Make Your Hardwood Floors Shine

You have just installed hardwood flooring in your home. Now what? How do you keep your hardwood floors clean and shiny? Read the following Q&A in which two hardwood floor owners are asking just that.

Q: "I was reading your site and saw that one should not use oil based cleaners. Why? Our installer told us to use vinegar in water, and use a damp cloth to clean the floor about once a week. Will this damage the floor? What is a polyurethane cleaner? Where do you buy it?"

A: If an oil based cleaner is used on polyurethane finished floors, it leaves an oily residue on the surface which can not only make cleaning the floor more difficult, but after a period of time, when the floor is showing signs of wear and needs to be buffed and recoated, this residue can present adhesion problems. When cleaning any hardwood floor, or furniture, minimal water should be used. In other words, wipe with a dampened, not wet cloth. Adding a capful of vinegar can help and is suggested by the National Wood Flooring Association.

However, I have heard one floor finish manufacturer dispute this, believing the vinegar is too acidic and can break down the finish eventually. The absolutely simple and safe way to clean any sort of wood that is finished with a urethane is to use polyurethane cleaners which are manufactured by both hardwood flooring manufacturers and manufacturers of polyurethane. I use Squeeky Cleaner from Basic Coatings. Any hardwood flooring supplier near you should carry this or similar product. Also, Home Depot is a likely place to look, since they do sell hardwood flooring. This cleaner is usually blue in color, and is mixed 4 parts water to one part cleaner in a spray bottle. Mist some on a cloth and wipe. You can use this to clean any wood finished with urethane top coats.

Q: "We bought a beautiful old home with wonderful wood floors throughout which were installed in 93. They looked pretty good when we moved in two years ago, but now they look dull and mottled. Our cleaning person uses ****** for floors and some floor dusting cloth called ********. Could they be the problem? What can we use to get the shine back?"

A: There are any number of cleaners on the market, found in supermarket that say they are for hardwood floors. Your safest approach is to purchase a cleaner created by hardwood flooring manufacturers or floor finish manufacturers. This can be purchased (these products, as far as I am aware, are all basically the same) from local hardwood flooring retailers or a big box store that sells hardwood flooring. Best bet is the Hardwood retailer who specializes in hardwood. I use "squeaky cleaner" manufactured by Basic Coatings. See their web site: www.basiccoatings.com.

Mirage cleaner is another one.

It sounds likely that the cleaners being used on your floors are leaving some sort of film on the wood surface. This can create the situation you are describing and can make buffing and recoating in the future impossible to achieve due to adhesion issues.

To sum it up, your best bet to make your floors shine is to purchase a cleaner created by hardwood flooring manufacturers or floor finish manufacturers.

About The Author

Craig Mouldey is the owner of http://www.FaceLiftFloors.com. He has been in the flooring business for over two decades. You can find more flooring Q&A at http://www.FaceLiftFloors.com; webmaster@faceliftfloors.com

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5 Basic Tips When Choosing Hardwood Flooring

Timeless beauty, clean lines, strength and durability as well as the ease of cleaning and the classic look make hardwood flooring the perfect choice for your home.

No matter what your personal style is, there is a flooring choice for you because of the unlimited selection available. But before you rush out shopping for your hardwood flooring, keep these tips in mind.

Set a budget for yourself. Having a wide variety of flooring to choose from is great, but the downside is that it is easy to get overwhelmed quickly, and this makes you very susceptible to overspending. Remember to balance style with quality with your budget when you make your final choice.

Tip #1

You will be wise to match the room with your choice of flooring, whether hardwood or otherwise. For example, do not try to put hardwood flooring in a bathroom, due to the high levels of moisture a bathroom receives.

Tip #2

Different areas of the house demand different types of wood. For example, wood floors that have very light or very dark finishes typically do not fare well in the kitchen.

