Water is arguably one of the biggest enemies of hardwood floors. After a flood, your best chance of recovering your flooring is to hire a good and experienced flooring installer immediately. However, failing to protect your floor from moisture or spills on a daily basis can also cause irreversible damage.
Tips To Protect Your Hardwood Floors
- Remove wet, moist, or damp items, such as carpets, clothes, boots, or appliances, from contact with the floor as soon as possible.
- Wipe up any spills from the surface immediately to prevent the liquid from penetrating the floor.
- If a room with hardwood floor has an exterior door, place a rug in front of the door.
- Inspect the plumbing and fix any leaks that might contribute to water getting onto the floor surface (or any structural component, for that matter).
- Control the humidity in your home. During the summer, air tends to be moister and during the winter, the air is dryer. Both moist and dry air can affect wood, so adjust your humidifier accordingly.
- Reinforce the sealant on your hardwood floor periodically. Wax sealants should be refinished annually. Polyurethane sealants (oil or water based) last longer and only require maintenance every few years. This also can be done by hiring a professional flooring installer.
- When cleaning hardwood floors, use a quality product intended specifically for hardwood floors. Make sure you don’t leave pools or puddles of liquid, no matter how small, on your floor. Don’t soak the mop head or the cloth you are using; instead, only dampen them. We carry an ecofriendly flooring brands such LOBA and WOCA, they have a great quality hardwood cleaners.