When you have hardwood floors installed in your home, it is important that you take very good care of them. Real hardwood adds more warmth to your home, but it is also at risk of warp, rot, and various other problems. Here are tips for extending the life of your new wood floors.
Clean the Floors Regularly
Start taking good care of your hardwood floors by cleaning them regularly. If you get built-up dust or debris, it can actually scratch the surface of the wood when walking over it. The tiny grit that is found in dust acts like fine sandpaper over time. The best thing to do is sweep and vacuum the floors as often as possible and also clean up spills right away. This will help you prolong the life of the wood floors. Just make sure you either use natural cleaning products or those labelled specifically for wood floors.
Keep the Humidity Low
One of the worst things for hardwood floors is moisture, which can quickly cause it to warp, expand, and rot. This doesn't necessarily mean with water, but even just moisture in the air caused by humidity can cause damage. Try to keep the humidity level under control with your HVAC system and a dehumidifier. Pay close attention to the indoor humidity levels and work to keep it low at all times if you want to protect your hardwood floors and make them last.
Be Careful With Pets in the House
You will also need to be careful if you have pets in the house. First of all, your pets might make potty messes on the hardwood floors that can cause warping or other types of damage to the floors. Make sure you clean up these messes right away to reduce the damage. Keep the litter box clean and take your dogs out regularly to avoid accidents. You also need to make sure your pets' nails are trimmed often so they don't cause scratches on the wood floors. Once you hear those nails clicking, they are too long and need to be trimmed.
Take Care of Water Leaks and Spills Immediately
If you notice a leaking faucet or other plumbing fixture in your home, call a plumber right away to have it taken care of. You don't want the water to leak out onto your hardwood floors and damage them. To make your floors last longer, try to catch any other spills or messes and clean them, making sure the floors are completely dry when you're done.
Engineered wood flooring is another option that looks just like real hardwood but lasts longer and handles different environments.
Share24 June 2016
We needed to get a new granny flat built, as ours was starting to look shabby and had a roof leak we couldn't stem. We knew it would need some upgraded features so that we could start renting it out for extra income. I spent a lot of time researching which features get the best rental returns and how to get the granny flat built as quickly and effortlessly as possible. I read a lot from a lot of online sources and interviewed other home owners who have new granny flats so we could get the best structure built. This blog has tips for people looking to build new granny flats for their home.