It is often said that the true beauty of the house lies in its flooring. It is therefore important to ensure that the best flooring is installed in the house. But, is mere installation of the flooring enough? Well no. The installation plays an important role but what matters in the long run is the maintenance. The better the flooring is maintained, the better the house ages.
These days the wood flooring and the engineered herringbone flooring is in trend. Most of the customers therefore go for these floorings in order to ensure that their house stays updated with the latest fashion but what about maintaining them? Well, here in this article we will help you in understanding what are the ways and the tips and the tricks to ensure that the flooring stays inn the best condition possible.
Over time, it is easily understood fact and also inevitable that a hardwood floor will have scratches, lines and other such kinds of damages due to frequent usage. Here are some methods through which you can get rid of these imperfections, as well as some suggestions for preventing them from occurring at least during the initial years.
Fixing Minor Scratches on Hardwood Floors
For light scratches on hardwood flooring such as herringbone engineered flooring, etc, the best trick is that you can apply wax or acrylic floor polish, but make sure that you do this mindfully and with extreme care and precaution. As with the passage of time, these polishes can cause the floor to appear dull and dark. This will eventually lead to difficult removal if required anytime in near future. This process often requires the use of strong and abrasive cleaning agents (like mineral spirits and ammonia) and huge efforts too.
Another option is to use a product specifically designed to rejuvenate the wood. You might be thinking why should you not go for sanding if these are temporary solutions. Well, sanding is not that necessary, but to get the best results, it is extremely important to thoroughly clean the floor before applying anything over it. Apart from this, you should allow sufficient time for the application to dry. Plan to reapply the product every few months, and never use it on wood laminate or factory-finished floors.
Handling Deep Scratches on Wood Flooring
If a scratch has become so deep that the inner layers of the flooring has become visible then, a simple way to cover up this mark is to fill it with a stain that matches the wood colour. Stain markers and blending pencils come in a variety of shades which are easily available at any stationary store or in the carpenter’s shop but regular wood stain can also work well. Use a small brush or even a cotton swab to apply it. But always try to make sure that you remove any extra application before it has time to dry.
Avoiding Scratches on Hardwood Floors
The best part about the wooden engineered flooring is that they provide an elevated and a highly sophisticated look to the house. But, along with this it also becomes a tough task to maintain these floorings. You can go for high maintenance as well but at times because of kids or pets, the floorings get damaged. Here we will be providing you with a few points which will help you in increasing the life of your wooden floorings.
- Place fibre doormats by all exterior entrances, as dirt and grit brought in from outside can cause damage to the floorings. This is the first and the most important precautionary measure that can be taken to increase the life of beautiful hardwood floors.
- Encourage guests and family members to take off their shoes before entering the home. All kinds of footwear specially the high heels with pointed edges and heels can severely damage the flooring and leave dents which may not be covered easily.
- Sweep regularly to manage any dirt or grit that makes its way inside despite your best efforts to keep it out.
When moving furniture across a hardwood floor, always use the protective pads or supports beneath the edges and legs (or a piece of leftover carpet, with the soft side facing down).
