Maintain Your Wood Floor Finish

Wood floors add a visual warmth and beauty that few other floor coverings can match. Available in many sizes and varieties of wood, there is a wood floor to fit any design style. Today, the most common wood floor finish is urethane. Applied in liquid form, urethane leaves a smooth, glossy finish that is able to stand up to heavy day-to-day traffic.

Protecting Your Wood Floor Finish
The best way to maintain your wood floor finish is to protect the wood from harm. Grit and dirt are the number one enemies of your wood floor finish. Grit under rugs, shoes or furniture legs creates a sandpaper effect that will scratch and damage the finish of wood floors.

Some steps to avoid surface damage include:

• Place mats or carpet runners at all entrances. Mats and runners will trap dirt before it can damage your wood floor finish. Regularly vacuuming or shaking out mats and runners will help keep them clean.
• Use floor protector pads. Pads of felt or other soft material should be placed under furniture or other large objects. Keep floor protector pads free of grit and replace them regularly.
• Consider area rugs. Area rugs should be placed in high traffic areas such as kitchens and hallways. Area rugs will extend the life of your wood floor finish and reduce maintenance to a simple vacuuming.

Simple Steps To Keep Your Wood Floor Finish Clean

• Sweep floors often, using a broom with fine bristles. A broom with "exploded" bristle tips is best for trapping dust and grit.
• A multi-surface vacuum will make quick work of cleaning wood floors and should be used weekly. Use a setting that won't trap grit under the vacuum.
• Spills of any type should be wiped up as soon as possible. A wrung out damp cloth may be used to remove spills, but buff spill areas dry with a soft cloth after cleaning.

What To Avoid

• Do not wet mop a wood floor finish. Most manufacturers recommend avoiding this practice.
• Never use household dusting products. These products are designed for furniture and can create a dangerously slippery surface when used on floors.
• Never us wax. Applying wax to a non-wax finish will dull the wood floor finish and could lead to costly repairs.
• Water. Never allow water to stand on a wood floor finish. Water stains will lead to an expensive re-finishing job. Clean up spills as soon as they happen.