Maintain, Repair, & Re-finishing of your Hardwood Floors

Whether wood is being freshly cut or being laid in your home it will have a tendency to flex and expand with the climate it is exposed to. The drier or more humid an area is the wood will reciprocate. From this we want to make sure that the climate our wood is exposed to is consistent. This will prevent, warping, cracking, and various other imperfections from happening. Each set of hardwood flooring is recommended to be annually maintained and cared for to ensure a beautiful, long lasting finished product. Here are some tips as recommended by trade experts on what is best for your brand-new hardwood floors.

Care and Maintenance:

  • It is best to always removed any type of footwear that is able to scratch or penetrate the wood. Some of these include shoes with spikes soles or stiletto heels.
  • An easy way to prevent scratching and denting of your floors while moving in is placing easy-glide felt protectors underneath heavy furniture. This also allows the furniture to not leave depressions in the wood over time.
  • It’s recommended that you try to sweep or dust daily with a dry dust mop. Especially areas that receive heavy, constant traffic. This will prevent particles that are left of the floor from starching or damaging the finish.
  • Make sure to not use any vinegar or ammonia products, steam mops, household dust treatments (i.e. Pledge or Endust), or any disposable spray/ mop cleaning systems (i.e. Swiffer Wet Jet, Bona fine mist mop kit, or comparable).
  • To prevent the build-up of dulling residue and failure of top coat adhesion, make sure to not use Murphy Oil Soap, Old English, was, acrylics, or similar products.

Repair and Re-finishing Hardwood:

  • When cleaning spots and mild stains:
    • It is always best to use either a lightly dampened cloth or a pH-neutral cleaning product when cleaning up spots and stains.
    • Make sure to not use a cleaning product consecutively when cleaning your floors. Using water every once in a while, will allow your floors to keep its sine and luster longer.
    • You never want to use a full wet mop on hardwood floors. Avoid pouring directly on the floor and always make sure to clean up water spills on your hardwood floor. Effects of not doing so can result in deterioration of the wood and its finish.
  • Applying a new Finish Coat (Screen & Coating). This process is a way one can eliminate minor scratches and bring a dulled floor back to life without having to re-stain and finish the entire floor.
    • First begin by sanding the top coat of your hardwood. Do not sand all the way down to the satin or to bare wood, just enough to where the top, shine coat is sanded off.
    • Next you will want to clear the area of any dust and particles from sanding. This is will make sure that your top coat doesn’t have any bumps or particles in it giving it a smooth look.
    • Now you can apply your top coat. Always remember though that you never want to put your hardwood floors through many intensive sanding and refinishing sessions.
  • Completely Sanding and Refinishing Hardwood Floors.
    • This process is similar to applying just a finished coat but in this case, you want to make sure and sand all the way down to bare wood removing any old stain and product from the wood.
    • Once bare wood, proceed the same by applying your stain of choice and then once dry applying your top coat.
  • Replacing Boards.
    • Replacing individual boards that have cracked or broken over time is a nifty way to refresh and repair your hardwood floors without having to replace the entire floor. In this process the damaged boards are cut from the existing floors and the new board are “face nailed” into the existing floor. Face nailed means that the wood is nailed down from the top of the wood attaching and penetrating what below it, leaving the top of the nail visible.

Guy’s Floor Service, Inc. (2016) Guy’s Floor Service Care and Maintenance Guide: User Guide. Colorado Springs, CO: Guy’s Floor Service, Inc.