{"id":1557,"date":"2014-08-13T15:38:44","date_gmt":"2014-08-13T14:38:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wood-finishes-direct.com\/blog\/?p=1557"},"modified":"2022-11-09T11:12:28","modified_gmt":"2022-11-09T11:12:28","slug":"wood-floor-maintenance-guide-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wood-finishes-direct.com\/blog\/wood-floor-maintenance-guide-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Wood Floor Maintenance Guide – Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

In \n\nPart 1 of our Wood Floor Sanding and maintenance guide<\/a>, we talk about floor preparation and sanding techniques to achieve the perfect blank canvas for your floor finish, be it varnished or oiled. In part two, we’ll be looking at the maintenance side of things, the stuff you need to do once you’ve sanded, sealed and finished your beautiful wood floor.<\/p>\n

Wooden floor maintenance – Preventative measures<\/h2>\n

Whether you’ve finished your floor with a\u00a0lacquer or an oil, you’ll need to carry out regular preventative maintenance to keep it looking great\u00a0and ensure it remains\u00a0in the best possible condition.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

It’s surprising how dramatic an effect small\u00a0dust and grit particles can have on\u00a0the way your floor looks, and its overall long term condition. Even tiny particles can seriously shorten the useful life of the floor, simply by the wet and dry abrasion they cause when they’re brought indoors and tracked\u00a0around the house by people’s feet. The particles act like\u00a0miniature sandpaper, dulling and\u00a0scratching the finish.<\/p>\n

In wet weather foot traffic also brings\u00a0water in, which seeps into the damaged grain to cause even more havoc.\u00a0All of which means your first stop for wood floor maintenance is a simple one: to keep it clean, sweeping up dust and grit regularly to prevent the ‘sandpaper effect’ causing too much damage.<\/p>\n

How can you stop dust and grit in their tracks and mitigate the risk? It’s common sense. Simply put down\u00a0a good quality doormat or some other kind of mat\u00a0at every door, so the particles stop there instead of being tracked indoors on people’s shoes.\u00a0Keep the matting clean too, for a belt-and-braces approach that’ll give\u00a0your wood floor an even\u00a0longer and more attractive life.<\/p>\n

How to maintain lacquered floors<\/h3>\n

What about maintenance for\u00a0lacquered floors? Your first step is to\u00a0clean the floor, removing all the abrasive dust and grit using a hoover, a soft bristle broom\u00a0or dustpan and brush.<\/p>\n

Next, use a wood floor cleaning product from \n\nour wood floor cleaners range<\/a>, applied with a mop or foam pad as per the manufacturer’s instructions. \n\nWoodleys Wood Surface Cleaner<\/a> is a great product, easy to use, simply diluted with water.<\/p>\n

Because lacquered floors eventually end up mucky, often stained by shoe marks, you’ll benefit from using Woodleys Wood Surface Cleaner to give the floor an initial clean then follow up with \n\nBona Freshen Up<\/a>, a floor revival system that helps to revive lacquered floors. Bona Freshen Up can be used every 6 months or so to help restore areas that are perhaps looking a little dull and to prolong the overall life of the floor varnish.<\/p>\n

How to maintain\u00a0oiled wood floors<\/h3>\n

Oiled floors give you a gorgeous,\u00a0natural, open-grain appearance but the finish can suffer through high foot traffic, making it\u00a0more sensitive to moisture and more prone to lasting damage. Luckily oiled floors are really easy to maintain.<\/p>\n

Again, your first step is to clean off all the grit and dust to leave a spotless surface to work with. Then use a damp mop impregnated with Manns Floor Surface Cleaner to clean the wood to perfection, followed by an application of \n\nOsmo Liquid Wax Cleaner<\/a> which will help to revive and protect tired looking areas.<\/p>\n

It also helps to give the floor a regular dry buffing, either by hand or with either a rotary buffer with a white scotch bright pad attached, for a lovely, super-smooth finish.<\/p>\n

Interior floor sanding troubleshooting<\/h2>\n

Scratch Marks<\/strong><\/h3>\n

You might not notice scratches\u00a0until you apply your\u00a0wood stain, oil or lacquer.\u00a0\u00a0They’re most often caused by:<\/p>\n