How to Clean Wood Floors & Maintenance Remember, like any floor covering, our factory finished wood floors will show signs of wear over time, depending on the size and lifestyle of your family. By observing a few precautions and setting up a regular cleaning routine and maintenance program, you can expect years of beauty from your Anderson floor. The following are examples of the reasonable and necessary maintenance you are expected to perform. They are not intended to be an exclusive list. Sweep or vacuum regularly since built-up grit can damage the surface of the wood. The vacuum head must be a brush or felt type. Be certain the wheels of the vacuum are clean and do not damage the finish. Do not use a vacuum with a beater bar head. Remove spills promptly using a soft cloth and cleaning products recommended by Anderson. Never wet-mop, damp-mop, or clean your floor with water or other products. This can severely damage the flooring and will void the warranties. Do not use hardwood floor cleaning machines or steam cleaners.

See section on Improper Maintenance. Use Shaw R2X Hardwood floor cleaner with a terry cloth mop. Always vacuum the floors prior to using cleaner. Do not allow excess cleaner to remain on the floors surface as this may permanently damage the wood fiber. Important: Do not use oil soaps, liquid or paste wax products or other household cleaners that contain citrus oils, lemon oil, tung oil, silicon, or ammonia since these warranties do not cover damage caused by non recommended products. Use of these and other such products will harm the long-term performance of your floor and may also affect its recoat ability. Do not use 2 in 1 cleaners with polish that may contain acrylics or urethane polish to restore gloss – the use of these products will void the finish warranty and may produce unsatisfactory results when not applied properly. Keep pets’ nails trimmed, and paws clean and free of dirt, gravel, grease, oil, and stains. Place protective felt pads beneath furniture legs and feet to reduce scratches and dents.

Replace pads as needed. Use a dolly and protective sheets of plywood when moving heavy objects, furniture, or appliances. Make certain furniture casters are clean and operate properly (a minimum 1” wide vinyl surface where it comes in contact with wood is recommended). Clean wheels periodically to remove dirt and debris. Remove shoes with spiked or damaged heels before walking on floor. Exposure to the sun and its UV rays accelerates the oxidation and aging of wood. best carpet cleaner with furniture attachmentThis can cause the stain and/or wood to fade and/or to change color. best price bosch cordless vacuum cleanersWe recommend that you rearrange rugs and furniture periodically so the floor ages evenly. best dyson vacuum cleaner 2015

Exotic species such as Brazilian Cherry are more susceptible to color change during the aging process. These warranties do not cover damage from the sun and its UV rays. Use area rugs in high traffic areas and pivot points (e.g., stair landings, room entries, etc.), especially if you have a large family or indoor pets. Maintain the proper Relative Humidity in your home between 35% - 55%.As you're cleaning, you may find deep scratches that go through the finishhvac duct cleaning brushes and into the wood. vacuum cleaner best for stairsYou usually can't make these scratches disappearauto express best leather cleaner completely, but you can make them a lot less noticeable. If your floor is as

light or lighter than the floor shown here, first wet the scratch with mineralA wet coat of mineral spirits produces approximately the same look as a coat of polyurethane. And on a light-colored floor, it might darken the scratch just enough tohide it. If that doesn't work, apply some wood stain to the scratch using a cottonBecause the scratch is rough and porous, it will absorb a lot ofSo begin experimenting with a stain that's much lighter than the tone of your floor and wipe away the excess stain right after you apply it. For best results, use two stain colors to match the light and dark patterns in the wood grain (Photo 7). If your floor has a high-traffic area where the clear finish is completely worn away, wet the area with mineral spirits to see what it will look like with a coat ofIf it looks good, clean the area thoroughly, apply a coat of polyurethane and give it at least twoThen you can buff and recoat the new polyurethane along with the rest of the floor.

Look out for ridges. The buffer will eat right through the finish down to bare wood at high spots. floor is colored with wood stain, you'll be left with light-colored strips where the stain has been rubbed off. Photo 8 shows how a solid-wood floor can buckle in high humidity. But smaller ridges, where the wood strips cup slightly or one plank sits a bit higher than the next, can cause just as much trouble. If you can flatten a ridge by standing on it, fasten it down with a finishing nail or two. If you can't flatten the ridge, you'll have to roughen the area by hand using sanding screen. And remember to avoid that areawith the buffer. Stains that have penetrated through the finish as well as the wood can only be removed by sanding. But there's no harm in recoating over them—if you can live with them.Bamboo wood is a popular choice for household surfaces due to its unique texture, color and durability. Bamboo is actually a grass which grows to over 80 feet tall in only five to six years, much more quickly than most types of hardwood.

Hardwood trees can take anywhere from 40 years to 120 years to mature. The best bamboo will be harvested every five or six years or longer, which makes for a more durable, hard and dense product. Bamboo plants are harvested and then the narrow strips (or slats as they are sometimes referred to as) of the flattened plant are laminated together under high pressure with an adhesive to produce boards. The bamboo flooring planks are then treated with hydrogen peroxide to eliminate any mildew and kiln-dried to at least 8-10% moisture content. Because it is such a dense product, bamboo does not respond well to staining. The process involves pressure steaming the bamboo to produce a darker variety similar to the lighter stains found on most of the other varieties of hardwood flooring. This is why the manufacturers of bamboo flooring provide a carbonized variety of the product. The hardness of bamboo ranges from 1180 (carbonized horizontal) to around 1380 (natural) using the Janka hardness test versus red oak (1290), white oak (1360), rock maple (1450), hickory (1820) and Brazilian Cherry / Jatoba (2350) - the higher the number the harder the material.