What Am I Going to Do Now with My Gorgeous Floors !

Living with Natural Hardwood Floors… can be an easy task… it is up to you!I am now glancing at my hardwood floor, there is a sense of richness, wonderful warmth and such a natural beauty and suddenly a frighten question popped into my head….

What am I suppose to do now? How am I going to keep them so beautiful?

As I laugh for a few minutes which seemed endless… I realize I had no idea what I was facing… for many years I had carpet… and though I tried to keep it clean and pretty much it looked quite clean…

I would remember Charley, our pet coming in and out… the mess of the kids as they came from school… my husband rushing in forgetting how to wipe his feet at the entrance.

I had managed to deal with all of that for years and still the question of what am I going to do… was still there….!!!

I tried to think as our dear Scarlet O’Hara (from Margeret Mitchell’s famous book Gone with the Wind) “I can’t think about that right now.

If I do, I’ll go crazy. I’ll think about that tomorrow” but would there be a tomorrow… LOL!!!

I had to think now… and fast… soon the kids and my husband would be home and Charley was staring at me with that malicious look.

As I kept on looking at the color and pattern of the floor’s strips, I saw the unique maple textured oak and then… its elegance and truly beauty of nature… then I remembered how I used to keep the floor clean at grandma’s just with simple everyday techniques.

She would always say with her voice so full of wisdom…

“If you want to always see its beauty… love, caring, consistent and correct maintenance will insure it remains that way my dear!

Suddenly I remembered all her wisdom…

DIRT AND GRID... I knew that dirt, grit and sand would be my worst enemies, these tiny particles act as sandpaper on the finish, causing horrible scratches, dents and dulling, so the solution was to place nice floor mats at entrances to trap all the dirt in order to prevent future damage.

By the way, avoid using rubber-backed or non-ventilated mats or rugs because they can damage your floor.

Always use mats or rugs made especially for hardwood floors and shake them out at least twice a week. In addition to entryways, place mats in any areas of heavy traffic and where water may be splashed, such as near the kitchen and the bathroom sinks.

SPILLS… Impossible to avoid them with a family… so I would simply wipe up all the spills as they would happen. Try to wipe them as soon as possible, by leaving them on the floor you always have the risks of stains and you don’t want to deal with that.

HARD CLEANERS… Always use neutral pH cleaners or manufacturer-recommended products made specifically for wood floors instead of oil soaps, since they can build up and create problems when it’s time to put a maintenance coat on the floor.

Avoid ammonia cleaners because they will dull the finish and performance of your floor. These products will also affect the ability to recoat your floor later.

FURNITURE… Lifting and no dragging at all in order to move the furniture, definitely felt contacts under the legs would help prevent scratches.

SUN… Direct sun can unfortunately discolor the hardwood floor, so I would close curtains and blinds to protect from the sun’s intense UV rays… or window film treatments are recommended too.

REGULAR CARE

SWEEP... Buy a good quality broom and sweep your new floor regularly to pick up grains of dirt, dust and other particles.

VACUUM… With canister vacuums with special bare floor attachments are the best way to get rid of all the dirt and dust.

DUST MOP… Use a good 8″x14″ terrycloth mop with a rotating head that makes cleaning corners, under cabinets and along base boards an easy task with a special dust mop treatment and always remember to spray the treatment onto the mop head 12 to 24 hours before dust mopping… buffing can help restore the luster of your hardwood floor.

Depending on how much use your floor gets, you may have to mop it as often as twice a week.

DAMP MOPPING... If your floor’s finish is new and mopping is done correctly, the water will not penetrate even the oil and wax finishes.

Have in mind that you are cleaning just the finish, not the wood, so damp mopping is not necessary at all.

Since wood naturally expands when it is wet, never use excessive water to clean your floor.

Large amounts of water can cause the wood to swell and may cause your floor to crack or splinter.

Wood being a natural product, hardwood will expand and contract due to moisture level changes. Minimize water exposure to hardwood floors.

WAX… Hardwood floors should never be waxed, it will a film or residue and will definitely ruin your floor.

PETS… Maintain its nails short and well groomed, to avoid the scratches on the floor.

Well nothing like good all wisdom from Grandma to take care of my gorgeous hardwood floor…

I will relax now before everyone comes home… I want to contemplate my elegant floor and in case of anything to it… I shall remember those precious words…

“I can’t think about that right now. If I do, I’ll go crazy.

I’ll think about that tomorrow” but would there be a tomorrow… LOL!!!

Zulma Urrego