A wooden floor is a flooring and decorative element of choice that brings atmosphere and warmth to an interior. It offers a noble, comfortable and cozy living environment as well as a minimal impact on the environment compared to other floor coverings. While wood is a durable, decorative, comfortable and eco-friendly element, certain precautions and particularly appropriate maintenance will help and are necessary to extend your investment.
Daily tips to protect your floor against time
- Place protective felt pads under the feet of your furniture to avoid scratches on your floor. Be sure to check them regularly, as hard dirt that might get stuck to them could cause damage.
- Separate the floor from exterior accesses. In winter or even in summer during rainy weather, it’s important to place protective mats in front of your entrances to avoid bringing dirt or moisture onto your floor. Water and melted snow can indeed cause the wood to swell and damage it very quickly. Moreover, the calcium contained in snow is a very aggressive chemical agent for varnished and oiled surfaces. It weakens the varnish, gradually diminishing its protective effects and causing marks.
- Avoid wearing shoes on your floor as much as possible to prevent depositing abrasive materials like sand and pebbles on your floor. High-heeled shoes, especially stilettos, should also be avoided as they can cause marks in the wood.
- If you have pets, it’s also important to ensure they don’t damage your parquet with their claws. You can trim their nails and, of course, teach them to scratch elsewhere than on your floor.
- In case of splashes, grease stains, alcohol, or any other substance on your floor, be sure to clean the accident immediately using a soft, damp, and wrung-out cloth to prevent any liquid from entering the wood fibers.
Tips for maintaining and extending the life of your floor
- For the maintenance of your floors, forget about products made with grandma’s recipes as well as aggressive household cleaning products that can leave marks, alter the color of natural wood, or promote dust accumulation. Favor regular maintenance of your floor using products designed and offered by wood flooring specialists to nourish it while maintaining, beautifying, and thus increasing its durability.
- Consider having your floors sanded as soon as it seems necessary to protect them against time. However, be careful, sanding should be done by experienced professionals, as a wooden floor can undergo about 7 sandings during its lifetime. Sanding is therefore a delicate and important operation that can considerably reduce the lifespan of your floor if done poorly.
- Don’t forget that water and moisture are the greatest enemies of wood, which remains a natural material. Avoid washing with large amounts of water that could cause the wood to swell and cause disastrous, irreparable damage.
- Clean your floor using soft, non-abrasive cloths that are damp but not wet to protect your floor from water, as well as from gestures that could scratch it due to a cloth not suitable for its surface that marks easily.
- Never place your plants and their pots directly on the wood, which could cause scratches, as well as swelling of the wood when you water them.
