Our top 5 tips in cleaning & maintaining your engineered timber flooring for a lifetime of enjoyment.
Our Engineered Timber Flooring products are considered high luxury interior finishes, simply take some precautions and follow the regular cleaning and maintenance guide for your floors to last a life time.
Imperial Flooring Australia's top 5 tips on how to clean engineered timber flooring..
Tip #1 - Sweep or vacuum daily engineered timber flooring
Our top tip for how to make engineered timber flooring shine is to work at it a little bit every day. Sweeping or vacuuming away dust, dirt and debris frequently is not only the easiest tip for how to clean engineered hardwood flooring, but it will prevent these contaminants from being ground beneath your feet into the surface of the floor, creating scratches and causing premature wear.
Tip #2 - Use a recommended cleaner for heavy-duty cleaning
So how to deep clean engineered timber flooring? You likely received a recommendation from the manufacturer for how to clean engineered timber floors when your floors were installed. The important thing with any kind of engineered timber flooring cleaner is to test it first in a discrete spot to make sure the cleaner won’t damage the finish. We do not recommend the use of steam mops for heavy-duty cleaning. Imperial Flooring Australia's recommended floor cleaner is the Bona Timber Flooring Spray Mop . Standard & Deep clean formula's available to purchase online
"DO NOT use a Steam Mop to clean your Engineered Timber Flooring to avoid damage on the floor"
Tip #3 - Use the correct floor cleaner agent for day-to-day cleaning
For light day-to-day cleaning, the best way to clean engineered hardwood floors is to maintain the areas being most used frequently like kitchens on a daily basis if required. Our recommend application of general daily floor cleaning is the Bona Wood Cleaner formula applied with the bona mop or an equivalent system. Just be sure to use a damp mop or cloth – rather than something soaking wet – and to wipe up any standing water immediately. For best results, mop in the same direction as the grain in the floorboards.
Tip #4 - Protect high-traffic areas
One of the easiest ways of caring for engineered timber floors is to use rugs, runners and welcome mats in high-traffic areas like entry points, hallways and kitchens. These coverings can help prevent the grit on the bottom of shoes from grinding into the floor and damaging the finish.
Tip #5 - Refinish to fix major damage
Sometimes cleaning methods and protective coverings just aren’t enough to prevent a floor from being damaged. When your engineered timber floor has been scratched by someone dragging a piece of furniture across the boards, for example, you may need to sand and refinish it to restore its beauty. This option depends on the quality of your floor and its finish. While some engineered floors use only a very thin top layer that allows it to be refinished only once, Imperial Flooring Australia offers options with thicker top layers for multiple applications of light sands & refinishes. Depending on the floor and the finish, however, you may need to replace boards to avoid an uneven appearance. This is why we recommend saving some “reserve material” from your initial installation that you can use to replace damaged boards..
Other alternative options we recommend is a company called Konig Australia with applicators available Australia Wide that repair surface scratches & damage without having to replace or re-finish the floor
Conclusion
Our engineered timber flooring products are considered high luxury interior finishes. To ensure they last a lifetime, it's important to take some precautions and follow the regular cleaning and maintenance guide. This includes using a soft-bristled broom or vacuum with a hardwood floor attachment to remove dirt and grit regularly, using a damp (not wet) mop with a pH neutral cleaner for deeper cleaning, and placing protective pads under furniture legs to prevent scratches. Additionally, avoid excessive moisture and wipe up spills immediately to prevent damage. Following these guidelines will help maintain the beauty and integrity of your Imperial Flooring Australia engineered timber flooring.