You have put natural parquet in your home, but you are worried about whether you will be able to maintain it properly so that you can enjoy for years the cozy atmosphere that this type of flooring offers.
The truth is that if you follow a few simple rules, you will not have any difficulty in maintaining the natural flooring.
General recommendations for caring for natural parquet
- Maintain constant humidity and temperature
Wood is a living material that expands and contracts depending on the temperature and humidity of the air. To prevent the curvature of the parquet, the first rule is to maintain a constant humidity and temperature in the room in which you placed it. And as appropriate, experts indicate a constant temperature of 20 – 22 degrees and humidity of 40 to 60%.
- Use a vacuum cleaner with a suitable brush
Always before wiping the floor with a damp (not with a wet, but with a damp cloth) cleaning with a vacuum cleaner. Use the special brush of the vacuum cleaner, designed to clean natural parquet, to ensure that the floor will be thoroughly cleaned of any miniature grit, pebbles or other hard particles that, when wiped with the cloth, can injure and scratch the coating of the parquet.
- Put soft “socks” on the legs of furniture
Be very careful when moving heavy furniture, as in such actions the parquet is scratched quite often. To keep it longer without scratches and injuries, “dress” the feet of heavy furniture in soft fabric, and if you have furniture with wheels made of plastic, replace plastic wheels with rubber ones.
- Do not use aggressive cleaning agents
When you need to clean the floor better, use a damp, not wet rag or mop and in no case do not use aggressive cleaning agents. There are enough specialized detergents on the market for cleaning natural parquet, so just focus on one of them and use only it.
- Put thick curtains on the windows
Exposure for a long time to direct sunlight does not reflect well on natural parquet. Therefore, it is a good idea, on days when it is quite sunny to lower dense curtains or blinds to take care of the durability of the flooring.
- How to care for natural parquet according to its coating?
We assume you know that according to your finish, this type of flooring can be varnished, oil-coated or wax-coated. This is the reason why parquets with different types of coating require different maintenance.
Natural flooring with lacquer coating is also called “sealed”, since dirt is more difficult to penetrate into it. However, varnished parquet is scratched more easily than floors with oil or wax coating. Routine maintenance of the varnished floor includes vacuuming and periodic deeper cleaning with special varnished floor cleaners.
One of the great advantages of varnished floors is that you can also clean them only with water. However, this is possible only if the varnish is not scratched, since after scratching under the varnish moisture enters and forms a gray coloring of the flooring.
To maintain natural parquet for a longer time without scratches and to restore its original shine, it is advisable to refresh the lacquer coating every two years.
Parquets with wax or oil coating do not completely seal the floor. The wax and oils form a fine layer on the natural parquet, thus protecting the flooring from dirt. Maintenance of wax- or oil-coated floors again includes vacuuming, wiping with a damp cloth and the use of special detergents.
To refresh the flooring with wax or oil coating, it is advisable to process the floor with freshly applied oil or wax every two or four years.
If you follow these simple rules, the maintenance of the floor will be easy, and you will enjoy beautiful and stylish floors for many years.
More info for maintaining natural parquet!
