Care guide 1 min read

Wood Flooring Care Guide

How to keep a wood floor looking right. What actually causes wear, the routine that prevents it, and how to tell which finish you have.

Main cause of wear

Grit walked in on shoes

Cleaning

Sweep often, damp mop rarely

Never

Standing water

Structural warranty

25 years

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What actually wears a floor out

Almost all wear on a wood floor arrives on the soles of shoes. Grit is harder than any finish, it is dragged across the surface underfoot, and it cuts fine scratches that dull the sheen long before anything wears through.

That single fact reorders the whole care routine. Mats at every external door and frequent sweeping do more for a floor than any product you can buy, and they cost almost nothing.

Good to know: A doormat long enough for three or four steps catches far more grit than a small one at the threshold.

The routine that works

Short, frequent and dry beats long, occasional and wet.

Sweep or vacuum often

Use a soft brush head or a hard floor setting. A beater bar will mark the surface.

Damp mop, never wet

The mop should feel barely damp. Standing water finds the joints and opens them.

Use the right cleaner

A cleaner made for your finish. General household cleaners can strip an oil or leave a film on a lacquer.

Deal with spills straight away

Wipe rather than let it sit. Time is what turns a spill into a mark.

Important: No steam mops unless the manufacturer specifically allows them. Steam drives moisture into the joints under pressure, which is the fastest way to damage a wood floor.

Preventing the damage you cannot polish out

Scratches from grit are shallow. These are the ones that reach the wood.

Felt under every leg

Check the pads once a year. A pad with grit embedded in it is worse than no pad.

Lift, do not drag

One dragged appliance can leave a mark no maintenance will remove.

Wide soft castors

Office chairs are a common cause of damage. Use a chair mat or castors made for hard floors.

Move rugs occasionally

Wood mellows in daylight. A rug left in one place for a year leaves a visible outline.

Which finish do you have

This decides everything about repair, and it is easy to check.

Oiled

Matt and natural to look at, slightly textured to the touch. The oil sits in the wood rather than on it. Repairable in patches.

Lacquered

A film sitting on the surface, from matt to gloss. Harder wearing day to day, but repaired by area rather than by patch.

Quick test

Put one drop of water on the floor in a corner. On an oiled floor it tends to darken the wood slightly. On a lacquered floor it beads on the surface.

Our recommendation: Follow the care guide for your finish rather than a general one. Using an oil care product on a lacquered floor leaves a film, and using a lacquer cleaner on an oiled floor strips it.

How care relates to the guarantee

Our floors carry a 25 year structural warranty against delamination and structural failure under normal domestic use and correct installation. It does not cover surface wear from grit, water damage or fitting errors. Those three are exactly what the routine above prevents, which is the practical reason to bother with it.

Which finish do you have?

Oiled and lacquered floors are cleaned and repaired in completely different ways. Pick yours and follow the right routine.

Oiled wood care Lacquered wood care

Care guide Oiled Wood Care Guide Care guide Lacquered Wood Care Guide Care guide How to Clean Wood Flooring Properly

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