How to Care For Your Real Hardwood Floor During Winter

Using real wood flooring is quite popular nowadays. It is still considered by many quite expensive, however it is such a beautiful and long lasting option that many people don't blink an eye when it comes to using this versus a vinyl flooring or fake wood flooring. If you take care of your floor, it will last you a lifetime, which means that the return in your investment is back tenfold at least.

Carpets need to be replaced every now and then when they start to fade away their color. Not so hardwood flooring, which will be as shiny and fresh as ever after many years of wear and tear. Usually this type of natural flooring doesn't require too much maintenance, however winter is a special case and it is good to follow a few tips to get through this winter without a hitch.

One problem that wood floors might encounter is humidity as it makes it contract and expand when the humidity level is just not balanced. Winter might make the situation worse because of the very dry air in the home that is created by the central heating, which might cause your floor to start shrinking a bit. When you start noticing various small spaces between your boards you now know why this is happening. One thing you can do in this case is have a humidifier as well as a dehumidifier in the home, which might help prevent this floor shrinking or expanding. Try to keep the humidity level not more or less than 40-60% at all times to be optimal for your real hardwood flooring.

When you enter the house during winter, as well as during rainy days try to not drag in with your shoes or boots snow, water, gravel or salt as they will damage your floor in the long run. Have a rug or a mat at the door entrance and clean well your boots from snow before entering the house. Although salt is used a lot around the house to prevent slipping from snow, it is something that damages wood quite a bit and it's difficult to repair it once cracked and scratched. Also if there is too much water brought in the house with the shoes, it will make the floor warp allowing for gaps to start developing between the floor boards.

When you are entertaining guests at home you might feel a bit silly asking them to remove their shoes at the door, however what seems to work quite well (due to human psychology) is to leave your own shoes at the entrance. When people arrive and see the shoes out there, they will automatically follow suit and leave their own shoes as well. Try it, it really works.

Sometimes just taking precautions won't be enough in winter and you need to actually clean your wood floor. A few things you can do here is mop the floor with a damp mop (make sure it's only damp and not wet) and put once in a while a protective special hardwood coating on it. This will preserve the natural shine of your real hardwood flooring and keep it for many winters to come.

One of the best and most modern types of wood flooring nowadays is the bamboo flooring. Visit my website at engineered wood floor floor and read all about the various real hardwood floor types available to you.

Article Source: http://www.articledition.com

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