There is a lot of love for real wood floors right now, and indeed they never even seem to be close to going out of fashion. This is not without good reason: they are an attractive, hard-wearing and in some ways impressive addition to a home’s décor.

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Caring for real wood flooring properly, however, is important. This can be a little more work than it takes to look after some other flooring types, but is well worth doing to enjoy the many benefits of solid wood floors.

Clean and Dry

Clean your real wood floors regularly and thoroughly. In particular, make sure any spillages are dealt with as quickly as possible. A wet spillage may be cleaned up quickly and completely with relative ease, but a dried-on stain will be much harder to get rid of and may even require sanding. At the same time, avoid excessive moisture on your floors, as this can encourage warping and physical deterioration. Use a damp rather than sodden mop, and once again clean up any sizeable spills quickly even if it is just clean water.

Specific Advice

The tips given here should stand you in good stead for the great majority of real wood floors and ensure that you get years of good service out of them. However, it is worth asking your supplier whether there are any particular care tips they recommend for the floor you are installing. This can be especially true if you are taking advantage of the charms of reclaimed flooring, which you may source from architectural salvage specialists such as Wilsons Yard. You can find a range of salvaged flooring materials from various suppliers, including parquet flooring in Ireland.

Treatment

Real wood floors are usually treated to lengthen their life and protect them from things like moisture. Depending on the type of treatment used, this may need to be reapplied or “topped up” in the form of occasional oiling or regular treatment with a protective product such as wax. This is something to find out when first installing the floor, as it varies depending on the type of floor.

Physical Damage

Some basic care should be taken to protect floors from simple physical damage. Most notably, this means not dragging furniture across it, as this could scratch, and being careful with sharp or heavy objects.