How Do I Maintain My Hardwood Floors?
Hardwood floors are a versatile and elegant solution for your home. Solid distressed hardwood in particular is a centuries-old and extremely popular solution for your flooring. Modern technology has also allowed us to create a multi-ply engineered hardwood, put together from different layers of ply and a hardwood top layer for additional strength and stability.
The key to making the most of your hardwood flooring is to engage in some basic floor maintenance. Some simple hardwood care will keep your timeless floors lasting for years. Read on for advice from Hardwood Floors Ottawa for looking after your hardwood floor.
Simple Tips For Maintaining Your Hardwood Floors
Below are some simple steps you can take to look after your hardwood floors all year round. Read on to find out more about maintaining your hardwood floors.
Sweep Regularly
A simple sweep of your floor every day with a gentle bristle brush will help stop grit and dirt from scratching or staining your distressed hardwood floors. You can also vacuum daily instead, but make sure that you use the correct setting or attachments for your floor. Otherwise, you risk pushing the grit across your floor, which can cause scratches and further damage.
Vacuum Weekly
In general, we recommend vacuuming your distressed hardwood floor once a week using the wood floor attachment on your vacuum. Easily missed dirt or debris like crumbs can harden over the course of a week. If left on your floor, even these small items pose a risk of causing scratches and dents. You should also leave a mat on the floor you can clean your feet on before treading dirt into the hardwood.
Use Gentle Cleaning Products
Using harsh cleaning products can damage your floor and weaken the strength of the hardwood. Even natural cleaning products like vinegar can dull your hardwood floor. Use gentle and PH neutral cleaning products to help remove stains and spillages. You could try specific wooden floor cleaners like Black Diamond’s wooden floor cleaner, or a basic neutral floor cleaner once a month.
Clean Up Stains Or Spills Immediately
Stains or spills can settle into wood and weaken your hardwood floor. For this reason, it is also better to avoid using steam mops on hardwood, as it will lead moisture to seep into the wood. Use a dry, microfibre cloth to clean up spillages. Moisture leads the wood in hardwood floors to expand, and then as the wood dries out, it shrinks. This can lead your wood to crack, or split.
Avoid Excessive Moisture In The Home
Moisture can lead to wood becoming rotten, and also expanding and shrinking. As a rule, the temperature in your home should be between 60 and 85 degrees fahrenheit to avoid excessive humidity. Consider taking shoes off at the door to stop wet footwear from letting moisture seep into your hardwood floors.
Use Felt Furniture Pads
If you drag, drop or place heavy furniture over hardwood floors, there is the potential to cause damage over time. Using felt protector pads on the feet of your furniture can help prevent the risk of scratching or denting your floors. If you do need to move heavier items around, be sure to lift it safely above the flooring to prevent damage.
How To Maintain Older Hardwood Floors
If your hardwood floor is several years old, it’s inevitable that it might be exposed to some natural wear and year. Over time, your floors might become:
- Dull
- Discoloured
- Scratched
- Dented
- Cracked
Fortunately, with our sanding and refinishing service you can give your hardwood floor a new lease of life.
Sanding Services
If your hardwood floor is damaged, a sanding service will help level the hardwood floor again. Dents or scratches will disappear as sanding restores the scratched wood to the level of the grain beneath it. If you have light scratches, our team will deliver a light sanding to remove the affected area. For more extensive dents and nicks, we may sand the entire floor.
Refinishing Hardwood Floors
If your floor has an oiled shine, it is likely that the top level has been finished. Over time this varnish can be rubbed off, leading to the dull finish of older hardwood floors. In addition to a dull finish, removal of the varnish layer also exposes the floor beneath it. Unfinished wood means that there is a greater risk of grit causing scratches and dents to exposed hardwood flooring.
If your floor looks aged, worn, or dull, a refinishing service will help clean and restore an oiled finish to your floor to protect it for future use. An expert will come and properly clean the affected area before ensuring that another layer of oiled shine is added correctly.
Installation Of New Hardwood Flooring
If your floor is exposed to excessive and unexpected moisture, sometimes the damage can be too far gone to repair. If this is the case, you need to be confident that your new hardwood flooring is of high quality and will last you well into the future. At Hardwood Floors Ottawa, we stock a range of distressed hardwood flooring options for your home.
Our hardwood comes from PG Model Hardwood Flooring, and Goodfellow, which have a combined hardwood knowledge of 130 years between them. The fashionable and durable wood types they offer ensure that you can feel confident in the longevity of your hardwood flooring.
Your hardwood floor installation should be managed by an expert to avoid damage taking place during the installation. It is recommended you hire a professional service rather than doing it yourself to ensure that the floor is level and installed properly.
Hardwood Floors Ottawa: Your Hardwood Maintenance Specialists
At Hardwood Floors Ottawa, we can help install, sand, and refinish your hardwood floors in Ottawa. If you have any questions about whether a hardwood floor is right for your home, or how to maintain it, we’re here to help. Contact us today for first-hand advice and support on maintaining your distressed hardwood floor.