How to care for Hardwood floors

Posted by johnallanes on May 8th, 2013

When you install hardwood floors in your house, they enhance the beauty of your house. New floors are sparkling and shiny. However, they will always not remain so unless you opt for regular maintenance in the form of floor sanding and polishing. If you have solid wood floors, you can sand them very many times. However, if you have opted for engineered wood laminated floors, they can be sanded only once, that too with great care. When you polish a hardwood floor, it adds shine as well as a protective layer on the top surface of the wood.

This top layer on the wooden surface protects it from dirt, water, tea or coffee spills and stains etc. Floor polish can be applied alone or in combination with a wax that creates a long lasting shine than when just polish is used. You should always keep in mind the amount of traffic in the area before zeroing on a floor sanding and polishing method. A heavy traffic area could have rough floors that may require heavy sanding and more protective layers of polishing and wax, wherein a low traffic area could be managed with light sanding and a single coat of polish and wax. Depending upon the condition of the floor, you may decide upon the type of sanding which is required.

If the floor appears to be in a good condition you can just buff it up with some light sanding before polishing it. If the floor appears to be dirty and worn out, it may require some heavy duty sanding by the machines especially designed for this purpose. You can rent these machines from hardware stores that rent out equipment for floor sanding Sydney residents patronize. You can also buy different grade of sand paper required to sand the floor. Wear protective gear like a mask and goggles before you start sanding the floor. Move all the movable furniture out of the room and cover the remaining ones with dustsheets. Open all windows and ensure all protruding nails are back in the wooden boards before you start rolling the sander all over the place. After you finish the first round of sanding, use a vacuum to clean up the area and repeat after every cycle of sanding. After you are done with the sanding, apply varnish that will help to seal the floor. You can do up to 2-3 coats of varnish but make sure you give adequate time in between coats for it to dry. You can choose to do this whole process yourself or you can hire professional for floor sanding Sydney denizens recommend.