Residential Floor Care

Value Wood Flooring’s (VWF), floors are well manufactured using the latest technologically advanced, factory applied, U.V. cured, acrylic urethane finishes. With a high build finish, our floors offer a durable finish that repels most household chemicals and are extremely easy to maintain.

Our factory applied finish is compatible with Bona Kemi’s floor care and finish products. Bona Kemi is one of the most respected finish manufacturers in the industry and offers a wide selection of on-site finishing materials as well as a full range of maintenance products, all of which are readily available from your flooring distributor. For further information you may go to Bona Kemi’s web site at www.bonakemi.com.

For additional Maintenance Recommendations visit:
National Oak Flooring Manufacturers (PDF)
The National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA) - Caring For Wood Floors.

Although VWF’s floors are tough, they are not indestructible and can be scratched and damaged through improper use and care. VWF offers the following suggestions to maximize the enjoyment of your floor.

An Ounce of Prevention is worth……………………!

As with any floor covering material, a bit of preventative care and some common sense will go a long way in keeping your floor looking its best. Following are a few suggested “do’s & don’ts”:

Do's:

• At all entryways provide outside mats to keep dirt and grit off the floor. Inside, you may wish to consider using an area rug to further prevent the inside tracking of dirt. Remember, sand and grit will scratch and wear any finish!
• Sweep or vacuum as often as necessary to remove any loose dirt or grit before it can scratch the floor.
• When moving any appliances, heavy furniture, or other heavy objects slip a blanket or scrap of carpet, face down, under each foot of the object and then carefully slide the object over the floor. This will help avoid scratching and gouging.
• Use floor protectors on the legs of all furniture to prevent gouging and scratching. In addition, certain types of casters on furniture legs may damage hardwood flooring. The wide barrel type of caster works best. If your furniture does not
  have the correct type of caster, we recommend changing them. Floor protectors
  may be purchased at your local hardware store.
• Wipe up spills as soon as possible as water from spills can cause damage to any
  wood floor.
• To avoid excessive shrinkage, cracking, swelling or cupping, you should keep the
  relative humidity ideally between the normal interior range of 45% and 55%, but
  certainly between 35% and 65%. This can be accomplished through the use of
  a dehumidifier /humidifier and/or air conditioning. (Your local Radio Shack sells
  inexpensive combination thermometers/humidity gauges to monitor the relative
  humidity levels in your home).
• In areas of excessive traffic and wear, please make use of runners or area rugs.
  If wear starts to develop in the finish in high traffic locations, these areas should
  be periodically refinished. Re-coating prior to total wear through of the finish will
  reduce the need for a complete re-sanding and refinishing. Contact your flooring
  professional for their expert advice on how to refinish worn areas after reviewing
  VWF’s Guidelines for Refinishing Pre-fnished Floors.
• As the wood in your new floor ages, it will change in color as it gains its final
  character and patina. Certain species of wood, such as cherry, change color
  more than others. You should periodically move area carpets and furniture, especially
  in areas of direct sunlight, in order to allow the floor to age and change
  color more uniformly.

Dont's

• Do not allow dirt and grit to scratch your floor. Making use of entry floor mats and regular vacuuming of any grit and dirt that does reach the floor will help prevent scratching and wear. Also, make sure your pet’s nails are trimmed as these can also scratch your floor.
• Do not allow water to stand on your floor at any time. Water will cause cupping, swelling and subsequent gapping. Also, when mopping your floor or cleaning up spills, do not over-wet your floor, as it will damage the wood. Only use a slightly damp mop or rag/sponge when cleaning. Also, never use so called “oil soap” type cleaners as many of these are actually water based and soaking the floor with one is the same as soaking the floor with water!
• This is especially important with solid ThinStrip style solid wood flooring, as it is particularly susceptible to cupping when exposed to excessive moisture, either from above or from below.
• Do not allow the relative humidity to drop below 35% or above 65%, as this may cause swelling, cupping or shrinking related problems.
• Do not allow “spike heel” type shoes to indent wood floors, especially if the heel tip is damaged or has lost its rubber pad.
• Do not allow improperly padded or unprotected furniture legs to damage your floor.
• Do not use ammonia, pine soap, oil soap, chlorine bleach or any abrasive cleaners that might scratch or react with the floor finish.
• Do not wax your floor. On our factory pre-finished floors, finished with U.V. cured Acrylic Urethane, we do not recommend the use of any waxes, as these may make the floor slippery and dull the finish. Also, if the floor is ever waxed, it will be necessary to sand the entire waxed floor to bare wood before re-coating, should it ever need renewing. Left unwaxed, a light screening and recoat would be all that is required to renew the finish on an unwaxed floor.

See VWF’s Guidelines for Refinishing Pre-finished Floors for information on repairing, renewing and refinishing your floor.