What Damages Your Wood Floor?
What Damages Your Wood Floor?
The natural charm and elegance of wood floors is undeniable. The different wood species, with their unique hues and grain patterns, add to the décor of the indoor space. Moreover, the numerous range of wood stains and lacquers available means that you can tweak the final result to suit your particular style preferences. However, over time this beauty of the wood floor comes under attack. Sure, the wood tissue itself is strong by nature, but that does not mean it is invincible. The wear and tear from everyday life can take a toll on the wood floor, with the effect being accelerated when the routine care and maintenance is neglected. Let’s look at some of the issues that contribute to the deterioration of the floor:
- Excessive sunlight
The sun’s radiation isn’t just a threat to your skin. Your wood floor can also be affected. When they get too much direct sunlight, then the wood tissue can dull and get discoloured. The effect will depend on the particular wood species, since there are those that will fade and others will become darker. The kind of treatment also used matters – such as the yellowing that is seen with oil-based polyurethanes that are used on the wood floor. You can mitigate these effects by having the floor treated with a water-based finish such as the Carver Omeg-Art Floor Lacquer which will not yellow over time.
- Pet nails
As Fluffy dashes around the house, the claws will be drawn out to provide traction. Sure, the grp is needed for the pet to easily manoeuvre and take those sharp turns – but this will be to the detriment of your wood floor, due to the scratches that are created in the process. Here, two measures are key: applying protective agents like the Carver Omeg-Art Floor Lacquer to increase the resistance to this kind of wear; and regularly trimming the nails of your furry friend.
- Footwear
The choice of shoes that persons in the premises use will have a direct impact on the floor. Take spiked shoes for instance. These create scratches. High heels on the other hand result in the person’s entire body weight being exerted on a tiny area of the floor, resulting in indentations being made.
- Working with the wrong cleaning agents
One can’t just go sloshing random detergents onto the floor and start scrubbing away. The laundry detergents and popular DIY formulations like ammonia, vinegar-based solution and lemon juice cleaning solution quickly whipped up can damage the wood floor. The wood tissue is sensitive to the pH of the chemicals that will be used on it. You also don’t want to work with chemicals that will corrode the finish coats that have been applied. The lacquers applied usually have recommendations of the products that can be used for the routine cleaning tasks. For instance, with the Carver Omeg-Art Floor Lacquer, this is achieved with a diluted DETER PARQUET solution.
- Furniture
From the heavy sets resting directly on the floor and exerting pressure on it, mistakes like dragging furniture around the floor – they contribute to reducing the lifespan of your installation. Getting felt pads for the furniture, especially the heavy sets, as well as lifting and carrying the units when you’re moving them as opposed to sliding the furniture around the floor, will help protect the installation.
Other issues that you should pay particular attention include:
- The type of area rug being used
Here, you want to get an area rug that will be suitable for use on wood floors. There are rug backs that can cause staining or discolouration of the wood floor, and others will trap gases that ruin the protective finish that has been applied. When looking for area rugs for your premises, ensure that you get units that have been indicated to be safe for wood floors.
- Vacuuming with the brush or beater on
The brush of the vacuum that is effective in removing the grime from carpet’s fibres will easily create scratches on your wood floor. Most vacuums nowadays come with an attachment that is to be used when working on hardwood floors. Be keen on this when vacuuming. Should the hardwood floor attachment not be there, you can still proceed with the vacuuming, just ensure that the brush or beater has been turned off.
Protect Your Floor with Quality Finishes
Different formulations are used to add to the floor’s protection. Take sealants for instance. These can increase the resistance of the wood to spills and staining, preventing the liquid content from being absorbed into the wood tissue. Floor lacquers come in to provide a barrier of protection on the surface, protecting against the wear effects of foot traffic, corrosion effects from chemicals that wind up on the floor, and also contribute to the stain resistance of the installation. The success of the treatment methods that are applied on the floor is tied to the particular formulation that is selected, and ensuring that you follow the right procedure when spreading the coats on the floor.
When selecting a floor lacquer, there are various facts that are considered. For starters, what’s the desired level of protection, based on the amount of traffic handled on the premises? Here, one-component lacquers are suited to the areas with light foot traffic, while two component products like the Carver Omeg-Art Floor Lacquer can withstand the high traffic levels in busy establishments. Then there is the safety of the persons carrying out the floor finishing process, as well as the occupants of the building. This largely comes down to the levels of VOCs that are emitted by the product in question, where you want this to be as minimal as possible. With regards to the drying time, this determines the level of disruption that is witnessed in the premises. Water based polyurethanes generally dry faster compared to oil-based alternatives, with the former drying within the same day that the floor has been finished, and the latter taking at least 48 hours before light traffic can be allowed onto the area.