Tip #3

Choose a hardwood flooring that has an appropriate finish to match your lifestyle. A sitting room that is seldom used will let you get away with a lighter finish. However a hallway or living room will get continual traffic and requires a choice that offers a tougher finish that can stand up to a lot of wear and tear.

Tip #4

Consider installation - doing it yourself or having a professional installer do it for you? Many people successfully install their own flooring, but only after they have done their homework. It is often easer to hire a professional, but do you due diligence when selecting a hardwood flooring installer. You will want to be absolutely sure that it will be installed correctly.

Tip #5

Choosing the color and style of the floor can be the fun part. Choose a hardwood that fits your personal taste and your lifestyle. The comparatively high cost of the flooring and installation demands choosing a wood that will not go out of style quickly.

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Armstrong Hardwood Floors

Armstrong hardwood floors are a durable and practical option for your home or place of work. These floorings add beauty and style to your rooms, and make them warm and welcoming.

Stylish Flooring Choice for Your Home

Hardwood floors are sleek, exotic, are designed to suit all types of interior décor, and are available in a variety of designs and patterns. The major patterns include products with micro-beveled and square edges, domestic and foreign wood species, extra smooth filled-face texture and more.

Armstrong hardwood flooring includes both engineered wood and solid hardwood products. The domestic wood species used include maple, oak and cherry. Excellent quality and durability of this flooring product has made it the preferred option of homeowners and builders.

Major Advantages of Using Hardwood Floors

Armstrong hardwood floorings come in natural, warm and genuine colors and require only minimum maintenance. This flooring product ensures a natural and allergy free atmosphere and at the same time adds value to your home. Its cross-ply structure controls the natural tendency of the floors to enlarge and contract. Therefore these floorings can be mounted on a wide range of sub floors as well as existing floors including concrete slabs and wood floors. The installation procedure is not too complex and the entire mounting process can be completed quickly.

When you are planning to furnish the floors of your home or office with Armstrong hardwood floors, contact authorized dealers, who offer quality products and cost-effective services based on your requirements. Most dealers offer professional installation and maintenance services.

Worldwide Wholesale Floor Coverings - New Jersey Hardwood Floors - Come to our New Jersey (NJ) stores and find Armstrong hardwood floors to complement all styles of home décor. We pride ourselves on offering high quality hardwood flooring at genuine wholesale prices in New Jersey. Our floor installation specialists can assist you in installing hardwood floors.

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Cleaning Floor Hardwood Protection Tips

Purchasing hardwood flooring was the easy part. The next step, and probably the trickier part, is keeping your hardwood floors clean and protected. The key to success is to do a little….often! That’s right, constant and consistent care to your hardwood floors is the best remedy to keep them beautiful and long lasting. Setting a plan to protect and clean your hardwood floors should be the first step once you have your hardwood floors installed. Here are some good protection and cleaning steps you might want to add to your hardwood floor care plan.

Protecting Your Hardwood Floor

Protecting your hardwood floors is by far the best practice to adhere to in order to keep it around for years to come. Most often, “we” are the reason for the problems we experience with our hardwood floors, simply because we fail to take proper care of the floor. To ensure your hardwood floors remain damage free, follow the simple steps below.

1. Place doormats outside of all entries to your home in order to trap debris.

2. Place carpet rugs inside the entrances to your home to trap dirt, sand, and other particles brought into your home that makes it past the doormats.

3. Place carpet rugs around sink areas, work areas and high traffic areas to trap debris and protect your hardwood floors from spills.

