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When you have wood flooring installed in your Boca Raton home, it’s an investment. It’s one that can last for years if it’s properly cared for. The problem, however, is that most people are not sure how to care for it properly.
If you want your wood floors to last longer, make it a priority to take care of them. When you do this, it will extend their life and keep them looking great. It’s an effort that is well worth the time and effort.
Being able to protect the investment in your home will pay off. There are some simple things you can do to take care of your wood floors and keep them in top shape. Following these tips will not only keep you loving the floors but your guests will as well. These are wood floor care tips recommended by the National Wood Flooring Association.
Spills are going to happen. That’s just part of life, but it’s important to get them cleaned up right away. Ideally, you should avoid using a wet mop or steamer on wood floors because it can damage the wood.
The wood flooring will swell and shrink over time, depending on the amount of moisture it is exposed to. More humidity will cause the flooring to have more problems, so ideally, the temperature of the home should be between 60 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Try to keep the floor dry, which means cleaning up spills and not allowing wet shoes on it.
Furniture often scratches flooring, no matter what type you have. Wood floors are not immune to scratching from the furniture. Take measures to help protect the floor by using furniture pads.
You can buy inexpensive furniture pads to put on the bottom of couch legs, tables, chairs, etc. They will help to keep any scratches to a minimum or may help you avoid them all together.
Dust settles in the home daily and is mostly comprised of sloughed-off skin cells, hair, and clothing fibers. These particles can settle into the grains on the wood floor and, over time, will add up. Ideally, dust the wood floor each day with a simple duster. This will take minutes, keep it cleaner, and extend its life. Make this a part of your daily exercise routine, and you will not find it to be such a burden.
Once per week, you should aim to go over the wood floor so that anything that has been missed by your daily dusting is picked up. There will always be a few crumbs and oddities that were missed. If you don’t want to do this on your own, you can invest in something like a Roomba, which will do it for you.
Once a month, it is time to give the wood floor a good cleaning. Use a cleaning product that has been formulated especially for wood floors. These will help to remove debris, additional dust, and streaks and make it shine again.
While there is an expense with having the wood floors refinished every 3-5 years, it’s a great way to extend the life of the flooring. A company will re-finish them, making the appearance look as good as it did when they were first installed.
The good news is that refinishing the wood floors is more affordable than replacing them. It’s also a more environmentally friendly route to take. The investment in re-finishing will help to keep the floors looking great for longer and will help you avoid costly replacements.
To keep wood floors looking great, it’s a good idea to get into a routine. You want to aim for dusting them daily, vacuuming them weekly, cleaning them monthly, and then re-finishing them every few years. By doing this, you will be amazed at how your wood floors still look great many years later.
If you need additional tips on how to care for your wood flooring, give us a call. We are happy to answer questions and help you determine the best route to bring your flooring back to a beautiful state.
When you see someone’s wood flooring that looks great, and they have had it for years, keep in mind that it didn’t happen by accident. It takes some effort to keep them looking good, but it’s well worth the effort. When you protect your wood floors, you are protecting your home and your investment.