Cleaning and maintaining your floor

Cleaning and maintenance

  • Cleaning and maintenance
  • The cleaning and maintenance of a hardwood floor is important to help prolong its life and look. Please
    download the relevant PDF's for Junckers or Kahrs cleaning and maintenance guidelines, alternatively a
    general guideline is detailed below.
Protecting and preventing damage to your new floor

Lacquered floors

  • Prevention
    • Place doormats inside and outside the front door to stop dirt and grit being walked in, which can cause
      considerable wear.
    • Put protective pads on furniture (not metal feet, which mark wood floors) to avoid unnecessary marks and
      scratches on the floor.
    • If you have a pre-lacquered floor in rooms where you know water is frequently spilled, we recommend that
      you lacquer the floor again after laying. This helps to seal the joints between the boards and gives better
      protection against water.
  • Cleaning
  • For daily cleaning, use dry methods such as vacuuming. When necessary, damp-clean the floor with a well
    wrung-out mop/floor cloth, the floor must only become slightly damp. The film of water formed in this way must
    dry within one minute.
  • For the best cleaning results ensure that your floor cleaner is pH-neutral (maximum pH 8). Do not allow spilt water to be left on the floor, particularly on
    Beech and Hard Maple floors, which are particularly susceptible to moisture. The frequency of damp-cleaning depends on how much the floor is used and how soiled it gets.
  • Eventually over time (possibly as long as 30+ years) your floor will so signs of wear and will start to look lifeless. It is at this stage that a lacquered floor will need to be sanded and re-finished, please consult an expert regarding this.

Wax Oiled Floors

  • Prevention
    • Place doormats inside and outside the front door to stop dirt and grit being walked in, which can cause considerable wear.
    • Put protective pads on furniture (not metal feet, which mark wood floors) to avoid unnecessary marks and scratches on the floor.
    • If you have a pre-oiled floor in rooms where you know water is frequently spilled we recommend that the floor be treated with an extra coat of Osmo
      Polyx Oil after laying. This helps to seal the joints between the boards and gives better protection against water.

    Cleaning
  • For daily cleaning, use dry methods such as vacuuming. To remove stains the floor can also be mopped with a well wrung-out mop/floor cloth, the floor must only become slightly damp. If done regularly adding Osmo Wash and Care to the water will help to clean and maintain your floor.
  • Stubborn stains can be removed using Osmo Liquid Wax Cleaner, just apply to the floor using a cloth.
  • If the floor starts to look a bit lifeless after a while revitalise it using Osmo Liquid Wax Cleaner. This can also be applied to specific areas (i.e. near doorways and in the main thoroughfares) without the need to do the whole floor. Apply the Osmo Liquid Wax Cleaner neat but very thinly to the clean floor
    with a lint-free cloth and then polish.
  • For particularly defined wear marks the floor should be given a new treatment of Osmo Polyx Oil, again this can be applied to only specific areas if
    necessary.