Care and Maintenance for Lacquered and Oiled Floors

Preventative Maintenance for Lacquered and Oiled Floors

There are precautionary measures you can take to ensure a long life for your beautiful new wood floor:

Door Mats

Keep a doormat both outside and inside entrance doors, this will remove

dirt and gravel before it is walked in, which will greatly reduce the wear on your floor. Ensure you clean the mats regularly to keep them effective at removing dirt and grit.

Furniture

Furniture legs should be fitted with felt pads to avoid unnecessary marks

and scratches on the floor. Regularly check and clean the felt feet and replace when required. Use castor cups to protect the floor from castor damage.

Moisture Protection

Mop up any spills; never allow water or other liquids to lie on the floor. Please ensure that any water that is applied when cleaning becomes dry

within one minute.

Cleaning Lacquered Floor

Engineered wood flooring prefinished with a lacquer gives it a smooth, easy-to-clean surface. With any wood product, it is wise to limit the amount of water that is used and we recommend regular vacuuming to control dust and prevent particles of grit from being walked into the surface. The floor can be cleaned with a well-wrung mop or spray mop system (recommended). Use a neutral detergent, maximum pH 8.

Please ensure that any water that is applied becomes dry within one minute. A spillage will not mark your floor if you wipe it up immediately.

Removal of Stains on Lacquered Floors

If you have a stain on the floor, you can try to remove it with a mild detergent (without ammonia) diluted in lukewarm water. Stubborn stains such as asphalt, rubber, oil, shoe polish, soot, chocolate and grease can be removed by washing naphtha, white spirit, or Turpentine spirit and water (50/50). Crayons, lipstick, Indian Ink, stearin and chewing gum can be removed by freezing with a spray, or place a plastic bag with pieces of ice on the stain. Then scrape off very carefully, being sure to avoid scratching the timber surface. Blood is best to be removed using cold water.

How To Look After Your Lacquered Floor

An effective maintenance program will keep the floor clean and looking great! The following information is designed to provide a starting point for such a program and is appropriate for both commercial and domestic floors.

Dry Cleaning

Floors should be cleaned daily using dry cleaning methods, such as vacuum or dust control mop, such as a standard anti-static dust mop.

Damp Cleaning

Soluble dirt should be removed by cleaning using a spray-mop system such as the Bona Maintenance Kit.

Additional Cleaning

Wooden floors can become scratched and dull over time and require reviving. This can be done by preparing the surface and re-applying a ready to-use solution.

Cleaning Oiled Floors

Engineered wood flooring prefinished with oil gives it a smooth, easy-to-clean surface. With any wood product, it is wise to limit the amount of water that is used and we recommend regular vacuuming to control dust and prevent particles of grit from being walked into the surface. Periodically the floor can be cleaned with a well-wrung mop or spray mop system (recommended). Use a neutral detergent, maximum pH 8. Please ensure that any water that is applied becomes dry within one minute. A spillage will not mark your floor if you wipe it up immediately.

How To Look After Your Oiled Floor

An effective maintenance program will keep the floor clean and looking great! The following information is designed to provide a starting point for such a program and is appropriate for both commercial and domestic floors. 

Dry Cleaning

Floors should be cleaned daily using dry cleaning methods, such as vacuum or dust control mop, such as a standard antistatic dust mop.

Damp Cleaning

Soluble dirt should be removed by cleaning using a mop system such as the Osmo Telescopic Handle with the Osmo Optiset Microfibre Cleaning Kit.

Additional Cleaning

Wooden floors can become scratched and dull over time and require reviving. This can be done by preparing the surface and re-applying a ready-to-use solution.

The Life Cycle Of Your Lacquered or Oiled Floor

Periodically it may be necessary to re-finish previously lacquered and oiled floors. Depending on the surface condition, the degree of sanding required will vary and in some circumstances, the floor will have to be sanded back to bare wood prior to oil application. Removal of all contaminates is required.

A hot tip: It is good practice to keep extra boards when your floor is first installed. This allows you to simply replace any damaged boards rather than needing to sand and re-lacquer or re-oil the damaged board.

Browse our timber flooring accessories for cleaning and maintenance products designed to help you get the longest life out of your beautiful Havwoods timber floor. Contact us at any time for more information.