Home   About Hardwood About Laminate About HFO Gallery Do-It-Yourself Services Products Locations Moulding Concepts Special Prices FAQ Customer Comments Make a Quote Contact Frequently Asked Questions   Maintenance and Repair Questions Q. What can be used to keep my Bruce Dura-Luster® refinished floor clean? Sweep and vacuum the floor to remove loose dirt or grit before it can be ground into the surface of the floor. With a Bruce hardwood floor in a residential installation, use Bruce No-Wax Floor Cleaner. With a Bruce Wearmaster floor in a commercial installation, use Dura-Luster Commercial Cleaner Concentrate. Q. Is it possible to replace a single damaged plank? Yes. Q. Is it possible to repair a gouge in the flooring? Yes. A Touchup Kit is available at most Dealer locations and easily repairs most surface damage. Q. Does water hurt my floor? Wood and water don’t mix. No matter what finish your wood floor has, NOFMA recommends, never pour water onto the floor. While a damp mop may be used on polyurethane and other surface finishes in good condition, excessive amounts of water seep between the boards and into small scratches causing deterioration of finishes. Wax-coated finishes should NEVER be cleaned or maintained with water, not even a damp mop. Read the label. The recommendations made here are not intended to endorse specific products or brands but to serve as general guidelines in the selection and use of floor maintenance materials. Always follow label directions’for maintenance products, except for directions which call for using water on, wood. And always use only products specifically designed for wood floors. Q. What kind of Preventative Maintenance should I do? Preventative maintenance is a term more common to industry that to residential or office floor care, but its importance cannot be overemphasized. Good preventative maintenance lengthens the intervals between the major renovation operations such as re-coating, re-waxing and refinishing. Here are some basic,rules that apply to all types of floor finishes. Keep grit off the floor. Use dirt-trapping, walk-off mats at all exterior doors to help prevent dii grit and sand from getting inside the building. Throw- rugs or small sections of carpet just inside the entrances are also recommended. Dirt and grit are any flooring’s worst enemy and that includes carpets and vinyls as well as hardwoods. Keep door mats clean. Finishes and certain chemicals in wood oxidize and are affected by ultra violet light sources causing the wood and finish to change color and develop a patina or age. To avoid uneven appearance, move area rugs occasionally and drape or shade large windows. Put fabric glides on the legs of your furniture; they allow furniture to be moved easily without scuffing the floor. Clean the glides regularly since grit can become embedded in them. Some furniture may require barrel type roller casters as ball type casters may cause damage. Grey, non-marking rubber casters are the best. Avoid casters made of hard materials lie metals or hard plastics. Vacuum regularly, as often as you vacuum carpets; a brush attachment works beautifully. Sweep or use a dust mop daily or as needed, but do not use a household dust treatment as this may cause your floor to become slick, dull the finish, or interfere with re-coating. Q. What should I not expect when I have my floors sanded or finished? 1. A table top finish. Each piece of oak flooring sands differently depending on its grain type ( plain or quartered) making it virtually impossible for a completely flat surface 2. Dust - free finish. Since your floor is being finished in your home it is not possible to achieve a "cleanroom" environment. Some dust will fall onto the freshly applied top finish. 3. A monochromatic floor. Wood, as a natural product, varies from piece to piece. Remember It is not fabricated - it is milled from a tree and will have grain and color variations consistent with the grade and species of the floor selected. 4. A floor that will not indent. In spite of the term "hardwood", oak flooring will indent under high heel traffic ( especially heel’in direpair ). The finish that is applied will not prevent the dents. 5. A floor cracks between the boards, or within the parquet pieces. Although your new floor may start tight together, as a natural product it will continue to absorb moisture. This natural process will cause the flooring to expand and contract from season to season - resulting in cracks between some of the pieces in your floor. Some stain colors, such as white, will show the process more than others. Q. How do I clean my wood floors? REGULAR CLEANING Spills and tracked in dirt can be cleaned by lightly damp mopping the floor with a household sponge mop. Use clean water for regular sponge mopping. DO NOT over-wet the mop. Excessive water could damage the floor. In addition to cleaning with water, it may be necessary to clean with a mild all-purpose cleaner at least once a week. Basic Coatings recommends the following cleaners: Spic & Span Liquid 1/4 cup Mr. Clean 1/4 cup Parsons Ammonia Cleaner 1/3 cup Pine Sol 1/4 cup Lysol Liquid 1/4 cup Window Cleaners: Spray glass cleaners on a water-dampened sponge.DO NOT SPRAY DIRECTLY ON FLOOR (except for a heavily soiled area). Windex Glass Works Glass Plus DO NOT USE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING PRODUCTS, OR PRODUCTS SIMILAR IN NATURE: Fantastik Formula 409 Dishwashing detergent Powdered all-purpose cleaners Murphy’s Oil Soap Paste wax Endust, Pledge, or other dusting products. Future, Mop N Glow, Brite, or other floor polishes.