A lot of homeowners are apprehensive about getting a timber or hardwood floor for their home. The worries stem from the fact that hardwood floors are a little harder to manage when compared to other flooring materials. Additionally, when timber is not maintained well, it rots and gets attacked by termites and other pests, leading to a complete collapse of the floor. However, these are eventualities which only happen when you do not take the right maintenance measures to help you preserve your wooden floor after you have installed it. Here are three crucial tips to help you clean and maintain your wooden floors.
Ensure the Floor Is Clean Always
The first thing you need to do is ensure that the floor is clean at all times. Cleaning the floor on a regular basis reduces the possibility of getting stains. You should ensure that messes such as spilled juice and other spills are wiped or vacuumed up as soon as they occur. Additionally, ensure that dirt and other gunk is cleaned before it accumulates. An accumulation of the dirt eventually takes away the lustre of the wooden floor, leaving it dull and inelegant.
Protect the Floor from Damage
There are certain factors that prove very harmful to wooden floors. At the top of this list are moisture, pests and chemicals. If moisture is allowed to accumulate on the surface of the wood, it gets to a point where the wood starts rotting. Rotting wood creates the perfect environment for fungi, mould and other harmful micro-organisms. Eventually, this could lead to the collapse of the floor altogether. Pests, on the other hand, attack timber which has not been treated against them. To prevent this damage from spreading, you have to keep renewing the protective coat of varnish and other preservatives.
Keeping It Dry
The biggest challenge to hardwood floors is moisture. To prevent the moisture from constantly getting to the wood, ensure that you use dry mops to wipe away any spills which occur. Additionally, ensure that during the installation, a subfloor is pre-installed to protect the wood from environmental moisture. Finally, always keep an eye out for plumbing issues as they are the most common cause of water damage in wood.
All these are the crucial considerations to make when dealing with wooden floors. It is always advisable to have an expert handle the installation of your floor. When a professional installs treated and quality hardwood floors, you are assured of long-lasting surfaces in your home.
To learn more, contact a company that sells or installs timber floors.
