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Cleaning wood floors is easy. Regular maintenance includes sweeping with a soft bristle broom or dusting with a dry microfiber mop. If the floor has beveled edges, vacuum with the beater bar turned off to remove dust from between the floor boards. Clean the floors periodically with a professional wood floor cleaning product recommended by a wood flooring professional. Find a professional in your area.
Start your journey to stunning wood floors today by booking a Virtual Consultation with our specialists, or call us at 908-232-6600 for immediate assistance and customized flooring advice.
Recommended Maintenance Schedule
| Daily | Sweep or dust mop |
| Weekly | Vacuum using the bare floor setting |
| Monthly | Clean with recommended wood flooring cleaner |
| Every 3 – 5 Years | Maintenance coat |
| Every Few Decades | Sand and refinish |
To keep wood floors looking and performing well for generations, follow these guidelines. Individual maintenance schedules will vary depending on use, wear and tear, and lifestyle.
There are other steps that can help maintain the beauty of wood floors.
- Do not use vinyl or tile cleaning products on wood floors. Self-polishing acrylic waxes cause wood to become slippery and appear dull quickly.
- Use throw rugs at doorways to help prevent debris from being tracked in and scratching the floor.
- Do not wet-mop or steam mop a wood floor. Water and steam can dull the finish and even damage the wood.
- Wipe up spills immediately with a slightly dampened cloth.
- Do not over-wax a wood floor. If a wax floor dulls, try buffing instead. Avoid wax buildup under furniture and other light traffic areas by applying wax in these spots every other waxing session.
- Put stick-on felt protectors under the legs of furniture to prevent scuffing and scratching. Replace these often as dirt and debris can become imbedded on the pad and act like sand paper on the flooring surface.
- Avoid walking on your wood floors with sports cleats and high heels in disrepair. A 125-pound woman walking in high heels with an exposed heel nail can exert up to 8,000 pounds per square inch. This kind of impact can dent any floor surface.
- When moving heavy furniture, do not slide it on wood flooring. It is best to pick up the furniture to move it and to prevent scratches.
- For wood flooring in the kitchen, place an area rug at the kitchen sink.
- Use a humidifier throughout the winter months to minimize gaps.
Frequently Asked Questions: Care + Maintenance
How are polyurethane or other surface finishes maintained?
Dustmop, sweep, or vacuum regularly. Always follow the manufacturer’s cleaning recommendations if known. When cleaning no longer restores shine, recoat the floor with a surface finish. The frequency of recoating depends on the amount of traffic. Never wax a surface-finished floor, and never use vinyl or tile floor care products on any wood floor.
How are wax or penetrating-stain finishes maintained?
Dustmop or vacuum regularly, and use a buffer to maintain shine. Always follow the manufacturer’s cleaning recommendations if known. If buffing no longer restores shine, you may need to rewax. If so, apply a cleaner and liquid wax specifically for wood floors. Apply the wax evenly, allow the floor to dry, and buff to the desired luster. Depending on traffic, a properly maintained wood floor should need waxing once or twice a year. Be careful not to over-wax. If the floor dulls, try buffing instead. Avoid wax buildup under furniture and other low-traffic areas by applying wax half as often as in higher-traffic areas.
How can I clean a discolored or soiled wax finish?
If the wax finish is discolored or has dirt build-up, use a combination liquid cleaner/wax made specifically for wood flooring. Make sure it is solvent rather than water-based. Spread the liquid cleaner/wax with a cloth or fine steel wool and rub gently to remove grime and old wax. Wipe the floor clean, let it dry for about 20 minutes, and then buff.
Can cleaning products for vinyl or tile floors be used on wood floors?
No. Never use vinyl or tile cleaning products on wood floors. And never use self-polishing acrylic waxes on wood floors. These waxes cause wood to become slippery and dull. In this case, the floor must be sanded and refinished.
Can a wood floor be damp-mopped or steam cleaned?
