By There is no other look that wooden flooring gives to your house!
Timber Flooring is elegant and gives your house an aesthetic boho look which is impossible in marble or tile flooring. The beauty of timber flooring is lovely, but taking care of it is another task that is a must if you want it glimmering for a long time.
You must be very careful about certain things, especially during specific seasons like a monsoon. Water and timber are each other’s enemies. They can never go with each other.
Not only this, but you also need to be extra careful while placing heavy furniture on wood flooring.
It is the nature of wood to fade and rot with time. However, by following some tips, you can get your value of wood. If you want your timber flooring to keep glimmering for a long time, we will help you!
Let us look at the things that can harm your wooden flooring, and you need to stay clear of them! Here are some essential tips to keep in mind to maintain your timber flooring and enhance its radiance and spark.
Dirt
Granules of sand with dirt in the house due to storms or even through your shoes can cause scratches on the flooring because sand acts as sandpaper and rubs on the timber. You should consider placing mats on the house’s entry to prevent this.
Other than this, you can also place rugs or carpets on the wood flooring. An essential point to be kept in mind while placing rugs is that their backs should not be made of rubber as it can affect the coat of polish of wood.
Footwear
An important thing to remember is not to walk with heels on timber floors. Also, avoid walking in sports shoes as they will always have some dirt left on them.
Make it a habit to remove your shoes and heels outdoors and have another pair of slippers only for inside the house.
Furniture
As already mentioned, furniture can damage timber flooring sooner than marble flooring. However, it is unavoidable not to have any furniture lying in the house. But you can consider getting lightweight furniture and using pads on the feet of chairs, tables, and wooden cabinets for protection.
You also need to be very careful while moving heavy furniture like almirah or refrigerators in this flooring to avoid scratches and coatings removal.
Sunlight
Apart from dirt, sunlight is another destroyer of wood or timber flooring. Wood flooring is prone to direct sunlight, causing discolouration, darkening, and accelerated aging of the wood. The wood also dries faster, causing cupping of the board.
Avoid direct sunlight on the flooring as much as possible by using curtains or placing rugs on the floor.
Water Mopping
Water damaged timber to a great extent. The most common mistake is directly pouring water on the timber floor.
It causes two types of damage. First, if not cleaned before mopping, water gets mixed with dirt creating liquid mud leading to scratches on the floor. People unknowingly mop the floors with muddy water.
Second, using too much water leads to penetration on the edges and corners of the room, swelling, and eventually cracking up the wood. Therefore, a soft cotton cloth must be used to buff the floor before using water. Also, over-wetting the floor should be avoided at all costs, making it essential to dry the floor immediately after it is mopped.
Stains and Spilling
Any leaks or stains should be dealt with immediately to avoid damage to the flooring. Using floor cleaners can be one way to treat stains. However, care should be taken, so the cleaners don’t cause more damage than benefit to the floor.
Stains give you another reason to use rugs and carpets on the flooring to prevent situations like these.
Using Cleaning Products
Although using some products on timber floors is good for maintaining their shine and elegance, you need to be mindful of the chemicals in those products. For example, you need to avoid acidic cleaners in any case, as acids can peel away the wood in no time if used in excess.
Vinegar is another product that you SHOULD NOT use at all! Here’s why:
- Vinegar is acidic. While using vinegar on floors, you are damaging the coating or polish on the floor.
- When you use vinegar on floors regularly, wood flooring loses its shine and causes a whitish coating on the floor instead due to acid.
- The timber flooring eventually starts looking dull.
- Vinegar may be a cost-effective way to wipe floors, but it causes long-term damage to the timber.
Wax Buildup
Once you start cleaning products habitually, the leftover product on the floor causes a wax buildup. So even though the resin is used to maintain the shine on the feet, it makes timber dull in the long run after it has dried up.
To avoid this, consider buying products without any wax, which can be seen on product labels. You can also use ammonia to get rid of any buildup if seen by using ammonia and water in a ratio of 1:4.
The tips mentioned above are great for maintenance daily. But to ensure the long-term care of timber flooring, getting your floors polished once in two years keeps the finishing of floors intact and will help keep your timber flooring glimmering!
Essential Do’s And Don’ts
Apart from this, there are some essential do’s and don’t that you need to keep in mind to avoid the extra work of keeping timber floors safe. Read on to know more!
- You must be cautious if you have small children and pets at home who run across the house as their play can cause scratches on the floor.
- You can use carpets and rugs on the floor, which will not only protect the flooring but also give it a beautiful look.
- Do not drag furniture on the floor; instead, pick them up and place them on the floor as it will remove the floor’s polish and may also cause holes due to the weight of the furniture.
- If chewing gum gets stuck on the floor, do not rub it or scratch it; instead, use ice to scrape it out gently.
- Avoid using harsh liquid detergents on the floor and use only soft damp cloths to mop it.
- Keep extra care of your timber flooring in the rainy season and mop the floor whenever moisture or rain reaches the floor.
- Try to replace the pad protectors on the furniture every six months to avoid any breakage. Also, investing in suitable quality protectors will benefit you long-term.
Maintenance of timber flooring can take up your time and can be tedious sometimes; however, if followed religiously, these tips will keep your timber flooring radiant for years!
A Furniture maker Perth can be of great advantage in installing, maintaining and restoring Wood Flooring.
