Care Tips To Keep Your Wood Floor Beautiful

1. Daily Dust Mop / Vacuum – Dirt, dust and grit can damage your hardwood floor by dulling the floors finish and causing scratches that can only be repaired by refinishing the floor. Regular daily dust mopping is an essential part of hardwood floor care.  Referral offers a microfiber dust mop that is helpful in keeping dirt, dust, and grit under control.  If you use a vacuum ensure it has a hard surface setting or special hardwood floor attachments. Don’t use an upright vacuum with a beater bar because they can cause damage to your floor’s finish.
2. Use Squeaky Cleaner and a Microfiber mop to regularly maintain your wood floor.  Squeaky cleaner won’t leave a residue, just a clean floor.  Do NOT flood your floor with water or use a wet mop. Excess moisture content can permanently damage/discolor your floors.
3. Spills – Wipe up food, liquid spills or drips immediately to prevent damage to the wood or finish.  Use a soft, dry or slightly dampened cloth, starting at the edges of the spill and working your way toward the center.
4. Climate Control – Wood flooring naturally expands and contracts with changes in temperature and humidity.  Maintain a consistent room temperature between 60 – 80 degrees F and a relative humidity level between 35 – 50%
   1. In the summer, when there is high moisture content, this may require the use of air conditioning or a dehumidifier. Excess moisture content could cause permanent damage in the form of ridges, cupping or buckling.
   2. In the winter, when there is low moisture content this may require the use of a humidifier. Dry air can expose cracks between boards and high edges.
5. Furniture Glides – Place glides made of felt or some other fabric under the legs of furniture to prevent scratches. Clean the glides regularly to ensure that dust and grit do not become embedded. Use barrel-type casters instead of ball casters to prevent dents. Use non-marking rubber casters instead of plastic or metal.  Click here to learn about Pro Glides
6. Use Door Mats/Rugs – Use doormats at the entrances of your home to help trap dirt and grit.  Regularly vacuum and have Referral clean your door mats and rugs.
7. Door Mat/Rug Backing – Don’t use throw rugs with rubber or vinyl backing without checking to determine if they will affect your floor’s finish. Some materials in the backing can react with certain floor finishes, discoloring or causing the finish to become dull.
8. Avoid Deep Scratches
   1. Shoes – High heels can scratch or dent a wood floor especially if the tip is unprotected.  Check the tread on the bottom of your shoes to ensure gravel or dirt isn’t trapped because this could scratch or dent a wood floor.
   2. Dog/Cat Nails – The nails of a Dog and/or Cat can damage wood flooring.
   3. Furniture – Do not slide furniture across the floor.  Lift furniture when moving it to avoid scratches in the floor’s surface.  If the item is to heavy to lift, use an appliance dolly or if the item has wheels or rollers put down hardboard runways over the wood floor to prevent damage.
9. Do not use wax or silicone based polishes or cleaners.  Strangely enough there are a lot of “floorcare” products that are not good for your floors.  Some wood floor cleaning products and polishes sold at the local box store will look shiny upon initial application but can actually make your floor more difficult to clean, cause uneven or unsightly appearance issues and may create problems if the floor requires refinishing.  Floor polish is not as durable as urethane coatings and will deteriorate quickly.  Once paste wax is used on a floor it must be used forever.  For everyday maintenance use Squeaky Cleaner.  After a professional cleaning have Referral refinish your floor.
   Products to Avoid because they can leave behind a residue
10. Sunlight – Protect your floors by using drapes, curtains, blinds or window tinting to limit direct sunlight. The ultraviolet radiation in sunlight can cause discoloration over time.
11. Professional Cleaning – Have your floor professionally deep cleaned by Referral.  Call 260-483-4383 to schedule an appointment.
12. Refinish – Have a urethane finish reapplied to protect your floor in the future.  Wear will develop from surface scratches in the traffic areas, refinish the floor before it wears down to bare wood and you should never have to have your floors resanded.
13. Repair/Resand – If your wood floors need repaired or resanded contact:
    1. Classic Floors at 260-490-6412 or visit www.classicfloorsinc.com
    2. Dustless Hardwood Flooring at 260-580-7144 or Visit www.dustlesshardwoodflooring.net