Taking Care of Your Wood Floor

Different coatings require different maintenance procedures. The cleaning/maintenance products recommended for one coating may damage a floor finished with another type of coating. Before cleaning your floor, confirm what type of coating it has. See below for detailed instructions for each of our coating types.

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General Care & Maintenance

  • Flooring should be one of the last items installed in a project. In order to protect the floors while other trades are finishing their work prior to final cleanup and turnover to the owner, use a breathable protective covering such as Ram Board. Do not use Red Rosin paper, as it may discolor the finish, and do not use polyfilm or other non-breathing coverings as they can cause the floor to become damaged from humidity buildup. Clean the floor thoroughly before laying the covering to ensure that no debris is trapped underneath. Tape pieces of protective covering together but do not tape them to the wood flooring.

  • Place walk-off mats at all entrances to help collect dirt and debris that could damage or dull the flooring finish.

  • Install felt floor protectors underneath all furniture.

  • In areas such as bathrooms, kitchens, and spaces where food service occurs, top-coating a urethane-coated floor will help prevent against moisture damage. In heavy food service areas such as restaurants, two to three top-coats may be required.

  • Do not allow people to wear spiked heels on the floor, which will damage even the hardest wood floors and finishes.

  • Pet claws should be properly trimmed at all times.

  • Work boots and shoes that may have pebbles lodged in the soles should be removed prior to entering.

  • Sweep or vacuum frequently.

  • All mats or rugs should be cleaned on a regular basis. They should also be moved occasionally to allow natural color changes caused by light to occur evenly in all areas.

  • Never wet-mop your floor, and always clean up spills and standing water as soon as possible. With water or any other cleaning agent, be sure to thoroughly ring out the applicator or mop prior to applying it to the floor. A damp mop is fine as long as the moisture is limited to an amount that will evaporate almost immediately. Moisture that is allowed to seep into the seams between the planks may cause damage to your flooring. Do not allow soiled mats or rugs to stay on the floor as they can trap moisture on the surface.

Cleaning

Floors Coated with Urethane:

Clean the floor regularly with Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner or Basic Coatings Squeaky™ Commercial Floor Cleaner. Do not use waxes, oils, oil soaps, or petroleum-based cleaners under any circumstances.

When it becomes necessary to refinish the floor, we recommend the top-coating and re-coatings systems from Bona (www.bona.com) and Basic Coatings (www.basiccoatings.com).

Floors Coated with WOCA Oil Finish:

One to four times a year, mop your floor with WOCA Oil Refresher. This will introduce a small amount of oil into the floor to freshen it and extend the time before a re-oiling becomes necessary.

If cleaning more than four times per year becomes necessary, use WOCA Soap. Please remember to still mop with WOCA Oil Refresher twice a year.

For commercial floors that require frequent cleaning, use WOCA Master Soap. The Master Soap is formulated to allow virtually daily cleaning without leaving behind residue, which may cause excessive buildup over time. Apply WOCA Oil Refresher three to four times a year.

Do not use ammonia or oil-based wax, polish, household dust treatment chemicals, abrasive cleaners, furniture cleaners or any other non-WOCA brand product to clean your floor.

Tough dirt may require using a solution of WOCA Wood Cleaner. When using WOCA Wood Cleaner, it may be necessary to re-apply more WOCA oil.

Light scratches are best repaired by hand rubbing WOCA Master Oil or Master Color Oil on the affected areas using a cloth. If necessary, first clean the area to be repaired with WOCA Wood Cleaner solution. Be sure area is dry before applying oil. Leave the oil to absorb for a short period of time before thoroughly buffing and then removing the oil from the surrounding area.

See the WOCA website (www.woodcareusa.com) for more details.

Floors Coated with Rubio Monocoat Oil Finish:

For cleaning, whenever desired:

  1. Surface Care Spray - ready-to-use, non-residue cleaner.

  2. Soap - concentrated cleaner that when mixed with water produces Surface Care Spray.

For renovation, when necessary:

  1. Refresh - Clear product that helps repair any textural damage or normal wear of the surface. In most residences needed every 1-3 years.

  2. Maintenance Oil - comes in all of our colors and helps repair both texture and color issues. In most residences needed every 4-6 years.

Removing stains:

  1. LimeSpot Remover - helps to remove lime from water.

  2. Grease Remover - helps to remove grease stains.

Do not use cleaners other than Rubio Monocoat as most of these will harm the finish.

See the Rubio Monocoat website (www.rubiomonocoatusa.com) for more details.