Cleaning

CARE INSTRUCTIONS FOR YOUR PRE-FINISHED FLOORING

Your wood flooring is one of the most durable products available.  Even when it has been neglected for years, it can generally be restored.  Wood flooring takes on a beautiful luster and "patina" with age.  We have included several general care suggestions.  Please remember that flooring maintenance is determined by the amount of use it gets, and therefore it may need more frequent attention than outlined.

The key to enjoying beautiful hardwood flooring is proper maintenance.

"No-maintenance" hardwood flooring does not exist.  Preventative maintenance will best insure the long life of your flooring.  This is the most important requirement for consistent beauty and the buildup of patina.

TO PROPERLY CARE FOR YOUR BEAUTIFUL HARDWOOD FLOORING WE RECOMMEND PROFESSIONAL MAINTENANCE. HIGH TRAFFIC AREAS MAY REQUIRE MORE FREQUENT CARE.

Periodic & General Light Cleaning:

For general maintenance, keep in mind that the main goal is to remove dust, dirt and grit.  The friction between grit and the foot causes the most problems with scratching.  By removing the culprit, your flooring will stay beautiful longer and require less general refurbishing.

As needed: sweep, dust mop, vacuum or wipe the floor with a slightly dampened rag.  A wide, soft, flat dust mop is the easiest and quickest to use for general dusting. You may place a slightly dampened rag under the dust mop for a general damp cleaning. You should damp wipe the floor using this method once a week with a diluted solution of 2 CAPFULLS of white vinegar to a gallon of water. Please be careful when applying water to any wood floor as excessive water could be damaging. Always clean and wring your rag to a slightly dampened state before applying it to the floor.

There are several vacuum manufactures with models and styles that are suitable. The unit must have a long hose and a wand with a pick up head that has soft bristles or horsehair brushes. Look for a model with soft wheels.

Your broom should be a soft bristle type and the dustpan should be soft plastic to avoid scratching.

 CARE INSTRUCTIONS FOR YOUR WOOD FLOORING

Food/Liquid Spills:

Food and liquid spills should be cleaned up in a timely manner using a cloth lightly dampened with clear water. The general rule of thumb is "clean it with a damp rag first". If the stain is oil based (grease) and will not wipe up with water, apply a small amount of liquid dish soap, diluted with water, to a rag and lightly wipe the area.  Wipe the area dry with a clean terry cloth rag. Use this liquid dish soap solution to clean small spots only, not an entire floor. Clear water spills will simply wipe dry. Please contact  Development Hardwood Floors, Inc. if you have any questions regarding spills.

Full Coat Maintenance

For normal use, we recommend that once every bi-year you have a full coat of urethane finish applied to your flooring. Flooring professionals experienced in oil finishes should handle this operation. Your Flooring Professional will have the machines and expertise to perform this method efficiently and thoroughly. We highly recommend that you use them for this Full Coat treatment. 

The purpose of maintaining your flooring in this manner is to insure that you always have the correct amount of finish protecting the color at all times. As with any floor, if you wear through the finish, you may damage the color thereby requiring specialized color repairs by a professional.

By request, we will, for a nominal fee, train you or your preferred maintenance people to properly care for your flooring.

Preventative Maintenance

Protect bottoms of chairs, tables, couches, cabinets, and any heavy object with either nail on or stick-on felt glides. These are available at most hardware stores. Clean and/or replace the glides on a regular basis to remove any grit that may have become imbedded.

CARE INSTRUCTIONS FOR YOUR WOOD FLOORING

We strongly recommend that you use doormats in front of your main doors, back doors, garage doors, etc.--especially in those places where dirt is easily tracked onto the flooring.  Gritty dirt is your finishes’ worst enemy. Area rugs are suggested for especially heavy traffic areas such as in front of the sinks and in hallways.

Keep high heel shoes in good repair.  Heels that have lost their protective cap, and that have an exposed fastening nail, will exert over 10,000 pounds of pressure per square inch on your flooring with each step!  This is hard to believe but tested to be true. This is enough pressure to damage hardened concrete. The result of a person walking on any hardwood floor with an exposed nail head is little dents wherever they have walked.

We are including a few tips on what NOT to do:

Do not use excessive water on your flooring. 

Do not use commercial waxes bought at the grocery store as they contain fillers, which will build up and:

·         Reduce the beauty of the wood

·         Create excessive maintenance.

·         Are known to create a dangerously slippery surface when damp or with wet shoes.

Do not use an ammonia-based solution to clean your floor.

Do not use treated dust mops as these can dull the flooring and adversely affect the finish.

Do not use Endust, Pledge, commercially made hardwood floor cleaners or other dust collecting and finish cleaning solutions as they can make wood flooring dangerously slippery or cloud the finish.

Do not drag furniture or heavy objects across any wood flooring. 

Do not drag a vacuum with hard plastic wheels across any hardwood floor.

Do not use a hard bristle broom or metal edged dustpan.

DO NOT HESITATE TO CALL US.

 Our goal is to provide you with the finest flooring available--flooring you will enjoy and are proud to own for many years to come.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR BUSINESS

Development Hardwood Floors, Inc.

(650) 401-8361

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