No. Never damp mop or steam clean a waxed floor. When cleaning a surface-finished floor, follow the manufacturer’s recommendations. You may generally use a dampened (near dry) mop to maintain a wood floor; however excessive moisture can cause damage as can steam cleaners. Water can dull the finish and even damage the wood. If water spills on a wood floor, immediately wipe it up with a clean cloth.
How can I prevent scratches on wood flooring?
Place walk off rugs at doorways to help protect wood floors from grit, dirt and debris. Place felt pads under furniture legs and vacuum/dust your wood floor regularly.
One-Coat Application of Natural Oil Floor Finish:
Rubio Monocoat Maintenance & Restoration
Cleaning
The oil finish can be cleaned with liquids once fully cured. Cleaning should only be done with the recommended Monocoat products.
Respect the curing period as note:
| Oil Plus & 2C Part A | 21 days |
|---|---|
| Oil Plus 2C A & B | 7 days |
| UV Oil | upon installation |
Prior to curing the finish can be dry mopped or vacuumed.
Once cured use one of the following cleaning products:
- Surface Care Spray: ready to use, non-residue cleaner.
- Natural Soap: concentrated version of Surface Care Spray.
The cleaning product that’s right for your floor:
- maintenance of the natural oil finish: Surface Care Spray and/or Natural Soap.
Restoration & Rejuvenation
Restoration or Rejuvenation is a simple process that can be carried out anytime. Most residences will do a restoration between 3–6 years. Most commercial applications will do a restoration between 1-3 years. The time frame varies greatly based on abrasion and wear.
The products for this process:
- Refresh: used to restore the texture of the finish.
- Universal Maintenance Oil: Protects and refreshes the color of oiled wooden surfaces and adds a soft satin luster to the floor surface.
Spot Repairs
Monocoat Natural Oil finish bonding technology allows local touch up of damaged areas or scratches
- Sand the repair area as needed to remove damage and expose raw wood.
- Dampen the area with water. Allow to completely dry.
- Apply with a cotton cloth, the same color oil that was used originally to coat the floor.
- Let it react for 10 minutes. Wipe the excess oil off with a cloth, dampened with Monocoat Oil.
For repairing minor scratches, follow the above instructions but skip sanding.
Woca Demark Wood floor maintenance: Do’s and don’ts
Helpful advice on how to maximize the durability and beauty of your flooring with proper cleaning and wood floor maintenance
1. Always soap your oil finished wood floor regularly
‘Soap your floor’ means mopping your wood floor with WOCA Natural Soap – a wood soap designed to clean and protect oil finished surfaces from dirt, stains and wear and tear. WOCA Natural Soap cleans and leaves behind an invisible layer of soy and coconut fats, which greatly help to ward off most anything. When used on a regular basis, WOCA Natural Soap makes your oil finished wood floor more dirt- and wear resistant and easier to keep clean.
2. Clean and protect your floor with proper wood cleaning products – and avoid common household items
It is important to carefully consider what products to use for your wood floor cleaning, as you can easily end up with an unwanted result if you use common household items instead.
The pH value in some household items is very high, which can strip the finish, discolor the wood and leave your floor unprotected.
Recommendation: Clean your wood floors with WOCA Wood Cleaner and various wood soaps, for instance WOCA Natural Soap, instead. These products are specially developed for cleaning and protecting wood floors in the most careful and efficient way.
3. Why is WOCA Natural Soap so important for oil finished floors?
Think of it like caring for your skin. You want a product that cleanses AND protects it from getting dry and cracked. Like a moisturizing cleanser, WOCA Natural Soap removes the dirt while creating a new microscopic, breathable soap film on the wood surface.
4. Use two buckets for wood floor cleaning
Simply imagine what happens to the dirt when only one bucket is used. Therefore, you need to use two buckets to properly clean the floor: one bucket containing the soap solution and a second bucket with pure water to rinse the mop. Change the water in the second bucket as needed. This two-bucket wash method prevents the floor from getting a greyish gleam caused by dirty water. Has the floor already been affected though, a thorough clean with WOCA Wood Cleaner can resolve the problem and remove the dirt from the surface.