4. Do not wear high heals on hard wood floors (or if you do, make sure the heals are not damaged)

5. Keep all pet nails trimmed to avoid small scratches on hardwood floor..

6. Use wood floor protector covers under the legs of all furniture

7. Never drag furniture across wood flooring. (place a small carpet rug underneath the legs to resist scratching your hardwood floor)

Cleaning Your Hardwood Floor

Cleaning your hardwood floors can be easy and effortless, as long as you are consistent. To ensure the beauty of your hardwood floors follow the below steps:

1. Sweep, dust, or vacuum your hardwood floors daily. Dirt or sand particles can easily scratch the hardwood floor.

2. Vacuum any carpet rugs weekly so that dirt or debris is not trapped below the rugs, scratching your hardwood floors.

3. Clean your hardwood floors weekly with a cleaning agent designed for hardwood floors.

4. Wipe up any water or other liquids spilled on your hardwood floors immediately.

5. Never use water to clean your hardwood floors.

6. Never use products that contain wax on your hardwood floors.

When protecting and cleaning hardwood floors, always keep in mind the old saying “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. Spending a little bit of time daily and weekly on your hardwood floors will result in you never having to experience the “big problems” found in neglecting hardwood floors. Set forth a plan, a good plan to protect and clean your hardwood floors and follow that routine. And remember, a little bit of effort goes a long way.

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Sealing Hardwood Flooring- Do’s And Don’ts For New Floors

After you’ve installed your new hardwood floor, you’ll no doubt be wondering how to protect it and keep it new looking. Should you apply a sealant? Should you wax it, leave it alone or what? Here are some tips on what to do.

Did you have pre-finished flooring installed? This type of hardwood flooring typically uses a process called acrylic impregnation. Prefinished flooring companies recommend that no additional finish be applied. Compatibility and durability of the finish can be a problem. Waxes and oils should be avoided- they may contaminate the wood and cause problems with adhesiveness when refinishing.

If you absolutely must coat the prefinished wood make certain to prepare it well, with either sanding or a deglosser. The finish will not stick otherwise. Additionally, when you refinish prefinished flooring, you can throw any finish warranty provided by the manufacturer out the window, since you just voided it.

For laminate floors, there is also no need to put any sealant on. Actually, do not put anything on top. It's perfect as is. That's the great thing about laminate flooring; it is already protected from scuffs and spills. Read the warranty and installation guide, and maintain them according to the manufacturers instructions.

Unfinished hardwood flooring is a whole different story. Preparation of the floor prior to finishing is critical here. The wood is sanded first, to smooth the surface and to open the wood pores up for better absorption of the finish. If at all possible, it is recommended you have a trained and experienced professional do the sanding; hardwood floors are easily ruined beyond repair by gouges and warpage due to uneven sanding. Thorough vacuuming follows sanding and sweeping to rid the floor of wood chips, saw dust and debris. Finer dust and oily residues are then removed with cloth soaked in special spirit-based cleaners.

Two types of sealers are available: water-based and solvent-based.

Water Based Wood Flooring Sealants- becoming more widely used because of the interest in healthier and more environmentally friendly construction. Some of the solvents used in the polyurethane and epoxy finishes face disposal issues, as well as health concerns over exposure to volatile organic compounds. Another benefit to the water based sealants is they are less flammable and some are even completely non-flammable. The downside is their greater cost, as they are not as widely available yet as the solvent-based types.

Solvent Based Wood Flooring Sealants- include polyurethane, moisture-curing urethane, and solvent-based epoxy finishes. The moisture-curing urethane type finishes are currently no as widely used, due to their high flammability and strong odor, which necessitates the use of respiration equipment during application. In their favour, these flooring sealants are very durable and tough, although on the other hand, this makes removing them for refinishing difficult. The solvent-based epoxies have much the same properties, although they do have a more preferable appearance to some.

The polyurethane finishes are probably the most commonly used hardwood flooring sealant. The balance between durability, cost and appearance finds a sweet spot here. Relative to other finishes, they are simple to apply and dry within 6 hours. However, they do have a moderately “solventy” smell and must be disposed of according to environmental protection laws in a safe manner.

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Hardwood Flooring Basics To Beautify Your Home

Hardwood Flooring Basics to Beautify Your Home Hardwood flooring can beautify a home like almost nothing else. By following a few simple rules you can install and maintain hardwood flooring that will look magnificent for decades to come.

