Properly finished wood is the easiest of all floor surfaces to keep clean and looking like new, year after year, with only minimal care.
How minimal? Vacuum and/or dust mop weekly or more often if merited. Vacuuming is the best way to remove surface dust and dirt before it gets walked into the finish and dulls its luster. Vacuuming also pulls accumulated dust from the grooves of factory finished and plank floors.
Some wood floor care guidelines will depend on the type of floor finish. However, there are a number of preventive maintenance tips that are the fi rst steps in caring for your wood floors, regardless of the finish type.
First and foremost, wood and water don’t mix. No matter what finish your wood floor has, never pour water on your floor. While a slightly dampened mop may be used on polyurethane and other surface finishes in good condition, even small amounts of water can cause the deterioration of finishes and warp the underlying wood.
Also, when using any maintenance product, please read the label. Always follow label directions for maintenance products, except for directions which call for using water on wood. Always use only products specifically designed for wood floors. Contact your local wood flooring distributor for products and specific cleaning recommendations.
The following pages are excerpts from the 2006 NOFMA Wood Floor Care Guide, a guide edited and written by the NOFMA Technical Committee, which is comprised of multiple wood flooring and wood flooring finish professionals.
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