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How to Look After Your Engineered Wooden Flooring

If you’ve just installed your brand new engineered wooden flooring, you’re probably really impressed by how amazing it looks and you’re wondering how to keep it looking that way.

One advantage that engineered flooring has over solid wood is that it isn’t as prone to the expansion and contraction that causes warping in solid wooden floors. This is one thing you don’t have to worry about, but you do need to take good care of the top layer, which is actually timber.

You should have had care advice and instruction from your supplier, especially if you ordered it from Doorstore, who specialise in engineered flooring. Here’s a rapid rundown of the major points for you.

Keep your engineered floor dry

Of course, an engineered floor will handle the wet stuff much better than a solid floor will – that’s one of the things it’s designed to do. This doesn’t mean it should be soaked on a regular basis, though. When you’re cleaning it, you should only use minimal amounts of water – a damp mop rather than a wet one – and always clean up spills as soon as you see them.

Dents and scratches

Sadly, they’re unavoidable, but you can keep this sort of damage to a minimum by taking of stiletto heels and not allowing sand, grit or dirt to linger for long. Place felt pads under table and chair legs and don’t allow dust to build up, as this can be ground into the surface as people walk on it. Doormats inside and out are a really good idea, as is removing all shoes, not just heels.

You should also sweep, mop or vacuum regularly to remove the almost-invisible particles of dust or small spills that could affect the surface without your realising.

If the worst comes to the worst, you can always sand and re-finish, but as the timber on most engineered boards is only 3-6mm thick, you can’t keep doing this, so prevention is always best.

Stains and spillages

You should clean up spills as soon as you notice them. Water or other liquids can soak into the timber layer, causing warping, and some liquids, like ink, blood and wine can stain if they linger for too long.

If the floor is lacquered or has another finish, then this offers some protection and some types of coating harden with time. However, you should be on the look-out for the lacquer wearing off and be ready to add another coat if necessary.

If your floor is lacquered then you should use a lacquer soap on it immediately after installation, as this speeds up the hardening. After this initial cleaning, you can use wood and lacquer cleaner.

Take good care of your floor and it’ll last for years

If you take care of your engineered wooden floor right from the start, then it will stay looking good for decades and always provide a warm welcome to you whenever you come home. Think ahead and prevent damage and it’ll be low-maintenance as well.

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