cornwall Somerset Hardwood Flooring

Caring for your hardwood floor

The key to lasting beauty of your wood flooring is correct preventative maintenance. All hardwood floors regardless of what type of finish must be maintained properly to keep their appearance. With so many finishes on hard surface floors today the type of care must be tailored to the floor.

Every floor must dust mopped, vacuumed or swept with a soft bristle broom as often as necessary to remove grit and dust from the surface. Walking on a dusty or dirty floor is the fastest way to damage its finish. Common sense and some preventative steps can lengthen the life of your floors so it is important to know how your floors were finished so that you can apply the correct care product.

Your builder or flooring installer / finisher should be able to tell you what type of finish is on your floors. In choosing the correct product you must first determine if you floor has a urethane, acrylic or wax finish. The care for a wax floor finish is very different to that of a urethane finish. Therefore, it can not be emphasised enough that you know what type of finish you have on your floor.


			With the proper care, your floors will stay beautiful for many years to come. Below are some tips to help you care for your floors. Place walk off mats (carpet runners) at all exterior entrances. This will capture much of the harmful dirt before it even reaches the hardwood floor. Shake out, wash or vacuum all mats and area rugs frequently.

			Floor protector pads of soft felt or similar material should be place on the bottoms of the legs of furniture. Flat 'cup' or 'coaster' style protectors should be used under the feet or especially wheels of couches and armchairs. These will spread the weight across a larger area and prevent dents in the floor. Floor protectors must be kept clean of grit and periodically replaced. Keep high heels in good repair. An unprotected tip will dent any hardwood floor. Fashionably high heels contain a steel spike (even style with wedge heels). The shoes can then cause indentations and scratches on your floor. Hardwood flooring manufacturers and fitters do not accept damage to floors by such heels as incurring a warranty obligation.

			Routine Cleaning A regular cleaning routine will simplify your floor care and good preventative maintenance lengthens the time between major renovations, such as re-waxing, re-coating and refinishing.

	So, how do you keep your floors as beautiful as the day they were installed or refinished?		Remember - Wood and water DO NOT MIX Excessive amounts of water can cause your wood floors to swell and cup. Use a slightly damp mop to clean your hardwood surfaces. Vacuum beater bars can cause damage to your floors' surfaces. If possible turn off the beater bar, or use the hose or wand attachment with a soft upholstery nozzle for hardwood surfaces.

			Never use household dust treatments or furniture polish on hardwood or highly polished floors. These may cause your floors to become slick or dull the finish. Under NO circumstances, should laminate floor ever be sanded. Remember a laminate floor is only a photograph applied to a high-pressure laminate backing. Avoid using harsh abrasive cleaners, waxes, polishes, urethane or lacquer on your laminate floor.

			Never place potted plants directly in contact with your flooring, even if they are placed in waterproof saucers. Condensation can develop under these saucers and damage your flooring. To avoid this, place your plants on trivets or stands so that air can circulate underneath.

			Dog and cat nails can scratch and dent your floors surface. Keep nails trimmed regularly. Immediately clean up pet urine, as it will damage the floors' finish if you allow it to dry.