Tuesday, 9 November 2010

Taking Care Of Your Hardwood Oak Flooring

If you want to enjoy what are the full of a lovely hardwood floor, the proper maintenance techniques are required. Hardwood is organic which means that no matter how strong it is, an inherit susceptibility to decay and wear is always there if not taken care of properly. If you want to keep your floor in a good condition for a long time you must ensure it is cleaned and waxed often.

Hardwood flooring can be expensive, usually bought as an investment it is vital to ensure you get the most value for money as the years go by. This leaves us with the most important question - How do we take good care of our hardwood flooring? Below are some tips to look after your oak flooring:

- Avoid too much exposure to the sun

If you flooring is in a room with a large window try protecting it with blinds or curtains. It is the UV rays from the sun that are said to damage the wood.

- Dragging around you furniture is a big NO!

This tip mainly applies to large and heavy furniture. If you do need to move your furniture to another location have people lift it or use a trolley. Dragging across the floors will cause scaring or dig into the wood, ruining it forever. Another point worth mentioning is the use of soft – probably felt contacts under the furniture legs to prevent scratches or dents to the flooring.

- Any finishes should be repaired as soon as needed

If on you flooring you have a good finish then this will not be of much concern to you. If however your finish is old it might have already started to strip off which will allow the water to get into the wood. If this happens it is a good idea to get the flooring sanded and refinished. If for some reason this fails you might have to replace a particular board with a new one, which over time will be a worthwhile investment.

- Keep your floor tidy and sweep it often.

When sweeping make sure to use a broom with fine bristles, these are the best for catching dust and other such things from the edges and corners of the flooring. If the bristles are too soft then instead of catching the dust and dirt it may just drag it along, filling the cracks between your boards.

To sum up, caring for you hardwood floor is important and you should look after like other valuable things you have. Hardwood oak flooring provides comfort and beauty, which is missing with other types of floor. physical beauty to your home but also ushers in a sense of homey comfort that will forever be absent with a concrete floor.

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