After the holidays come to a close, people take out the dead Christmas tree and get the home back in day-to-day order. As they set out to do their work, the hardwood floors start to show some damage or other such blemishes. With that in mind, we at Mike’s Custom Flooring would like to share some suggestions that can rectify a few of the small issues that might have arisen during the holiday season.

Holiday Hardwood Floor Maintenance Tips

1) Protect Hardwood from Christmas Tree Sap. Many folks indulge in the freshly cut Christmas trees to liven the home with the rich evergreen fragrances they bring. But as the season progresses, the needles drop, the water spills, and the sap gets on the floor. Where the needles can be vacuumed up and the water mopped up, the sap can cause a lot of issues. Check below to try out any of the methods we have provided to remove tree sap from your hardwood floor.
Method #1 Vegetable Shortening: Apply vegetable shortening mildly to a cloth and work the treated cloth onto the sappy areas, immediately wipe the area clean with a dry paper towel once the snap is gone.
Method #2 Alcohol: Saturate a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol and rub out the sap. Once the sap is clear, follow up with a paper towel immediately.
Method #3 Ice: Put a few ice cubes in a zip lock bag and place the bag directly on top of the sap. After 10-15 minutes, or until it is hardened use a blunt edge to peel off the hard sap. Wipe the area down with an approved hardwood cleaner and dry immediately.
Method #4 Soapy Soak: Use a small amount of oil soap, specifically designed for your type of hardwood floor. Dab some oil soap on a paper towel and rub the oil through the oil and use a soft bristle brush to gently scrub the sap; immediately wipe clean with a dry cloth or paper towel.
2) Repair Squeaky Floors. In some cases, the floor boards might need to be replaced or professionally repaired. But before you do something drastic, sweep some talcum powder into the joints between the boards. This simple maintenance step can take care of the squeaking problem easily enough. If it persists, call in a professional for an evaluation.
3) Blackened Floor Cleaning. Old, grimy, blackened floors have the potential to be saved. Gallon of ultra hot water combined a few ounces of cleaning product that contains trisodium phosphate. Scrub sections at a time and ensure to immediately dry the area. Strip down the finish with 2 gallons hot water and 1 ounce ammonia and scrub the surface down. This can be tricky, if you are not familiar with it, call in the professionals.
4) Remove Scuff Marks from Hardwood Floor. The scuff marks produced by shoes can be easily removed with a pencil’s eraser to eliminate the marks lickety-split.

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If you are having issues with your hardwood floors beyond these simple fixes, call in the experts of Mike’s Custom Flooring and let our specialists rectify the holiday abuse.