Winter is Coming. Care For Your Wood Floors.

The changing of seasons can bring significant complications to maintaining your home, especially for wood floors. With winter just around the corner it is important to understand the care needed to properly maintain your wood flooring. While often overlooked until the damage is done, a few simple tips can help you better understand what it takes to keep your floors looking good year-round.

Humidity & Temperature

The environment has a big effect on the conditions of your floors. The drier the environment the more likely wood floors in Chicago will gap. No floor will appear completely seamless after installation, however, the extent of the gaps will largely depend on how you control the humidity, temperature, and moisture in your home. Bamboo is especially sensitive to its surrounding environment. Thus, it is pivotal that the humidity in your home stay between 30% and 50% year long—so be sure to have a hygrometer to measure humidity. If you don’t have a humidifier built into your system and you go out of town (especially in winter), you must take steps to make sure someone (maybe a neighbor, friend, or family member) fills your humidifiers. The temperature in your home should always stay between 66 and 75 degrees, which again, is important to keep in mind when you leave town. To avoid excessive heat in localized spots, it is important to use window treatments. This will also help to prevent excessive bleaching of your floors.

Floor Cleaning & Upkeep

While floor cleaning may not be your favorite activity, it’s got to get done one way or another. May it be you or someone else, make sure that your wood floor is getting the proper care it needs. First, do not wet mop your wood floors. A Swiffer is the one of the best and easiest ways to keep your wood floors clean. It is also important to note that some oil finished floors require periodic re-oiling and special cleaning products. Second, sweeping and vacuuming are a must but make sure the vacuum doesn’t have a stiff beater bar. Lastly, floor mats, area rugs, and chair protectors will help prevent excess scratching.

Life happens. All floors can be scratched and dented, but to ensure the long-term performance of your flooring it is important to maintain it!

Tags: bamboo , wood floors , floor maintenance , hardwood flooring , winter maintenance , hygrometer , humidifiers , temperature control , floor cleaning

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