This wood flooring maintenance guide was originally posted on the back of our business card (hence the condensed size), and later on our local business website. Vacuum regularly. Use mats in front of entryways and kitchen sinks. Wipe up liquid spills promptly. Apply felt tack or other floor protectors to the bottoms of chair legs [...]
Care & Maintenance of Wood Floors
Q&A
Jan 222013
Jun 042012
Q: I read the question about footprints (bare feet) with interest. Our maple floors where finished with the two-part mixed (epoxy?) type of finish. The result is a very low lustre, almost dull finish. Our large dog with big soft warm feet is leaving oily looking marks in the finish that do not leave with [...]
May 072012
Q: We had our hardwood floors refinished a year ago. We recently got a large puppy who likes to lie at my feet in front of the couch. There is a light area now where he lies. It’s as if the finish has come off. He’s a large terrier. Is oil from his coat doing [...]
Q: We live in Ontario Canada and have a back split house in which we are thinking seriously about installing hardwood in the living room and dining room. The house was built is the mid 1970′s and it has that amber coloured mahogany trim incl. around door frames. The furniture in the house is french [...]
Backsplit house/crawl space/humidity issues when considering hardwood
September 26, 2011
Humidity and Wood Floors Comments Off
Jul 042011
Q: We recently had maple engineered wood installed in our home. Can you recommend treadmill mats for hardwood floors? The manufacturer will not give me a straight answer. I am worried about moisture/mold problems, and do not understand what type of rubber to use. A: Is this a mat to put under the tread mill? [...]
Jun 132011
Q: I have an older type hardwood floor. There is dirt in the grooves where the boards join. How can I clean this? A: You will need to find something narrow enough to go between the boards to loosen the dirt and then use a vacuum with crevice tool attached to suck it out. Similar [...]
Dirt in the grooves where the boards join
June 13, 2011
Care & Maintenance of Wood Floors Comments Off
Q: I am looking into getting a new puppy. Our apartment has natural wood floors from the 1800′s (the house was built in 1860). Someone in my office mentioned a silicone cover that could be painted onto the hardwood while we potty-train the pup, and then peeled off later. Does this actually exist and, if [...]
Cover that could be painted/laid onto the hardwood while potty-training the pup
May 27, 2011
Protecting Wood Floors Comments Off
Q: We have a home in NC that we do not live in during the winter months. There are hardwood floors throughout the home. We do not want to pay high heating bills since the house is empty, but we also do not want to compromise the floors. What is the lowest safe temperature that [...]
May 262011
Q: I recently moved into a newly built log home in Northeast Ohio. I have hickory floors. The floors were put down in the dead of winter (January) and the humidity in my house was very low. By May I was having a problem with the floor, wavy in some areas and actually buckling in [...]
Q: I recently purchased Brazilian Cherry Floors that I installed throughout my home. Do you recommend using a wood floor buffer to maintain the sheen? If so, how often do you recommend its use? A: Are these factory finished floors? If so, you should not be using a floor buffer on them, nor wax, oils [...]
Do you recommend using a floor buffer to maintain the sheen?
May 26, 2011
Care & Maintenance of Wood Floors Comments Off
Q: Can you tell me what is the best way to clean hardwood floors? A: There are numerous cleaners on the market for polyurethane/varnished floors. Poloplaz makes one as does Basic Coatings, Mirage, Bona etc. Any floor retailer should have a suitable product. Keep on top of the vacuuming to remove abrasive grit and use [...]
What is the best way to clean hardwood floors?
May 24, 2011
Care & Maintenance of Wood Floors Comments Off
Q: I have prefinished wood floors. When I dust mop the floor, the normal grooves/cracks between the floors collect dust and show. One has to use a toothpick to clean it out. How do I cleaning beveled wood floor? Any better suggestion on a product that will clean out the grooves? A: I would recommend [...]
Grooves/cracks between the floors collect dust and show
May 23, 2011
Care & Maintenance of Wood Floors Comments Off
Q: I installed hardwood floors using wood glue. I’d prefer to use vinegar and water to clean hardwood floors, because it’s an environmental choice, but will that wear away the adhesion of the glue? A: It won’t disturb the glue since you are only dampening a mop and wiping the floor. If you were soaking [...]
Q: My hardwood floors have developed a lot of popping/cracking sounds in recent weeks/months. I just saw on Weather Channel that people’s foundations and brick walls have been damaged from drought, and my state has had the worst drought in the nation for months. Could drought be causing the popping in my floors? A: Excessive [...]
Could drought be causing the popping in my floors?
May 20, 2011
Humidity and Wood Floors Comments Off
Q: What is the best product to put under our furniture legs, tables, cabinets, end tables, sofas, etc.? How do I protect hardwood floors from furniture legs? A: Felt pads are the best to use, changed twice a year or as needed. Who makes the best ones I don’t have an opinion on.
Protecting hardwood floors from furniture legs, etc.?
May 17, 2011
Protecting Wood Floors Comments Off
Q: We go away in the winter. I have ash floors and would like to turn off the heat while away. I live in NH and the house could get down to 30 degrees. Would turning off heat affect my floors? I have been leaving the heat on 60 degrees in previous years and there [...]
Nov 252010
If you have already made the mistake of trying several products like floor refinish and dust mop products, how do you remove the residue? Should I try a floor stripper product?
Mar 252010
Is it a good idea to install hardwood flooring in my kitchen? If so, how do you stop the weight of a refrigerator from denting the floor?
Is there a wax or some cheap way to make old wooden floors look better? I am moving into an apartment that has older floor with some missing finish in some areas. I don’t want to sand.
Cheap way to make old wooden floors look better?
January 21, 2010
Care & Maintenance of Wood Floors Comments Off
Dec 032009
We have a room the size of 400 square feet. We want to know if there is a product that can use to clean it up instead of sanding it all?
