Aftercare of Wooden Flooring
Natural wooden floorboards look lovely in your home, but they do need to be looked after properly. Caring for wooden flooring can easily become part of your daily cleaning routine. Here are some tips on caring for wooden flooring that will help it to last longer. These tips will also prevent your floor from being scratched or damaged in any way.
Caring for your flooring in the correct way means you will avoid costly bills to repair the flooring. Your floorboard can look great for many years if they are looked after properly.
Sweeping The Floorboards
Sweep the floor every day with a microfibre mop or cloth. This microfibre fabric traps the dirt, dust, pet hair and other allergy triggers with static electricity. If you don’t have a mop, you can use a microfibre cloth to sweep the floor. So it will not fall out onto the floor again. A normal brush or broom will likely scratch and damage your flooring. Dust and dirt can also fall out of a broom, so you will be back to square one. Do not use a wet mop as it will ruin the flooring.
Clear Up Any Spills On The Floorboards
If you spill water on the floor, clear it up straight away. As well as being a slip hazard, it can also damage your flooring if it is left. Spillages on your floorboards can also discolour your flooring and ruin it. Some spillages can be acidic, so over time they will certainly discolour the floorboards and you will soon see white patches forming on your floorboards.
Wear Slippers Instead of Shoes
You might want to think about introducing a no shoe policy in the room with floorboards. Shoes always leave scuffs on the floor and it can ruin the floorboards that you have painstakingly done. High heels can leave indents, scratches and even scuffs on the flooring. Wearing slippers or socks on the floor will be so much better for caring for the floorboards.
Using The Vacuum
You can still vacuum your floorboards, but make sure the vacuum cleaner is set to hard flooring otherwise it will scratch the flooring and will not pick anything up.
Keep Pets Groomed
If you have pets, you need to keep them groomed so they do not scratch the floor with their sharp claws. Also if you keep their fur well-groomed, they will shed less onto your flooring.
Furniture Damage On The Floorboards
I know when you move the furniture, it is easier to drag it across the floor, especially if you are on your own. But try to avoid doing this as it will scratch your floorboards. You can buy some felt floor protectors to stick on the bottom of your furniture. This will prevent scratching, but they get dusty and dirty quite quickly, so make sure you replace them at least once a year.
Resurfacing The Floorboards
Although you will get so much use of your floorboards, they will need resurfacing again within a few years. If you care for your flooring really well, it could be 10 years before it needs repainting or revarnishing. But if you are not so careful with your floorboards, they might only last 3 years before they need doing again. It really does pay to think about caring for wooden flooring as soon as it is laid.
Use Good Quality Products On Your Floorboards
There is a saying ‘you get what you pay for’. And it is so true, if you pay £1 for a pot of varnish in Poundland, it will not be good enough for your flooring. You will find yourself resurfacing the floor after 6 months or a year. The same goes with paint. If you use the wrong paint on your floor, it is going to ruin the flooring. You need proper floor paint and varnish otherwise you will end up paying twice.
The same goes for cleaning products that you use on your floorboards. Make sure you use good quality products to help keep your flooring nice for longer
If you have any tips and ideas to help with caring for wooden flooring, please drop them in the comments below.
