Maintaining Your Wooden Floor

Here are a few tips to help you better maintain your wooden flooring:

	Place doormats inside and outside the front door. This will stop dirt and grit from being walked in, which can cause considerable wear.
	Put protective pads on furniture to avoid unnecessary marks and scratches on the floor. This is especially important if the furniture has metal feet, which can mark wood floors.
	It is recommended that you lacquer the floor again after laying in rooms where water is frequently spilled, and where it may also be left on the floor. This seals the joints between the boards and gives better protection against water.
	Avoid walking with stiletto-style heels, spiked golf shoes or cleats. They may cause indentations in your flooring.
	Keep your pet`s nails trimmed to keep them from scratching your flooring.
	Periodically rearrange your area rugs and furniture. This will allow the flooring to age evenly.
	While moving your furniture or appliances, put down a sheet of quarter-inch plywood or cardboard to protect the floor.
	Wood floors expand and contract depending on the climate. To avoid too much expansion and contraction of tile floorboards, you should keep the room at normal temperature and the relative humidity between 30 to 60 percent. Some wood species, such as beech and hard maple are more sensitive to climate change than other species.
	Apply a lacquer refresher with a soft and clean cloth sponge or polish applicator and if necessary apply a second coat. Allow drying for approximately 30 minutes before replacing the furniture. In a domestic environment, one to two treatments per year are sufficient.
	For daily cleaning, use dry methods such as vacuuming. Periodically, damp-clean the floor with a well wrung-out mop or floor cloth. The floor must only become slightly damp to ensure tha the film of water formed on the floor dries within one minute.
	Do not allow spilt water to be left on the floor. This is particularly important for beech and hard maple floors, which are very susceptible to moisture.
	If there is a mark on the floor, try removing it using a mild cleaner without ammonia. Use strong stain-removal materials cautiously because using too much and rubbing too hard could effect the lacquer.

Removing different marks and stains

Asphalt, rubber oil, shoe polish, soot and dried residues of chocolate or grease marks	Remove with dilute alcohol, petroleum ether or a similar product.
Wax crayon, lipstick and felt-tip pens marks	Removed with dilute alcohol
Candle wax and chewing gum marks	Remove with freeze spray, or put a plastic bag of ice-cubes on the mark and then scrape off carefully

Author: Editor

Comments

Posted By: Neel Nav	Date: 3/17/2009

The information is quite adequate but the main point we have to ensure the Anti termite treatment because the termite will have a feast on wood which is a favorite dish.

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