Hardwood floors are a beautiful, organic option for any home. They add warmth and coziness as well as style and design. When you put hardwood flooring throughout your home it is an investment. Mike’s Custom Flooring is here to share some tips to help you care for your hardwood floors and extend their life. Following these steps will help to preserve the beauty of your hardwood while still enjoying their beauty.
Shoes or Bare Feet when Walking on Hardwood Floors
When it comes to shoes in the house, they are better left at the door. While you don’t have to enforce a strict no shoes policy in your home with hardwood flooring, you should at the very least be aware of the types of shoes you wear on your hardwood. Shoes like high heels can cause scratching and damage to your beautiful wood flooring. Certain shoes on your hardwood can cause the finish to actually be removed. The tiny particles of dirt and dust on the bottom of your feet work to scratch off the finish of your wood floor a little at a time.
Use Furniture Pads on Hardwood Floors
To further protect your hardwood, you should avoid dragging any furniture across it. When the legs of any furniture are resting on the hardwood directly, you should have furniture pads on the bottom of all the legs. It is best when you don’t have the legs of your furniture resting on the hardwood. You can avoid this by choosing the right sized area rug for the space.
Best Humidity Levels for Hardwood Floors
The ideal humidity levels for your hardwood floors are 30 to 50 percent. Not only should you be aware of this number, but you want the temperature of your home to be between 60 and 80 degrees to protect your flooring as well. If you home is too warm or cold, combined with humidity levels that are too high or too low, you could experience buckling and warping of your wood planks. You could also see gaps start to form in your flooring. Slight fluctuations are one thing, but rapid changed in temperature and humidity for long periods of time is something to be careful of.
Deep Clean Hardwood Flooring
This is where many homeowners go wrong. You don’t clean hardwood flooring the same way that you clean other hard surfaces. When you use harsh chemicals to clean your hardwood flooring or products that claim to shine or polish your hardwood, you often remove the finish or add thick film that will make them actually look dull. To clean them you should be vacuuming them regularly with the beater bar turned off to avoid scratching. You can mop them using a microfiber mop with a pH-neutral cleaner or a homemade solution containing 1 TBS vinegar mixed with 1 gallon of water.
Hardwood Floor Installation, Refinishing & More in Charles Town & Eastern Panhandle of Berkeley & Jefferson Counties in WV | Winchester & Frederick County | Round Hill & Loudoun County | Berryville & Clarke County | Herndon & Fairfax County VA
If your hardwood floors have sustained damage due to improper care, you can count on the flooring professionals at Mike’s Custom Flooring to repair and refinish your flooring. When we are done, it will look like the day it was installed. Call us today!
