6 Steps To Maintaining Immaculate Timber Flooring!!

Timber flooring is warm, natural and beautiful to look at, however our lifestyles create new problems for our timber flooring everyday! From dirt and dust particles, to scratches caused by moving furniture, the wear and tear can be significant if we don’t clean and maintain them properly. 

Whether you’re considering timber flooring for your home, or wondering how to maintain your current flooring, you’ve come to the right place!

Whilst the cleaning and maintenance of timber flooring should be easy and hassle free, it can be overwhelming for those who aren’t familiar with the process, so here are some simple steps you can follow to keep your floors looking immaculate:

Photo by Neven Krcmarek on Unsplash

Clean Quickly

This first step to maintaining beautiful timber flooring, is to make sure you immediately clean spills with a dry or slightly damp cloth.

As Taylor Mead of House Beautiful says, timber swells and shrinks depending on moisture, so it’s important to keep humidity down by avoiding wet or steam mops. This will prevent any cupping, splitting or gapping of the timber.

Ms. Mead also suggests keeping your home a temperature of 15 to 26 degrees Celsius (60 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit) and ensuring that wet shoes are kept outside.

Sweep or Dust Daily

The second thing to remember is that loose dust and dirt particles can cause scratches to the timber, so it’s important to remove them by sweeping or dusting daily. 

You may also want to consider taking your shoes off before you enter your home.

If you do choose to sweep, try a soft-bristled broom to gently remove the dust and dirt, without doing any damage to the flooring.  

Vacuum Regularly

Another useful tip is to vacuum your timber floors regularly. As Ms. Mead suggests, vacuuming may be a pain, but it will ensure that your house is clean and will allow you to pick up any dirt and crumbs you may have missed whilst sweeping. 

We recommend using an attachment with a soft brush head and no sharp edges.

Photo by Lukas ter Poorten on Unsplash

Furniture Pads Matter

It’s equally important to remember that whilst sweeping and vacuuming can help you avoid scratches, by removing dust and dirt particles, scratches can also be caused by the movement of furniture in the home. Some items of furniture have abrasive legs/parts that, when coming into contact with the floor, can leave indelible marks. 

The easiest and most effective way to prevent them, is by attaching adhesive furniture pads to the legs of your chairs and tables etc.

Furniture pads can be found in hardware stores, such as Bunnings.

Timber Floor Cleaner Works Best

When cleaning spills with a dry or slightly damp cloth isn’t quite enough, experts recommend the use of a timber floor cleaner such as Bona. 

Rather than mopping with water and/or other harsh floor cleaning chemicals (and subjecting your floors to excessive moisture in the process), the gentle mist of a natural timber floor cleaner will remove dirt and grime, without causing any damage. Simply spray the floor and gently wipe with a microfibre mop head, no water or bucked needed. 

Refinish Your Floors

Finally, all timber floors need to be re-finished or sanded and polished, at regular intervals.

Overtime, your timber floors may be looking a little lacklustre or you may be noticing scratches and little dents in the flooring, and this may signal it’s time to refinish them. Sanding and applying a coat of finish to the top of your floorboards will restore them to their former beauty, removing damage and bringing back life and lustre.

Ms. Mead recommends that home-owners re-finish their timber floors every 3-5 years.

Timber flooring provides a warm, relaxing and natural feel to any environment, is practical and most importantly, is easy to clean. From simply sweeping to a quick vacuum, timber flooring maintenance has never been so easy or affordable. Simply follow these steps and come home to clean, beautiful and impeccably maintained floors, everyday!