Tips for Keeping Your Hardwood Flooring in Top Shape

Most who own (or aspire to own) a home know that hardwood floors are an essential aspect of all houses. But for hardwood floors to maintain their youthful shine from when they were first installed, proper maintenance is required. A few easy steps can be added to your daily-, weekly- and monthly routines to ensure your hardwood floors are pristine.

Cleaning

By simply dusting and sweeping your hardwood floors daily, the longevity of the floors will increase. Most hardwood floors are stain-resistant, hence why they are favorable among homeowners; however, mopping up spills is still important. 

Something to keep in mind while practicing these cleaning routines is how you’re doing the cleaning. If the duster has been sitting untouched in your garage for the past year, it’s definitely worth it to invest in a simple Swifter or microfiber duster.

Dusting and sweeping picks up dust but it doesn’t hurt to vacuum at least once a week. While vacuuming, it is important to keep note of how heavy the vacuum is. If the vacuum is too heavy or has bad wheels, your floors will likely get damaged.

Long-Term Cleaning

For homeowners with pets, the likelihood of scratches and dents occurring is more common. If your floors are younger than three years old, it isn’t worth it to recoat or refinish them. Instead, polishing every few months or a couple times a year is a better solution.

When hardwood floors age several years, it is recommended that they are recoated, sanded, and refinished. Recoating can be done with or without a professional as it isn’t as involved as sanding and refinishing. Recoating should be done every three to five years. Sanding and refinishing should be done once a decade and should be done by a professional. 

Photosensitivity

By nature, hardwood floors are sensitive to sunlight. To protect them from sunlight and preserve their youth, a special finish can be applied to the floors to protect against UV light. Special films can be added to windows that keep the UV light out but still allow sunlight inside. It doesn’t just protect your floors, it protects your family from harmful sunlight! 

Another way to protect your floors from sunlight is by putting down rugs. Rugs also help by protecting the floors from heavy furniture.

Temperature and Humidity

Hardwood floors shrink and expand depending on the humidity and temperature of the rooms they are in. Rooms with hardwood floors should be kept at a medium humidity throughout the year, and air conditioned or heated according to the season. Furthermore, when floors are being installed, it is important that the fit isn’t too loose or too tight because it will cause problems later on.

Replacement 

Past a certain point, hardwood floors will become damaged beyond repair. No amount of cleaning or refinishing will fix the floors. That’s not to say that this will happen to everyone, because it won’t, but it happens to a small few. At that point, a quick search for ”floor installations near me” could solve the problem. However, the second time around if it does occur, make sure to follow these tips!