Floor Maintenance & Care Guidelines
What to know about installing hardwood floors
Wood is a beautiful flooring choice for any home. However, it is a natural product with unique characteristics. Here are some realities of choosing a solid wood floor:
- Natural wood flooring is monochromatic meaning it varies from piece to piece which is what makes it so interesting and full of character. Wood flooring is fabricated in homes and can be made up of a few hundred to thousands of individually different pieces of wood, making your floors one-of-a-kind.
- Sanding is different for each piece of flooring depending on how it was sawn making it virtually impossible for a completely “tabletop” surface. However, our customers can be sure that their floor will be sanded a smooth as possible.
- A buff and coat will give you added protection, revitalize the sheen on your floor and fill small scratches, it will not remove gouges or dents. It is recommended to have your wood floors buffed and re-coated every 3-4 years in high traffic areas and 4-6 in low traffic areas.
- Wood naturally absorbs and releases moisture. This process causes the flooring to expand and contract from season to season, resulting in small gaps between some floorboards. This is normal, and we do all we can do avoid any unnecessary moisture throughout our flooring services.
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How to take care of new hardwood floors
Engineered Solid Wood, Solid Prefinished Wood, Luxury Vinyl Plank, and Laminate Flooring will continue to look great for several years without the need for a re-coat as long as you take the proper maintenance steps:
- Place walk-off mats at all exterior doors. This will prevent dirt, grit, and sand from getting inside your home and onto your floors. Placing throw rugs or small rugs just inside the entrances are also helpful.
- Put small felt pads on the legs of all your furniture. This will allow furniture to be moved easily without marking up your floors. Felt pads will wear down over time so make sure you’re replacing them when necessary. We recommend sliding chairs with felt pads over roller caster chairs that are more abrasive on floors.
- Vacuum regularly. You should be vacuuming your floors as often as you vacuum the carpet, sweep or use a dust mop as needed. DO NOT mop with household dust treatments. This can dull your finish and leave a film that could impair the bonding of future re-coats.
- Wipe & mop your floors regularly. Clean up food and spills immediately with a damp wipe or mop. We recommend using Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner. DO NOT wax your finish, wax and oil type cleaners cause build-ups on your floor, instead use Murphy’s oil Soap or ammonia-based cleaners.
- Keep high heels in good repair to protect the surface of your floor. Heels that have worn down or lost their protective caps may have an exposed steel support rod, this will dent the surface of any floor.
How to refinish your hardwood or luxury vinyl floors
Rejuvenate your hardwood or LVP floors with quick & easy refinishing services that will have your floors looking brand new again:
- Sand the open areas of your floors to smooth out the material so that minor flaws do not show or interfere with the refinishing. Use an edger to sand around the border of the room working right up to the quarter-round molding. It’s normal for edgers to leave some marks on the molding, touch-ups should be made as needed.
- When sanding there will be minor dust in the house, there is no such thing as a truly 100% dust-free sanding system. At Flawless Flooring, our sanders are hooked up to a vacuum that controls the majority of the dust.
- Choose your stain. You can change the whole feel of your home with your stain color. When choosing a medium to dark stain color, we always water-pop the floor before staining, this gives it the absolute best appearance. Once the floor is stained, don’t step on it for at least 8 hours. After 8 hours you may walk on the floor if absolutely necessary, but only with socks. The amount of time, till a floor is ready again for full use, depends on the formula of the stain.
- Now for the finishing touches, apply your finish! The coating will help absorb any contact so your flooring material stays unblemished. Anyone with kids, pets, or just a busy home, is recommended to get the high-end finish for maximum protection. At Flawless Flooring, we only use water-based finishes as they have become superior to oil-based finishes. The first coat will take approximately 1-2 hours to dry. Then you apply the final finish coat. Refrain from walking on the floor until at least 4 hours, and then only in socks. After 24 hours it is safe to walk on and furniture may be put back into place, just make sure to lift and set, DO NOT drag. Pets should not go onto the floor until at least 48 hours after the final finish coat. Rugs and carpets should not go on the floor for at least 1 week, this allows time for the floors to cure.
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