Hardwood Floor: Types and tips for cleaning and maintaining them
Posted on 09. Jul, 2009 by Contemporati in Bedroom, Dining Room, Home Office, Interior Design, Living Room
| Huge 72% Off Hardwood Flooring Elegant Floors. Warm Natural Rich Tones. Low $1.84sf! Buy Now & Save. www.SimpleFloors.com/saveshipping |
Hardwood floor is a type of floor made from the timber of hardwoods. Originally, Hardwood floor is usually unfinished, needs to be sanded after installation, and then finished on site but nowadays; the product is pre-finished in a factory.
Hardwood floors can be categorized into 2 categories. Types of Hardwood Floor
- Solid Hardwood Floor
This type of hardwood floor can be installed with a nail-down installation. One drawback with this type of floor is that it is very susceptible to the effects of moisture and temperature because hardwoods tend to expand and contract with moisture and temperature changes. This type of hardwood floor is not recommended to be installed over a concrete slab because hardwoods expand and contract in the width of the grain. A solid hardwood floor provides long lasting extraordinary beauty, durability, service and flexibility. It may initially cost a little more, but, solid hardwood floor can be refinished for changing tastes or excessive wear.
- Engineered Hardwood Floor
The engineered hardwood method uses layers of hardwood rather than having one solid piece of hardwood. In solid hardwood, since all the grain runs in the same direction, it does not have dimensional stability. This is the reason why engineered hardwood can be glued directly to concrete, as opposed to solid hardwood which cannot. Pertaining to this the engineered hardwood floors are gaining more popularity than the traditional solid hardwood floor.
Hardwood Floor Finishing
Finishing of Hardwood floor will decide how the outcome of the floor will be. Sanding can be used for smoothing out an installed floor as it can compensate for unevenness of the sub-floor. Additionally, sanding is used to renew the appearance of older floors, giving them shine and lustre. More contemporary, wood refinishing is a less costly alternative to refinish wood floors.
Care and Cleaning of Hardwood Floors
Following are a few measures which will make your hardwood floor look better and last longer.
Hardwood floor cleaning is essential to keep your floor shiny, beautiful and scratch free. Hardwood floors cost a good amount of money but they add to the value of your home, so it’s wise to take care of them properly. Hardwood floors are non-toxic. Since they do not trap any allergens such as mould spores and dust, simple maintenance keeps it looking great and allergen-free.
To maintain the cleanliness of a wood floor, vacuuming, sweeping, and damp mopping is usually all that is required. How many times an engineered hardwood needs to be refinished depends on what you perceive as needing refinishing. Minor scratches and dents add to the character of hardwood floor and you do not have to refinish it. For perfection and a flawless appearance, your floors may need refinishing every five years.
- Avoid scratches to your hardwood floor- Scratches on a hardwood floor can prove just as damaging as on a record. To avoid this, the dirt and sand should be kept off the floors. Simply using a bristled broom to remove the dirt from the floor will prevent it from getting scratched with dirt and sand.
- Better cleaning for a deeper shine- Other than sweeping, hardwood floor cleaning requires some deeper cleaning as well. For this, hardwood-floor-cleaning-specific products like hardwood floor cleaner should be used. This keeps the wood healthy and vibrant, making it last even longer.
- Deepest clean for damaged wood- For damaged Hardwood floors, screening is one way to bring them back to their splendor. By abrading the polyurethane finish of the floor, and then applying fresh coats of urethane, screening and re-coating will bring back the shine and will also prolong the life of your hardwood floor.
The Hardwood Floor has an aesthetic value in them. It looks attractive and more appealing than the other alternative floor. If you are ready to shell out some extra money, then the best floor option for you is hardwood floor.
