Wood Flooring Advice & FAQs

Is Wood Flooring Hard To Look After?

If you choose the right finish and use the right aftercare products, wood flooring is not a high maintenance choice. Find out how to choose a wood floor that needs minimum maintenance and will stay looking good with just a little regular TLC.

Natural oak plank Broadleaf flooring laid in a bedroom.

THE RIGHT WOOD FLOORING finish

The first step to a low maintenance wood floor is a hard wearing finish that can be easily repaired or renovated if required.

Varnished or lacquered floors are initially hard wearing, but once they start to wear they are difficult to repair and cannot be re-applied without sanding back to bare wood. Oiled finishes are easily repaired or renovated but are not durable, and need regular reapplication to remain effective. That is why most quality wood flooring is finished with hardwax oil. A carefully designed blend of waxes and oils, hardwax oil creates a natural looking, durable finish for wood flooring that is easy to look after and to repair.

All Broadleaf floors are finished with hardwax oil, including those that we supply to high traffic commercial projects like Arcade Food Hall at Battersea Power Station or The Hoxton Hotel, Rome. Most are UV cured, which makes them even more durable and solvent free.

We also seal every floor we make with two coats of clear hardwax oil to protect their colour. This means they are more resistant and easier to maintain than options where the colour is directly exposed to wear and tear. We typically use a  natural looking matt satin sheen that just catches the light to add depth to the colour and grain, although other options are available on request.

Plank and parquet floors are both beautiful, but if you like both and don’t know which to choose, the following might help you.

Plank floors are quicker and easier to install than parquet, which means that they will be less expensive to install. They are also a simpler DIY option. That said, parquet floors have an undeniable wow factor, and create a feature all on their own. This is one of the reasons that they are such a popular choice for hallways, which can often be difficult to furnish due to their size and the need to be able to move through them freely.

Herringbone parquet is also a great solution for unusually shaped rooms such as L shapes or those entered from more than one direction, as the pattern works both ways, whereas plank floors tend to look better in one direction or another.

Plank and parquet floors are both beautiful, but if you like both and don’t know which to choose, the following might help you.

Plank floors are quicker and easier to install than parquet, which means that they will be less expensive to install. They are also a simpler DIY option. That said, parquet floors have an undeniable wow factor, and create a feature all on their own. This is one of the reasons that they are such a popular choice for hallways, which can often be difficult to furnish due to their size and the need to be able to move through them freely.

Herringbone parquet is also a great solution for unusually shaped rooms such as L shapes or those entered from more than one direction, as the pattern works both ways, whereas plank floors tend to look better in one direction or another.

THE RIGHT WOOD FLOORING AFTERCARE

Once you’ve chosen the right finish, follow these simple steps to keep maintenance to a minimum and your wood floor in the best possible condition.

Put a mat at entrance doorways to trap grit and dirt and keep cleaning to a minimum.

Fix felt pads to chair legs and castors under wheels to prevent unnecessary scratches.

Hoover regularly to take off the majority of  loose dirt and dust. This will stop it being walked into the grain of the floor over the top of the finish.

Wipe the floor regularly with a damp mop and a suitable wood floor cleaner (see below) diluted in warm water to remove any residual dirt

To replenish the lustre and repair smaller scratches in hardwax oil finishes, use our Wood Floor Wax from time to time. It’s very simple, and although not obligatory,  it will prolong the life of your wood floor finish and help keep it looking showroom beautiful as it ages.

When it comes to choosing a suitable wood floor cleaner, beware of those that now fill supermarket shelves. Whilst you’d be forgiven for thinking these are suitable for all wood floors, most are not. If you read the (very) small print on the back of the label, you will find that most are only suitable for floors finished with varnish or lacquer as they contain alkalis that degrade oiled, waxed or hardwax oiled floor finishes over time and make them less resistant.

Wood floor cleaners that are designed for oiled, waxed and hardwax oiled floors like Broadleaf Wood Floor Cleaner do not contain aggressive alkalis. They are made with gentler cleaning agents as well as natural oils that feed the floor finish as they clean.


 

If you’d like more detailed information and advice, read our full Flooring Aftercare Guide, or get in touch with our team of experts.

Wood Flooring Aftercare: Broadleaf Wood Floor Wax

Broadleaf Wood Floor Cleaner

Wood Flooring Aftercare: Broadleaf Wood Floor Cleaner

Broadleaf Wood Floor Wax

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