Through proper maintenance a hardwood floor can literally last a lifetime. This article will go over every aspect of maintaining your hardwood floor to how you should maintain & clean your wood floor. If you are going to spend the money on a hardwood refinish or a new wood floor install, you want it to last and look beautiful for years to come.
The initial idea of keeping a floor lasting is that you need to minimize water and dirt on your floor. The next idea is you need to protect your floor from furniture.
These 2 things are the worst things possible for your floor.
Water – every floor finish is permeable, as in water/moisture is free to come and go. No matter the type water can get through as the wood needs to breath otherwise it would cup/crown very easily. Water and wood do not mix – in-fact, water and finish do not mix either. Water makes wood cells expand within minutes of penetrating the finish.
Dirt – Think of dirt, dust, material on the floor as sandpaper. Essentially dirt is exactly what we refinish you floor with. Sandpaper is used to rip off your floor finish and dirt does just that. While dirt isn’t usually bigger “rocks” like sandpaper, it does grind and “polish” a floor. Each time dirt, dust etc on the floor is pressed on with your foot it is grinding the floor finish off little by little.
So, essentially by eliminating these 2 things from your floor, you will save years from having to refinish or even maintenance coat a floor. The next section is a way to minimize dirt and water from your floor.
*Before Installing a Floor Notice (skip if floor is already installed)*
If you haven’t installed a floor but are looking to install one, I highly suggest you not install flooring in your kitchen that is wood related. Wood is very responsive to water, it is ideal to keep it away from where most your water is located kitchens & bathrooms. Every week we get a water damage call about a refrigerator, toilet or faucet that has leaked. If you have the choice, don’t add wood in these areas, period.