How to Care for Wooden Floors?

Wood, even when transformed into planks, remains a living organism. It no longer draws nutrients from the soil or wears leaves, but its life continues...

Without help, it will soon develop grooves, its "skin" will peel, and it will age prematurely.

What can we do to make the floor feel good and radiate positivity for a long, long time?

Would you like some tea? I'll pour you a cup and we can continue.

For a self-respecting woman, saving on cosmetics or using poor-quality creams after a certain age is harmful.

The same applies to wood floors, with the difference that the floor needs "cosmetics" from the very beginning—from its "childhood." Floor cosmetics include varnish, oil, or hard-wax oil, which are applied after sanding.

Let’s assume we have already oiled or varnished the floor. It looks exactly as we hoped, and we want this harmony to last. But how?

What Can Damage the Floor Coating?

The floor will maintain its optimal shape longer if we do not damage it through carelessness.

The number one enemy of aesthetics is deep scratches. Where do they come from? From the impact of sharp and rough surfaces—primarily chairs, tables, armchairs, and other moving furniture. Therefore:

Tip Number 1: Attach special felt pads to all moving furniture. These are sold pre-cut in various sizes, available with adhesive or nail-on backings.

Tip Number 2: Place a rug at the entrance.

If we walk inside with outdoor shoes (which is unacceptable by hygiene standards), we should try to place a mat at the door to catch shoe dust.

Dust on shoe soles has the same effect as sandpaper. Walking on the floor with dusty shoes essentially "sands down" the floor with every step.

This is an entrance mat. The inscription "Salve" comes from Latin and means "Welcome" or "Greetings."

If you visit Goethe’s house in Weimar, you will find the same inscription engraved on the floor at the entrance. Weimar is a small settlement by German urban standards, but it is full of culture. Besides Goethe and Schiller, many other geniuses have lived there.

Tip Number 3: Keep pebbles, nails, fragments of cosmic meteors, and other formations of unknown origin away from our floor. If we notice such things, they should be "wiped from the face of the floor" in seconds.

Pebbles stuck in shoe soles carry a particular danger. Look at the photo; you can almost hear the floor "screaming."

If you are wearing lug-soled shoes and a pebble gets stuck, an entrance mat won't help. There are two options here:

Either take off your shoes,

Or, if you can't part with your shoes in the room, remove the pebbles one by one before walking. Your parquet will thank you.

This avoids scratching and scuffing the parquet surface, as neither varnish nor oil can survive this "pebble nightmare" without damage.

Tip Number 4: Pay attention to the vacuum cleaner head. Make sure metal or plastic isn't touching the floor. It is advisable to use special attachments designed for parquet.

Tip Number 5: Less water on the floor.

5a. If liquid is spilled on the floor, do not delay; dry it quickly.

5b. Some homemakers think that the more water they use to clean the parquet, the better. There have even been cases of people scrubbing parquet with steel wool pans. (Even pans shouldn't be scrubbed with metal!) This is strictly prohibited.

Wood and water live well together only in one case: when the wood is fully submerged in water. In this case, wood lasts for centuries without damage—examples include Venice or Amsterdam, built on oak piles. But as soon as you take wood out of the water and the third element—air—gets involved, a deadly "love triangle" for wood is formed.

In practice, "less water" during cleaning means wringing out the cloth thoroughly.

Tip Number 6: The floor cloth must be soft. If the cloth has a coarse-fiber structure, it will act like sandpaper on the floor and, over time, leave an ugly mark on the coating. Use cloths with a soft structure.

Tip Number 7: Wet cleaning (with a well-wrung cloth) is recommended a maximum of twice a week.

Tip Number 8: If you use special cleaning agents designed for wood floors, the floor will maintain its charm and youthfulness much longer.

These agents are dissolved in cleaning water in small amounts; they not only clean but also restore the coating. Keep in mind that varnished floors need different care products than oiled floors.

Does anything else come to mind? Is your parquet varnished or oiled? I'll give you some cleaning agent to take with you. Try it out.