When the dust settles, and renovations are done, you want to sit back, relax and enjoy your new rooms. You also want to keep them looking as new as possible. For your new wood floors, that means minimizing dirt, dust, and scratches to your flooring. Initially, you might be hypervigilant and make everyone take their shoes off, allow no food in the room, and constantly check it for scratches. If you practice proper maintenance, you can relax a little more. Here are some tips to care for your new wood floors.
Dust Control
One issue that is important is proper dust control. If you have the windows open, then dust and pollen can enter the room and collect on the floor. Pets can leave hair and dander, as well as young children and those with long hair. Running over the floor with a dust mop can help reduce build up. If there are several pets or it is a high traffic room, you can run the dust mop over the floor once a day. It will depend on your personal preference.
Shoe Awareness
Another concern is scratch marks or scuffs from shoes, especially those with high heels. One way to combat this is to not allow high heels in the room or just to have everyone remove their shoes when they enter your home. If people are not interested in bare feet on the floor, you could have some sort of disposable slipper available for them or have a personal slipper for them that you keep when they leave.
Temperature
One thing that can affect your floor is if there are large temperature variances within the room or changes with humidity. Most rooms do not have this issue as they are kept between 60 to 80 degrees, but it is something to consider. As wood gets cold or warm, it will contract or expand. These changes in the wood can make the floor buckle, crack or create spaces between the planks.
Furniture
One other area of concern for a new floor is the furniture being placed or moved back into the room. The biggest concern is scratching the wood. There are a few ideas that you can use to reduce the incidence of scratches. One would be to place the furniture on a carpeted piece of floor. Another choice is to purchase furniture sliders. These will be pieces of fabric or similar material that will be placed under the legs of the furniture to make moving the furniture easier and allow it to glide across the floor instead of scratch.
