You finally got your dream floor, and your place looks amazing with it. However, now the difficult part arises: maintaining your floor to make your investment worth it. Your floor can end up quite damaged and worn out over time, and you may have to replace it, but, while all floors have life spans, there are things you can do to make sure this life span is extended, and your floor looks just as good as the day you installed it.
Regularly Sweep
Sweeping the floor everyday is a quick way to keep the floor clean in the daily life. This is not very time consuming and you can make sure dirt and dust are kept to their minimum levels. The only thing you need to be careful with is the kind of broom you are using to sweep. If the bristles are too hard it can end up damaging the floor by cause scratches. Therefore you should go for a softer bristle to avoid marks on the planks.
Mopping and Vacuuming
If your floor allows use of water, you should mop it regularly with a warm damp cloth, which will keep the flooring fresh, and more importantly hygienic. Be careful that the product you use is recommended by the floor manufacturer. You also need to pay attention to how much water the mop absorbs, as if there is an excess of water the floor could get damaged.
Vacuuming is the more effective way to eliminate the debris and dirt you can’t get rid of when sweeping. In order to not damage the floor when vacuuming, make sure you use the correct attachment for the floor you have. Ensuring this means more effective cleaning of the floor. While you should sweep daily, it is enough to vacuum just once a week.
Refinish and Sanding
On some floors such as solid wood or engineered wood flooring, you have the option of applying a finish to the floor that gives extra protection and makes the floor look fresh. In floors with natural material, to avoid a worn out look, you should sand and refinish it every ten years to make it look brand new.
Tricks for Extra Protection
There are little tricks that can make the difference to the life of your floor. Once of them for instance, is to take off your shoes when entering a house, and especially high heeled shoes. This is not only important for the debris that shoes can leave on a floor, but high heel shoes can leave marks on it too and damage it permanently. The solution to this? Put on some slippers! Rugs can also be very helpful – if you put them under the legs of furniture, it will protect the floor from scratches caused by those items. Last but not least, use doormats at the entry point of the room, as this will lead to less debris since the doormats will work as filters.
As you can see, the secret is in small acts, but that can make all the difference and enable you to have a floor that lasts forever!
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