Maintaining Your Flooring

Hardwood is a living material that reacts to variations in humidity and wears naturally over time. If you maintain it properly and take a few simple precautions, you can keep it looking beautiful for years to come.
Cleaning your Flooring

The Teal Flooring finishing system makes Teal Flooring hardwood floors the best choice for easy maintenance.

All it takes is a few easy steps to keep your floor looking new.

1. Sweep or vacuum floor to remove any dust or abrasive material.

2. Spray a light coat of cleaner directly over soiled area or on your terrycloth mop cover.

3. Mop floor in a back-and-forth motion in same direction as strips. Finish one section before starting another.

Practical Tips

Although your Teal Flooring finish is more resistant to wear than any other competitive products on the market, it is not indestructible. By following these easy steps as regular preventive maintenance, you'll be able to enjoy the beauty of your floor for many years to come.

* Sweep or vacuum regularly to remove dust and any abrasives that may scratch the finish.

* Quickly wipe spills from floor to protect the wood from water damage.

* Place mats outside and inside entrances to prevent sand and abrasives from accumulating on your floor. Avoid mats with rubber or other dense backings that prevent airflow and trap abrasives and moisture.

* Place mats by the sink, dishwasher, and workstations to protect your floor from kitchen mishaps like dropped cooking utensils or spilled water detergent, or oils.

* Apply felt pads under all furniture and chair legs to make them easier to move and prevent scratching. Keep them clean and in good condition.

* Cover or replace any hard, narrow plastic casters with wide rubber or soft polyurethane casters.

* Protect your floor when moving heavy furniture. Turn a mat upside down and place a slightly smaller piece of plywood on it. Put the furniture on top and slide smoothly over the floor.

* Be careful with pointed objects like spike-heeled and sports shoes, especially if they are worn or damaged.
Note: After water and sand, spike-heeled shoes are your floor's worst enemy. This applies to hardwood as well as all other floor coverings, including concrete.

* Keep relative humidity in your home at about 45% (between 40% and 50%) for your health, your floor, and your wood furnishings. Wood is a natural material that reacts to variations in relative humidity, expanding and contracting as it absorbs and releases moisture.

* When humidity is high, wood absorbs moisture and expands, which causes cupping. That's why we recommend controlling humidity carefully with good ventilation, a dehumidifier, and your heating system.

* When the air is dry, wood releases its humidity and contracts, which causes gapping between strips. We recommend using a humidifier to minimize contraction of your wood flooring strips.

* Keep your pets' claws well trimmed to avoid scratches to your floor. Scratches are less visible on low-gloss finished floors.

* Although the UV protection slows and prevents most of the yellowing in certain natural wood species, it's still best to protect your floor from the sun's rays and intense artificial lighting, which can affect the color of your wood. The yellowing phenomenon is perfectly natural and more apparent in lighter colored woods.

* Occasionally move carpets and furniture and reduce harsh lighting to minimize discoloration.
Note: Changes in wood color are not due to yellowing of the finish, but rather to natural changes in the wood.

Things to avoid:

* Never pour cleaner or any other liquid directly onto your floor.

* Do not use a wet mop that may leave excess water.

* Some manufacturers recommend cleaning floors with a mop rinsed in warm water and vinegar. This is acceptable if the mop is fully wrung out and nearly dry before using.

* Never use wax, oil-based detergents, or other household cleaning agents on your floor, since they may dull or damage the finish and leave a greasy film that makes floors slippery, maintenance more difficult, and refinishing impossible without deep sanding and complete revarnishing.

* Do not raise or lower the temperature of your radiant floor heating system by more than 2.8 ?C (5 ?F) per day when turning the system on or off.

Can I wax my Prefinished floor?

We strongly discourage the use of wax on any prefinished hardwood floors with our advanced finishing system. Wax may dull or damage the finish and leave a greasy film that makes floors slippery, maintenance more difficult, and refinishing impossible without deep sanding and complete revarnishing.

Mishaps

Teal Flooring hardwood floors are easy to maintain. If an accident happens, these tips will help you preserve the beauty of your floor.