Blog And Tips on HardWood flooring Maintenance

In addition to their distinctive beauty and lasting value, hardwood floors are often recommended by doctors because they trap less animal dander, dust, pollen, mites and mold –all of which can trigger respiratory problems. Natural hardwood floors can make it easier for you to reduce home allergens, while your rooms remain warm and inviting.

Following a few simple rules can keep floors looking great with minimum maintenance:

* Place floor mats at entrances to trap dirt.
* Sweep floors weekly with brooms that have fine, ends that trap dust and grit.
* Vacuum cleaners aren’t just for carpets.
* Water and liquids can damage the floor’s finish.
* Go over a hardwood floor weekly with multi-surface vacuums.
* Wipe up spills, pet accidents, and other mishaps as soon as possible.

Kitchens were once considered out-of-bounds for solid hardwood flooring. Today’s urethane finishes make hardwood floors an attractive choice that is easy to maintain and keep clean. Special finishes even permit hardwood floors and tub surrounds in the bath. They offer water resistance that old-fashioned versions never could. 

Laminate flooring and hardwood floors can be damaged or ruined to the point the the only option is to replace the water damaged floors. Laminate floors are susceptible to water damage and this is why steam cleaning laminate flooring is never recommended. Think of a piece of wet cardboard. When it drys, it never goes back to its original shape. The same will happen with laminate. Once it's damaged by water, it does not go back to its original form and replacement is the only option. Hardwood, depending on the level of damage is different. If the floor looks like it has a haze on it, it's most likely damage to the finish which can be sanded. If the hardwood is warped, it can also be sanded down but in order to keep the floor looking uniform, a larger area may need to be sanded. Generally the entire room has to be sanded in order to give the floors a professional look.

Carpet, when exposed to water over time can result in mold. Of course water can easily soak through to the pad so you are left with two materials which can be effected by mold and mildew which if not dealt with can cause health problems to the home owners.

The best way to combat a water damaged floor is to prevent it. Make sure you have a layer of protection between any sort of plant or tree and your flooring. This can be a plastic lining or some sort of basin. Installing laminate flooring in the Ft. Lauderdale area in such cities as Hollywood, Sunrise, Cooper City, Davie, Dania Beach, Victoria Park, South West Ranches, Los Olas, and Coral Springs is our specialty. 

If you are going to install hardwood flooring, many consider engineered wood a better choice than solid hardwood flooring, especially in conditions of varying temperature and humidity. Engineered wood is less susceptible to dimensional alteration, buckling and warping. The advantage of a solid hardwood is that it is solid through the entire plank and therefore allows you the luxury of sanded down multiple times during it's lifespan. 

Depending on how well the owner takes care of their floors, that life span could potentially be several hundred years. Engineered wood floors are made of a multi–ply plank construction that is designed to allow for expansion without affecting its structural stability. It comprises an inner core of softwood plywood or hardwood, or even high density fiberboard with a glued on top layer of veneer. The layers are bonded under heat and pressure to form a homogenous cross section. The stacking of layers is designed to prevent the inherent tendency of hardwood to expand, contract, cup or warp under diverse environmental conditions. Solid hardwood comes directly from the mill houses and from real trees. 

Engineered hardwood floors are still real wood flooring. Many confuse engineered wood with floors that are made to look like wood such as laminate or vinyl. This is not the case. Your engineered wood flooring will still look as beautiful as solid hardwood, in fact, it just might perform better in your home 

 Are your current hardwood floors looking a little dull? If they’ve seen some better days, then it’s probably time to give them some needed TLC! Whether your engineered floors are chipped, stained, warped, or scratched, you can rely on a quality sanding and refinishing job to fix them up. So can engineered floors be refinished? Absolutely! The question is…just how many times? 

The basic idea here is, the thicker the layer, the more times your floors can be refinished. If you are considering adding new engineered floors to your home, our specialists suggest choosing a thicker material so your floors can be sanded and refinished to add years to their lifespan. Older engineered wood floors
can generally be sanded once during their lifetime.  

When installing hardwood flooring, it is important to leave room for expansion gaps. Hardwood floors, like any other wood reacts to moisture. In humid conditions the wood absorbs  moisture and expands. Conversely in dry weather the moisture is released and the wood tends to contract.

 If gaps are not left and the flooring butts up against the walls, when the flooring expands there is every possibility it will buckle. Expansion gaps are gaps left around the perimeter of the flooring and the baseboard of the walls to allow for this swelling and shrinkage. Recommended expansion gap width is between 3/8” and 3/4”, which can be covered using additional shoe molding or the original baseboard. As a thumb rule, the smaller the room the less the gap required.

The expansion of hardwood flooring will vary from one species to the next. Another contributing factor is the way the wood is cut and the amount of humidity in the atmosphere. In general, solid hardwood expands and contracts more than engineered wood flooring. Engineered hardwood is built in layers which helps to reduce movement. No matter if you are installing engineered hardwood floors or solid wood flooring, always remember to leave room for expansion gaps 

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Pre-finished wood floors are floors that are come finished from the mill house. The sanding process is already complete and all that needs to be done is to have them installed. They should first acclimate to the climate in the house then installed. There is no need to sand or refinish them since they already come finished. The benefit of these floors is that they can be refinished years down the road if there are deep cuts or scratches or if you wish to change the color.