FINISH
A newly applied finish on your floor may appear to be too glossy at first, keep in mind that as the floor ages and reaches its maximum durability that the sheen will not be as glossy.
MOVING OF FURNITURE
No moving of furniture for 3-5 days. Place furniture down, do not scoot or slide. Curing of the floor takes thirty days to cure well and hard. Take extra care for the first days until cured. When moving a refrigerator onto finished floors use quarter inch plywood or masonite to protect the floor, heavy cardboard does not always allow enough protection.
AREA RUGS
No area rugs, throw rugs or rubber backed rugs for one month, to allow floor to cure in all areas. Airflow helps the curing process.
FLOOR PROTECTORS
Aristocrat Flooring, Inc. has available “Scoot-N-Glides” made for wooden chair or table legs (& other wooden furniture-will not work on metal), to protect the wood flooring from being scratched. “Scoot-N-Glides” need to rest flat on the floor for optimum protection. If chair legs are cut at an angle, the glide can do damage to the floor.
SWEEPING
For maximum life and wear-ability of floor finish, keep the floor as clean as possible of all substances that can scratch floors such as sand, gravel, etc. This can be accomplished by daily sweeping or “dry mopping” with a “Mop kit”. “Mop kits” which include a removable/washable head and floor cleaner are available from Aristocrat Flooring, Inc. We also have static mop cloths.
MOPPING
Harsh and/or alkali cleaners may damage the finish and/or floor and should not be used. You should wait four weeks before using any liquid on your floor, only a dry dust mop at first. After four weeks curing of the finish, clean floors with a slightly dampened mop using one gallon of lukewarm water with one cup of white vinegar (or one part vinegar to 3 parts water). A small area at a time wiped dry as you go will give the best results. The “water/vinegar solution” will remove accumulated grease and sticky substances not removed by dry dust mopping. Remove food spills and other various liquids as quickly as possible with a dry or damp cloth or “mop kit”. If you don’t want to mix your own or prefer a fresher scent, we also have hardwood floor cleaner for sale with a fresh clean scent. If you feel that the normal cleaning is not enough, once every 6 months you could mix “Original Dawn (blue)-ONLY!, as you would to do dishes and damp mop the floor with it. Do not do it more often than every six months as it will cause alkaline build up and dull your floors.
AGAIN, WE CAN’T STRESS ENOUGH DO NOT USE ANY PRODUCT ON YOUR FLOOR WITH OIL, SILICONE OR WAX. Read the ingredients too many products say they are designed for hardwood floors but contain these ingredients. Do NOT use them! The shine of your floor should be from the finish ONLY and these products only dull the finish. They will increase your cost to maintain your floors. (example.. If you have “minor” damage to your floor -finish not shiny, scuffs in the finish showing, but the wood is not damaged below the finish you may be a candidate for a “buff and coat” which will bring the floors back to original finish at at much lower cost than a “sand & finish”.
SPECIAL CLEANING
To remove grease, rubber heel marks or similar stubborn stains : which might remain after a normal cleaning with “vinegar/water solution”, wipe with a cloth dampened very slightly with mineral spirits. Make sure that excessive amounts of mineral spirits are not deposited on the floor, (use rubber gloves). Follow up with a clean dry cloth to remove residue.
Wax, Silicone & Oil
Do not wax floors- no paste wax- Cleaners of any kind with wax, silicone or any oils should never be used on the hardwood flooring. Once the finish has been applied to the wood, there is a protective coating of finish over the wood, and these products will lay on top of the finish & shine for approximately 2 weeks & then dull the appearance and catch dirt. These products will keep an additional coat of finish from being applied. The additional coat of finish (buff and coat) will be needed from time to time to maintain your floors, and save you money in the long run.
*Think of it as a glass mirror! Don’t put anything on the floor that you would not clean a mirror with!
