Antique Wood Flooring - Cleaning & Maintenance
You have a beautiful, charming, and very elegant antique wood floor in your home and you want to have it for a long time. The only way to achieve that is by looking after it and maintaining it properly. You may maybe wondering how to ensure your cleaning and maintenance routine is the proper one. This article will reveal all the best habits you can adopt to make sure your antique wood floor is well-preserved.
Fortunately, taking proper care of antique wood flooring is not as complicated and demanding as you would expect. While super light and super dark wood floors might be a bit more difficult to keep in perfect shape all the time, buying a high-quality antique wood floor with a beautiful pattern from a reliable supplier means you already have fewer things to worry about, because such floors tend to be durable and come with a great finish that is easy to maintain. Of course, we are not underestimating the fact that the proper installation of the floor is a very crucial aspect of its longevity and durability.
Once the floorboards are fitted correctly and there are no gaps, loose floorboards, or other imperfections that can occur due to poor installation, the whole flooring structure is more likely to last for many decades and not experience any significant problems. A proper installation guarantees that an antique wood floor will easily withstand all perils of modern-day living and lifestyle, no matter how busy of a household or commercial space we are talking about. However, installation of the floor is not the only thing you should be careful with when you want to ensure the floor is in good condition for a long time. It is worth it to ensure a regular and proper maintenance routine. Here are some helpful tips and ideas on keeping your antique wood floor in good condition and appearance for many years.
Antique Wood Floor Characteristics
To take proper care of your antique wood floor, you first want to understand it better. Antique wood flooring is commonly made out of aged wood that has been reclaimed for other purposes, more popular as reclaimed wood on the wood flooring market. Many sources can offer reclaimed wood and reclaimed wood can come in many different wood species, colours, and textures. However, reclaimed wood flooring is most commonly sourced from old barns or old floors. It tends to be not that easy to find on the market and sometimes a bit more expensive than your average hardwood floor.
One of the main reasons why people opt for antique wood flooring, besides its amazing old-world charm and character, is that reclaimed wood has already stood the test of time and is considered to be well-seasoned, which makes it very durable, lasting, and hard-wearing. This type of wood has already provided strong support as beams in barns, railway sleepers or old factory joists. Once in the right hands, these reclaimed wood pieces can turn into the perfect antique wood floor with so many wonderful characteristics and bring a lot of charm and elegance to every setting. To highlight the natural beauty and the characteristic and distinctive traces of age of antique wood flooring commonly used oil finish with an added UV filter that adds additional pliability and strength. To keep such a finish in good condition, all you need to do is gently wipe the surface with a dry and clean cloth or a soft brush.
Dusting Antique Wood Flooring
Wood flooring professionals will recommend using a brush with soft bristles to remove all the dust and dirt from the surface of your antique wood floor. Make sure to do this regularly, otherwise, small dust and dirt particles can act as an abrasive and leave micro-scratches on the surface of the floor. Alternatively, use the attachment of your vacuum machine that is designed for hardwood floors. It comes with soft bristles too and prevents the occurrence of scratches and marks. Invest in a high-quality vacuum machine that is light and more mobile. Place new mats near the doorways to catch the majority of dust and debris before it enters the house.
Mopping Antique Wood Flooring
Just like it is with any other type of real wood flooring, moisture and water are not your best friends and you want to prevent cleaning your floor with excessive water or other liquid, otherwise, you risk causing moisture damage. Whenever you are mopping the floor, just use warm water and a slightly damp mop. If you are not happy with the result, you can opt for a cleaning product. However, make sure the cleaning product is specially designed for real wood floors and it has a neutral pH that will be gentle enough to the finish and won't damage it. Whenever you notice spills and splashes on your antique wood floor, make sure to wipe them away as soon as possible. Letting moisture linger even for a few minutes can lead to swallowing, cupping, and ballooning of the floorboards and this, itself, can lead to more serious damage. Never use a steam cleaner for your antique wood floors as this will increase the indoor humidity level and can also cause some serious issues in the longer run.
Additional Tips for Antique Wood Flooring Care
There are additional small steps that can help you prevent serious issues from happening to your antique wood floor. First off, make sure to place protective felt pads on the legs of furniture pieces to prevent dents and gouges from dragging or pushing furniture. Whenever you are undertaking some home improvement projects, especially painting the walls, make sure to cover the floor very well to prevent traces from messy refurbishment, paint splashes, etc. Also, make sure to limit access to high heels and scratchy kids' toys inside the house to prevent scratching and marks. Finally, you can opt for placing area rugs and mats in all rooms and areas of the house that tend to get high traffic and heavy footfall.
