Pete's Floors

Keep your floor clean

petesfloors — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 06:58:54 +0000

Floor cleaning is important to prolong the life of your floor.
A dirty floor attracts more dirt. A smooth floor that is clean is easy to keep clean because as dirt is dissolved with the cleaning solution and rinsed off, the rinse water stays clean longer, because not a lot of dirt will be spread around while the dirty water is on the floor. When the floor gets very dirty, and dirt is dissolved by the cleaning solution it can be spread around with the cleaning rag before it is rinsed. If the dirt is not rinsed off in each section, when it is dissolved, it can spread over the whole floor. Grime, especially sticky messes like sugar or oil, will let dust stick. Sometimes dirty areas will not be water soluble. These stains may dissolve in paint thinner. Tar and wax from crayons or a candle are examples. Lacquer thinner can dissolve some stains and will not bother a swedish finish that is solvent based. Water based or water born finishes are not resistant to lacquer thinner. Do not use strong solvents on water born finishes.

The floor cleaner that works best is a low suds detergent like Simple Green but made for hardwood floors and laminates. DuraSeal and Bona Kemi are a couple of brands that are available on the market. They come in a spray bottle for convenience, or in a concentrate that you may dilute with water. It just lets water soak into the dirt better and quicker to dissolve it, so it may be wiped up. You can make up your own cleaner by mixing 1 cup of vinegar with a gallon of water. White vinegar is best. 2 tablespoons of dishwashing detergent in a gallon of water makes a good cleaner for stubborn dirt. After applying, wipe any residue off with a cloth dipped in clear water for the vinegar mix. Never use straight vinegar.

As the floor gets worn, fine scratches will appear. These scratches are from pieces of grit that gets slid along the surface with enough downward pressure to cut the film. The scratch will fill with dirt. It will be hard to lift the dirt out of the scratch. When wet, the scratch will show up as a dark line on a yellow colored floor. Sometimes the only way to clean a floor with dirty scratches is with a scrubbing with an abrasive, like nylon pads or steel wool. This will dull the floor and is usually reserved for cleaning before re-coating the floor with another coat of varnish.

Keep your floor dry

petesfloors — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 06:42:01 +0000

The scourge of hardwood floors is water: too much water and the floor swells, too little water and the floor shrinks. When your floor is installed and smooth, extra water from a spill can affect your floor. The sooner it is dried, the less damage that can happen.

When a spill happens, it should be wiped up immediately. If it is noticed after a spill it needs to be dried.

A hair dryer laid on the floor next to the spill, turned on high, and taped with masking or Scotch tape to point in the right direction will help dry the floor out. Call your insurance agent immediately for a large spill. A company can dry the whole house out if necessary.

Prolong the life of your floor

petesfloors — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 06:16:29 +0000

The care of your wood floors starts outside your front door. Whether or not you take your shoes off inside the house, it is important to keep the porch and sidewalk to the house swept periodically to keep grit from being brought into the front door.

All wood floors and decks will benefit from keeping grit away. Grit will wear off wood fibers when it is walked on. This microscopic scraping will also wear off any protective finish.

Once the finish has been worn off the bare wood becomes difficult to clean. A dirty floor attracts more dirt, which has a snowball effect on cleanliness.