With all of the many different types, styles and colors of flooring available today it can be a monumental task in choosing the right flooring for your home. Hardwood floors, laminate, vinyl, linoleum, bamboo, antique, prefinished, which one is right for you? Oak, maple, cherry and birch are popular types of hardwood flooring, but there are many others.

Cheap flooring or the wrong style or design of hard wood floor can clash with other home interior design features. But a well-chosen hardwood floor can accentuate and beautify almost any style or design of a home.

Carpeting has a few advantages over wood floors, the main one being softness when walked upon. But hardwood flooring can be accented with durable and beautiful rugs that have that same cushy feeling. So if it’s a soft comfy feel you’re after don’t think that hardwood flooring is not an option. It’s possible to combine the functionality of a carpet with the beauty, durability and shine of a hardwood floor.

Hard wood floors come in all different sizes and colors. And there are also many different types of wood grains that you have available to you. When deciding on the type of hardwood floor to install in your home you must first choose the color and type of wood. This is usually the most important consideration.

The color must be complimentary to the furniture, wall hangings, plants and other items that you intend to furnish your home with. But choosing a color of wood is not necessarily a straight forward and easy task. Different types of wood stain differently. Some wood flooring will stain darker than others, some lighter than others. So when choosing color you must consider the stain in combination with the type of wood floor you want. Do your homework and you will lessen the chance of installing a floor that has a different color and look than you expected.

Another major factor concerns functionality. A pine floor may look great, but pine is a soft wood that will dent very easily. This would certainly be a poor choice in a high-traffic area. When considering woods for flooring you want to install a floor that is long-lasting. Your flooring should last a lifetime and that means choosing a floor that will be durable, easy to keep clean and will continue to look new without a lot of labor on your part. If you are uncertain go with flooring that will be harder than you think is necessary. Hardness rankings according to the Janka scale can help you decide on which type of wood you need for the amount of traffic you expect to have.

The most popular styles of hardwood flooring are parquet, strip and plank. Parquet flooring is a series of wood flooring pieces that create a geometric design. Strip flooring is linear and is usually between 1 ½ inches to 3 ¼ inches in width. Strip flooring often gives the room the appearance of being larger than it actually is. Plank hardwood flooring is usually wider and is typically 3 to 6 inches in width. Wider planks may be used, but often have issues with moisture.

You must choose the style and size that you think looks most attractive. Take your time and view all styles, designs, sizes and colors of wood floors before making your selection. Once it’s installed it is not a cheap job to tear out and replace. It’s also a good idea to get different samples and lay them out in your home. Without actually seeing the floor next to your own furnishings and wall colors it’s near impossible to make a smart choice.

If you are interested in installing your own hardwood floor be sure you have enough knowledge and experience before attempting to do so. You must know what type of subflooring to install, whether it’s wood or concrete. You should learn about humidity and temperature and what affect they have on floors. To prevent warping it is important to keep your floors well-ventilated with regulated temperatures throughout the year. When the weather gets too cold it can cause the floor boards to separate. Before installing it yourself talk to some professionals in your area and find out what precautions you need to take that will help ensure a lifetime of satisfaction with your new wood flooring.

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The Differences Between Various Types of Hardwood Flooring

Traditionally, hard wood flooring has been viewed as the creme de la creme of flooring, because until the early 1980's if you had hardwood flooring, then to a certain extent you were considered wealthy.

Times have changed as has technology and this either takes prices down or up depending on the supply and demand of a product. In today's times, hard wood flooring can be found almost in every retail flooring store around. Hard wood flooring is generally sold in only a couple varieties, which include unfinished hard wood, pre-finished hard wood, and engineered hard wood.

Unfinished is the traditional product, which was bought in a couple of different woods, widths, and lengths. The tongue and the groove design was laid and then sanded to get a smooth and even texture on the surface of the wood. Once the wood was sanded, it was then stained and lacquered, which traditionally consumed a lot of time and labor. Time equals money and in the early 1980's this was a very expensive process no doubt.