5. Visible footprints on your freshly washed floor?
The problem may be an excessive dosage of soap. The content in our different WOCA soaps has been carefully combined to achieve a perfect texture and quality. So even though you think, you are doing the floor a favour, it is very important to mix the soap with water as recommended on the label.
Recommendation: Clean the floor with pure, lukewarm water (without soap) and the footprints will disappear again.
6. Easy maintenance of oil finished wood floors
Wood floor maintenance an oiled floor is now easier than ever. The solution is called WOCA Oil Care.
WOCA Oil Care can be applied manually without using a polishing machine. All you need is a WOCA Wool Pad or cotton cloth. The Oil Care dries extremely fast and the floor can already be used with caution after approx. one hour. WOCA Oil Care provides the floor with additional hard wearing properties in the upper pore layer, while providing the floor with a beautiful, mat appearance at the same time.
Please notice: WOCA Oil Care can only be used on areas, where the oiled surface is intact. If the floor appears dried out, WOCA Oil Care cannot be applied. In that case, the floor needs to be sanded and oiled once again.
7. Wood Cleaner reduces surface tensions
The use of WOCA Wood Cleaner can reduce surface tensions in any wood floor. Surface tensions are present, when a basic treatment or maintenance product do not penetrate into the wood. It is often seen with new and dried-out wood floors. A thorough cleaning with WOCA Wood Cleaner reduces the surface tensions, so the following treatment can be done with great result.
8. Vinyl- and Lacquer Care
WOCA Vinyl- and Lacquer Care leaves a microscopic, protective film on the surface and repairs the tiny scratches that cannot be seen with the naked eye. The scratches appear as mat areas on the surface when exposed in the light flowing through windows. WOCA Vinyl- and Lacquer Care can also reduce some of the severe wear under tables, caused by chairs being pulled back and forth, while providing the floor with a fine, mat appearance.
9. Proper cleaning of lacquered wood floors
If you decide to clean your lacquered floor with a cleaning solution with a high pH-value, this will slowly damage the lacquer in the long run and leave the floor unprotected. Instead, the cleaning must be done with a specially developed soap, such as WOCA Vinyl- and Lacquer Soap. This pH-neutral soap efficiently removes dirt and grease from the surface without affecting the actual lacquer finish.
10. Microfiber mops are not recommended
Many people believe that a microfiber mop is a great tool for wood floor cleaning. However, microfiber mops are mildly abrasive and will gradually wear down an oil finish.
Recommendation: Use a quality swep mop / cotton yarn twist mop instead.
11. Why you shouldn’t use soap flakes
Many people consider soap flakes to be a wonderful cleaning product at home for a variety of things. However, this product does not have a beneficial effect on wood. Soap flakes basically degrease and dry out the wood, while weakening the natural properties of the wood. Subsequently the risk of splits is increased radically.
12. Cleaning of oil finished wood floors
WOCA Natural Soap cleans the surface and contains soy and coconut fats that nourish and protect the wood creating a more durable surface. The floor becomes more dirt and wear resistant when used on a regular basis. WOCA Oil Refresher cleans the surface and has a bit of oil in it, which rejuvenates the finish.
WOCA Natural Soap and WOCA Oil Refresher work together as a system to clean, protect and revive your floor. For a durable, well protected, beautiful oil finish, we recommend mopping with WOCA Natural Soap on a regular basis and mopping with WOCA Oil Refresher approx. every fourth time or as needed.
Loba Care and Maintenance
Reliable protection is the best maintenance.
LOBACARE® products significantly prolong the life of wood floors. There is improved durability and wear-resistance. For every sealing system we have the optimal floor-care solution – for oiled or lacquered floors, as initial treatment or maintenance care and for basic cleaning.
Sets
Begin the transformation of your space now. Schedule a Virtual Consultation with our wood flooring experts, or dial 908-232-6600 for direct support and tailored advice to meet your unique flooring needs.