Hardwood | Maintenance

Protect the natural beauty of your Hardwood Flooring...

Hardwood floors repay a little care with a lifetime of value. One of the main benefits of hardwood flooring is that they are low maintenance floors that require only a little more maintenance than sweeping or vacuuming on a regular basis to remove dirt. Cleaners are only needed when cleaning spills, removing scuff marks or major cleanings like spring cleaning. To protect your hardwood floor and preserve its gleaming beauty, there are a few things you need to do. Each step of recommended maintenance is simple, and we’ll guide you...

Prevenative Tips:

• For the life of your floors the climate in your home should remain between 60 and 80 degrees to avoid potential swelling or warping of the wood. This applies even when your home is not occupied.
• Dirt, grit and sand are your hardwood floors worst enemies. They act like sandpaper on the finish of hardwood flooring. This causes scratches, dents and dulling of the finish. To avoid this place floor mats at entrances to trap dirt and prevent damage.
• Hardwood Flooring is beautifully accentuated with area rugs but you want to be sure the area rug you select does not have a rubber or foam backed plastic mat as they may discolor the finish of the hardwood flooring. Use an approved area rug pad under all area rugs to prevent slippage and potential damage to your hardwood floor.
• Place felt pads on the bottom of all furniture to prevent scratches and try to lift furniture when moving it.
• Keep pets nails trimmed periodically to reduce potential scratches.

For cleaning be sure to...

• Blot spills and spots as soon as they happen. For tough spots, such as oil, paint, markers, lipstick, ink, tar, or cigarette marks, use acetone/nail polish remover on a clean white cloth, then wipe with a damp cloth. Always avoid allowing liquids to stand on your floor.
• Sweep, dust, or vacuum the floor regularly with the hard floor attachment (not the beater bar) to prevent accumulation of dirt or grit that can scratch or dull the floor finish.
• Bona Kemi brand floor cleaner is the cleaner recommended by most hardwood flooring manufacturers.
• For spots such as candle wax or chewing gum, harden the spot with ice and then gently scrape with a plastic scraper, such as a credit card. Be careful not to scratch the flooring surface. Wipe clean with a damp cloth.

While cleaning is easy, there are a few things to avoid...

• Don't use oil based, wax, polish, or strong ammonia based or abrasive cleaners.
• Don't use steel wool or scouring powder.
• Don't wash or wet-mop the floor with soap, water, oil-soap detergent, or any other liquid cleaning material. This could cause swelling, warping, delamination, and joint-line separation, and void the warranty.
• Don't use any type of buffing machine.

At Mercury Carpet & Flooring we carry a wide range of products to protect your floors including the approved Bona Kemi line of cleaners, Felt pads, Area rugs and approved area rug padding, and items to repair minor scratches. Damaged your hardwood flooring?

Depending on the level of damage, we carry touch up markers and pens for light scratches or dents. These are specifically made to coordinate with the color of your floor. For more extensive damage we offer free estimates for our professional repair services including board replacements and epoxy touch ups.