The key to enjoying your new hardwood flooring is proper maintenance. The one key procedure common to all types of hardwood floors and finishes is preventive maintenance.

Preventive maintenance:

Use protective walk-off mats at the exterior doors to help prevent sand and grit from walking onto the floor. Gritty sand is any floor covering’s worst enemy. Also, if your kitchen has wood floors you may want to place a throw rug in front of the sink to catch spills and splashes.

Install proper floor protectors on furniture legs. Protectors will allow chairs to move easily over the floor without scuffing it. Clean the protectors on a regular basis to remove any grit that may have become embedded.

Vacuum regularly. When the household carpets are vacuumed vacuum the hardwood floor – a brush attachment works beautifully. Do not use a household dust treatment as this may cause the floor to become slick or dull the finish. Simply sweep the floor as needed.

Never wet mop a hard wood floor. Excessive water causes wood to expand possibly damaging the flooring. Finishes are to protect the stain and face of the wood. They are not bonding or waterproofing products.

Keep high heel shoes in good repair. Heels that have lost their protective cap, thus exposing the fastening nail, will exert over 8,000 pounds of pressure per square inch on a floor. That’s enough to damage any type of floor covering.

Regular Maintenance:

Food spills should be cleaned up in a timely manner using BonaKemi Hardwood Floor Cleaner. BonaKemi Hardwood Floor Cleaner is a water borne neutral cleaner which leaves no residue. We do not recommend the use of furniture dusting products, oil soaps or other harsh cleaning products.

Shoe marks can be removed using a spot application of BonaKemi Hardwood Floor Cleaner and a non-abrasive scrubbing pad. Difficult marks can be removed using a “white” grade maintenance pad and cleaner.

Waxing is not necessary or recommended. Once you wax a urethane finished floor it is difficult to recoat the floor as the new finish will not bond to the wax. In addition, once wax is used you must maintain the wax and the floor. Preventive cleaning and a polishing buffer may be used to maintain your desired luster level.

Recoating:

Following these simple guidelines will help preserve the beauty of your hardwood floor for years. Recoating should be done when necessary - as the floor BEGINS to show wear. If you wait until the finish is worn off and dirt and spills have penetrated the wood the floor must be sanded to the bare wood. Recoat using a Pacific Swedish Finish from BonaKemi. When it comes time to recoat we recommend calling a professional hard wood floor contractor.