Once you have finished your home renovation project, one of the key concerns of anyone involved in upgrading their domestic dwelling is that your installation must remain damage-free even as it recreates a dream home feeling.
As you begin to enjoy the new changes to your home, you are likely wondering how you can best preserve and protect your renovations – especially if your addition is hardwood floors and you wish to keep their beauty for as long as possible.
As you might already know, every new hardwood floor needs proper care to prevent any damage regardless of the room in your home or the floor finish that you have chosen.
To prevent damage to your hardwood floor, there are a few tips that you should tend to and items to purchase in order.
Avoid scratches
To avoid and prevent scratches, you want to find ways to prevent sand, dirt, and sharp objects from coming into direct contact with your floors, as they can lead to deep scratches and irreparable damage to the finish.
Before buying your hardwood floor, you will want to choose a resistant finish. To find a resistant finish, you will want to look for a good quality hardwood floor finish such as Lauzon’s Titanium finish or a standard Aluminum Oxide finish. These finishes will ensure that scratches are less visible and will not leave a chalky trace if scratched.
Keeping the hardwood floors clean
After buying your hardwood floor, remember to vacuum and sweep your floors. We recommend taking the vacuum to your wood floor weekly, and if possible, try to sweep it daily.
When vacuuming and sweeping, ensure that you are using a soft-bristled attachment (on your vacuum) or a soft-bristled broom, especially in those areas of your home where there is a lot of traffic. Our suggestion is to avoid using vacuums with a beater bar or power rotary brush head. The reason for this is that those kinds of materials will damage your hardwood floor.
Using floor mats
Another way to avoid any damage is to place floor mats at entrances and exits as well as felt protectors or barrel-type coasters under furniture legs, such as the ones spoken about in Ruby Sliders Reviews.
Ruby Sliders are premium nano-weave felt pads that are glued on with industrial-strength adhesive to protect your hardwood floor from scratches and indentations that can accidentally occur during moving in and out of a home.
By attaching these floor protectors, you have the added benefit of gliding furniture across the floor in a more effortless fashion with less resistance.
Humidity issues
With hardwood, one of the things you want to look out for is keeping humidity at bay as much as possible. Wood is a natural material that reacts to fluctuations in temperatures. As such, you want to keep humidity and temperature at the recommended level even if you are not using your space.
Before buying your hardwood floor, choose your construction wisely. Manufacturers have developed different types of hardwood floor constructions that work well with changes in temperature.
Why you should consider Lauzon hardwood floors
You may want to consider Lauzon hardwood floors which are compatible with humidity levels between 30-80% and are ideal for basements, main and upper floors and condominiums.
Lauzon engineered hardwood floors are compatible with 35-65% humidity levels. Solid Lauzon hardwood floors can endure humidity levels between 35-55%, however, they are only beneficial in main and upper floors.
How humidity levels affect your floors
The reason you want to pay attention to humidity is because it can often cause your hardwood floor to expand. To prevent this from occurring, you should maintain proper humidity levels with an air conditioner, dehumidifier, or periodically turning on your heating system during the summer. Also, avoid excessive exposure to water.
Ensure that your floors are getting an adequate amount of moisture. The reason for this is that it can cause your hardwood floor to contract or shrink. To maintain sufficient moisture, try to maintain proper humidity levels.
One technique many use is incorporating a humidifier in your daily winter month routines. You may also want to watch your wood stoves and electric heat as these items tend to create very dry conditions in your home. When the weather requires that you use these items, make sure to use your humidifier to maintain the right amount of moisture needed in your home.
Lessen the effects of the sun
Last but not least, if your home has an enormous number of windows, that is great for taking advantage of all of that natural light shining in. But sunline beaming in on your hardwood floors can become problematic for the course of time in the form of yellowing.
To avoid these kinds of issues, be sure to choose a hardwood floor that includes a form of UV protection. In addition, make it a practice to use protective coverings on your windows that specifically block fade-causing UV rays and excessive heat. You can also rearrange your rugs and furniture from time to time so that you can help your home’s wood age evenly.
Story by Jacob Maslow
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