General Maintenance of Your Floors

With the correct care, your floors will stay beautiful for many years to come. Common sense and a few preventative steps can lengthen the life of your floors. A regular cleaning routine will simplify your floor care. Good preventative maintenance lengthens the time between major renovations, such as re-waxing, re-coating and refinishing. Everyday dust and dirt are your floors worst enemy so it's wise to dust mop, vacuum or sweep regularly.

To keep your floors as beautiful as the day they were installed or refinished, simply follow these easy steps and always use the manufacturers' recommended cleaning product:

1. Wood and water DON'T mix!!!
   Excessive amounts of water can cause your wood floor to swell and cup. Use a slightly damp mop to clean your hardwood surfaces.

2. Vacuum beater bars can cause damage to your floors' surface. If possible, turn off the beater bar, or use the hose or wand attachment with a soft upholstery nozzle, for your hardwood or polished stone surface.

3. Never use household dust treatments or furniture polish on hardwood or highly polished floors, as this may cause your floor to become slick or dull the finish.

4. Under NO circumstances should your laminate floors ever be sanded, remember it is only a photograph applied to a high pressure laminate backing. Avoid using harsh abrasive cleaners, waxes, polishes, urethane or lacquer on your laminate floor.

5. Never place potted plants directly in contact with your flooring, even if they are placed in waterproof saucers. Condensation can develop under these saucers and damage your flooring. To avoid this, place your plants on trivets or stands, so that air can circulate underneath.

6. Dog and cat nails can scratch and dent your floor's surface. Keep nails trimmed regularly. Immediately clean up pet urine, as it will damage the floor's finish if allowed to dry.

7. Never use acidic cleaners or household products, such as vinegar, on polished surfaces like marble, as these will etch the stones' surface.

8. Use dirt-trapping walk-off mats at all exterior doors to prevent dirt and sand (which can act like sandpaper) from entering the building. Vacuum, sweep or dust mop as needed to remove dirt and grit prior to cleaning your floors.

9. Use area rugs on high traffic pathways and pivot areas: at ends of steps, near doorways, etc. All rugs should allow floors to breath. Avoid rubber-backed or non-ventilated rugs

10. Wipe up food or other spills immediately, using the manufacturers' recommended cleaner and a soft cloth. Use a vacuum or broom for dry spills and abrasives.

11. Keep high heels in good repair. Heels that have worn down or lost their protective cap, exposing the steel support rod, will dent and pit wood, fracture ceramic tile or stone and perforate vinyl. A person in stiletto heels, weighing 125 lbs. exerts approx. 2000 lbs. of pressure per square inch.

12. Certain chemicals in wood and natural stone oxidize in strong light causing the floor to change colour. To avoid any uneven appearance, move area rugs occasionally and drape or shade large sun-facing windows.

13. Always put felt protective pads on the legs of your furniture, this allows the furniture to be moved easily without scratching or denting your floors finish. This also provides a sound deadening barrier but remember to replace your felt pads often, as dirt and grit can become embedded in them or as they become worn.

There are many types of finishes on hard surface floors today. Sometimes, different finishes are used in different rooms, so the type of care required may vary from room to room. It is important to know how your floors were finished so that you can apply the proper floor care product. Your builder, floor covering supplier or flooring installer/finisher should be able to tell you what type of finish you have.

In choosing the proper product, you must first determine if your floor has a urethane, acrylic or wax finish. The care for a wax floor finish is very different from that of a urethane finish. Therefore, it cannot be emphasized enough, that you know the finish your floor has!

If the manufacturer of your flooring is not known you can follow the guidelines below:

Surface finishes including urethanes

Keep grit off the floor, dust mop or vacuum regularly and keep doormats clean. Wipe up spills promptly with a dry cloth. Use a slightly dampened cloth for sticky spills.

Do NOT wax a urethane-finished floor. Waxing a urethane finished floor will cause the wood floor to be slippery, requiring continuous waxing as your maintenance, and any re-surfacing will require a full sanding process.

For general cleaning, use a generic hardwood floor cleaner. If the lustre does not return to traffic areas, the floor may require recoating.
Acrylic impregnated floors require a spray and buff system as recommended by the manufacturer.

For waxed floors

Keep grit off the floor, dust mop or vacuum regularly and keep doormats clean. Wipe up spills promptly with a dry cloth or dry paper towel, use a slightly dampened cloth for sticky spills and buff with a dry cloth to restore lustre. When the floor looks dull, buff first to see if Ulster can be restored before waxing. When areas of heavy use no longer respond to buffing, wax only those areas and buff the entire floor to an even lustre.

When the whole floor needs attention, clean the floor with a solvent based wood floor cleaner and then wax. Your floor should only need to be completely rewaxed once or twice a year depending on traffic.
Cleaning a waxed floor with water will leave white water marks.

How should I handle and store my wood floor prior to installation?
UNLOAD IN DRY WEATHER - If possible, unload flooring in good weather, never unload in the rain. Leave the flooring wrapped in the room you are installing it for 2 to 3 days to climatize.

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