Pre-finished flooring has been on the market for many years now and is the most commonly used hard wood flooring used in homes. This flooring is unique, because right after the manufacturer cuts the tongue and groove, he sends the wood through the finishing sander and then on to the spray booth where all the pieces are finished.

The time consuming labor processes involved in the sanding and staining or lacquering unfinished hard wood flooring have been replaced by machines, which can produce at a higher level of efficiency than the human hand. The installation of the pre finished hard wood flooring is a step by step process. This type of flooring makes prices competitive with other flooring alternatives.

Engineered hard wood is the newest product on the market and is quickly becoming the most popular. This product is unique since it is made from a new form of particle board with a veneer layer of your choice of hard wood on the top. This is then pre finished and sold in your stores.

The unique aspect of this engineered hard wood is that it can be installed in basements and cooler rooms that have a more type of moist environment where the pre finished and unfinished hard wood cannot be installed. Of course, the prices are slightly higher on the engineered hard wood, but the price may come down as supply and demand increase.

In conclusion, choosing which of the three different types of hard wood to put on your floor greatly depends on the look you are going for. Each product will give you a slightly different look in your home. If your needs are driven by economy, then there are a lot of pre finished hard wood flooring options available for you now on the market. If you are driven by the traditional look, then unfinished hard wood flooring is a good option, but if you are driven by technology and flexibility, then engineered hard wood is your best choice.

About the Author

Victor Epand is an expert consultant for home goods, home supplies, home automation and security. Follow these links to find the best hardwood floors, home supplies, and home automation and security.

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Hardwood Flooring to Suit Your Home

One of the most basic structures in your home is your floor. The floor reflects the personality of those who dwell within the home, and if you possess elegant and beautiful flooring, it will add warmth and comfort to your living surroundings.

Hardwood flooring is one of the most popular types of flooring available in the market today. Endowing homes with a stylish bent by giving it a shiny finish and old-world patina, they are always in demand. The durability of this kind of wood is an added attraction, and the material can withstand a host of different climates from mild to extreme.

While there are solid hardwood flooring that are available at rather high prices, most hardwood floors are built with an upper layer of solid wood, combined with lower layers of sturdy plywood and thick fiberboard. Together, these different materials lend the strength of their features to make it less expensive, but with a hardiness that will make them last for a long time.

There are also a lot of types of hardwood floors available. You can choose from pre-finished flooring that has already been coated, or the unfinished kind, which you will need to sand and coat yourself. While the former will take less effort to install, the latter will allow you to custom-finish your floors to suit your taste and home design.

There are a lot of pre-finished floor products available in the market today for do-it-yourself enthusiasts who prefer to do the installation themselves. These types of flooring are easy to clean and maintain compared to carpeting, and because they are made of natural materials, they are environmentally friendly, as well. This is the reason why new homeowners, or people who are fixing up an older home prefer this type of floors to add warmth and comfort to their surroundings.

Through the years, the panels may require sanding and refinishing, but this kind of maintenance is preferable and much more economical compared to having to replace vinyl tiles or carpeting every five to ten years or so. Hardwood floors are also a healthy option for people who have allergies, or have frequent asthma attacks due to exposure to synthetic materials, such as carpets. Installing them will lower the levels of potential irritants that can endanger your family's health.

When you are looking for quality floors for your home, cost is always one of the primary considerations. Instead of boring a huge hole in your pocket to buy solid hardwood floors, you can opt for refinished floors with a top layer of solid hardwood instead. This way, you spend less for attractive floors that are equally durable in style and quality.

Hardwood flooring materials are available at a lower cost, as well, particularly if you buy them wholesale. They are easily installed, and you can do it yourself to save on costs. If you require the services of a professional, such as a contractor, you can avail of a considerable discount if you but ask. While the knowledge isn't bandied about, contractors do give a marked down rate for customers who would like to haggle for it.

Emiel L. is the writer at Hardwood Flooring Advisor, where he gives tips on hardwood flooring installation.

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