Timber Floor Care & Maintenance
Now that your polished timber floors have been completed, it's time to take a few simple steps to ensure you keep them looking great for many years to come.
Moving Furniture Back Into Your Home
Polished timber floors are at their most vulnerable in the first days after completion. The polyurethane coating will need to harden suitably before furniture can be replaced. There are also a number of other precautionary measures you need to be aware of to ensure the maximum life span of your new floors.
Step #1: Getting Your Fridge in Safely
Wait 48 hours before returning furniture.
The first rule, and the most important, is to never roll or slide furniture across your polished timber floors. Large furniture and appliances such as refrigerators, pose a huge threat to your floors when returning them to your home. It may cause permanent damage if not carried out properly. The best procedure for returning your refrigerator is to obtain 2 sheets of new, clean, 3mm MDF board from your local hardware. You will need a size larger than the base of your fridge.
The Right Method To Use
The method is to place the fridge on the first sheet and roll it onto the second. Move the first sheet in front of the fridge again, and keep repeating this process. Repeat until the appliance is positioned in front of its recess within your kitchen. The key point here is to never allow the fridge wheels to make contact with the polyurethane surface.
All other furniture legs should have self-adhesive felt protection pads fitted. You should pay particular attention to dining room chairs, as these are the most moved pieces of furniture in your home.
Step #2: Setting up your home for protection:
Managing the amount of grit which enters your home is important. Placing suitable mats at all entrances will reduce the amount of grit from shoes dramatically.
Take note of the east and west sides of your house and ensure direct sunlight does not meet the floor surface. Filter direct sunlight with curtains, blinds or tint as necessary. Over time it can damage the internal polyurethane coating.
Step #3: Cleaning Timber Floors:
Remove dust and grit with a static mop, general sweeping or vacuuming. Refrain from using supermarket floor cleaning products. Issues can arise at a later stage when attempting to re-coat a polished floor. General mopping of your floors can be carried out using half a household bucket of warm water mixed with half a cup of methylated spirits. Wring out the mop well to ensure a minimal amount of water is present on the floor surface.
Ensure your vacuum head has no metal parts on the underside, if so, replace as necessary.
Minimising dust and grit with mats will extend the life of your polished timber floors.
Step #4: Floor Inspection and maintenance:
An annual self-assessment of your floors is recommended and is as simple as inspecting the main traffic routes within your home. Look for variations in surface sheen in areas such as the main entrance, the middle of the hall and the working triangle in the kitchen. If you are concerned with, or are not certain of the current condition of your floors in Brisbane, we are happy to inspect them for you, and offer free advice.
Are You a Landlord With Polished Floors?
Find out how to protect yourself from tenants damaging your floors. Polished timber floors in rental properties can be ruined from day one if you do not include some clauses in your rental tenancy agreement.