Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Caring For Your Wooden Flooring When Finished






Wooden flooring is gaining in popularity today due to many special features it has. It is easy to clean, durable and gorgeous to look at, for starters. In fact, even a small house that does not have a lot of area to cover can still look luxurious if you have installed wooden flooring in it.
Many leading companies like the Denver hardwood stores provide installation for you. Yet note that once they finish their work, great care has to be taken until those areas are perfectly dried and cured.


 A Few Caring Tips

1. You should not walk on the flooring for 8-12 hours once the finish has been laid down.
2. It takes several weeks for the curing of the finish. Until the finish is fully cured, the material can be scratched easily.

3. Do not use area rugs for at least for 30 days. During this period, try keeping your dogs and other pets outside or off the newly installed area.

4. Note that with wooden flooring it is common to come across cracks in between the boards. Since wooden flooring is a product of nature, it may have some water content throughout, and considerable changes in the moisture content in the wood can be seen when the moisture level in the environment changes. At such times, shrinking of the wooden floors is likely to be experienced. Using a humidifier can help in minimizing the cracks.

A few general care and maintenance tips for hardwood flooring are as follows:

i) A regular sweeping or vacuuming of the floor is very essential in order to prevent abrasive dust or sand particles from accumulating and subsequently scratching the finish.

ii) Mopping the floor with a mixture of plain water and vinegar at a ratio of 10:1 or a recommended no wax cleaner of the manufacturer is equally essential.

iii) At every entrance of the house, place a doormat outside and rugs inside the doorways, again to prevent abrasive dust and sand particles from accumulating on the floor.

iv) Place rugs in front of your kitchen working stations, including the dishwasher and sink areas to protect the flooring from utensils and other items being dropped, and alsofrom
water and oily detergent spills.
 

v) Make use of adequate floor protection like using pads underneath all furniture legs so that these items can be moved easily yet not scratch the flooring.

vi) Keep all high heel shoes in good condition. Worn or damaged high heels may have a protrusion of metal tips, which are sure to damage your wood floor coating.

vii) Take great care in protecting your floor against direct sunlight or any other intensified source of artificial lighting. A discolouration may occur due to intensified light or heat on the exposed surfaces in the long run. If the color of the natural wood is a light shade, then this phenomenon will be more apparent.

Follow the above tips for your wooden flooring, and keep that new look to your traditional yet stylish floors. Make your guests and friends think that the flooring was done just recently, even if it was more than half a decade ago.