Maintaining your wood floor
Maintaining your floor after it has been installed is highly recommended and will help keep your floor looking just as good as the day it was laid.
Our guidelines are designed to provide a starting point for your maintenance programme.
All floors are unique and will require individual assessment to determine exact maintenance programmes, as the factors affecting them will vary.
Changes in traffic and environmental / seasonal changes should be taken into consideration, for example during periods of wet weather, additional matting may be required.
General Wood Floor Maintenance
Room Temperature & Humidity
Throughout the life of the floor, we recommend that the temperature should be maintained between 15°C and 25°C, and relative humidity levels between 45% and 65%, which will keep any movement within the floor to a minimum and ensure that the floor remains stable. As with any wooden floor, if humidity levels rise or fall outside of these parameters, a greater degree of shrinkage or expansion would be expected to occur.
Use a humidifier / de humidifier to maintain the humidity levels between 45% and 65% throughout the year, to keep the movement of wood to a minimum.
Matting
Place matting at external entrances to help prevent the tracking of grit and dirt. Abrasive particles can be very damaging to – and seriously shorten the life of – any floor finish. Matting should ideally be large enough to allow two steps across, and should be regularly cleaned. Available in a range of colours in natural or synthetic options.
Cleaning and Spillage
Floors should be dry cleaned (dust, dry mop, sweep or vacuum) regularly to remove any particles of dust or grit. Wipe up food and other spills immediately with a slightly dampened towel.
Never wet-mop a wood floor – do not use water to clean floors as standing water can stain or damage the wood. We always recommend using a specialist wood floor cleaner such as the Bona Wood Floor Spray Mop pictured.
Furniture Pads
When moving heavy furniture, pick it up rather than sliding it. Placing Felt Pads under the legs of moveable furniture such as tables and chairs is a better option and will really help prevent scratching and damaging the floor finish.
Pictured – Self Adhesive Felt Pads and Kingston Nail-In Felt Pads
Walking on floors
Where possible, try and avoid wearing shoes on your wood floor. Shoes can contain grit on the soles and will act as an abrasive and scratch your floor. Stiletto-heeled shoes will also damage your floor causing a dimpled effect.
We really recommend wearing soft soled slippers or socks!
Restoring Shine
When cleaning no longer restores shine, we recommend recoating the floor. From time to time, it may be necessary to sand back to bare wood and re-finish the floor. The frequency of this will depend on the amount of wear and traffic.
Maintaining and caring for your wooden floor will help keep it looking just as good as the day it was installed
Maintaining Floors Finished with Lacquer
- Soluble dirt should be removed by cleaning with Bona Wood Floor Cleaner. Available in a 1 ltr ready-to-use spray bottle, or a 4ltr.
- Spray a fine mist onto floor and clean off with a dry mop / cloth. It is important that the quantity of liquid applied to the floor is kept to a minimum.
- Periodically apply an even coat of Bona Refresher, when floor begins to dull, to revive dull and scratched surfaces and to improve wear protection.
- Apply in accordance with manufacturer’s instruction.
Maintaining Floors Finished with Oil
- Soluble dirt should be removed by cleaning with Osmo Wash and Care, diluted as instructed (approximately 1 cover cap of Wash and Care per litre of water).
- Spray a fine mist onto floor and clean off with a dry mop / cloth. It is important that the quantity of liquid applied to the floor is kept to a minimum.Osmo
- Maintenance Oil – can be used for periodic maintenance to help blend in minor surface scratches and to refresh the finish. Available in Satin, Matt or Slip Resistant.
Bona Oiled Wood Floor Spray Mop
The Bona Oiled Wood Floor Spray Mop is an effective way to clean your oiled wood floor and is simple to use – just spray the floor and wipe clean. In addition to cleaning, it also provides extra protection and nourishes your oiled wood floor.
If you would like to purchase any of our floor cleaning products, please contact us.