Hardwood Floors
Hardwood floors are easy to find in older homes. A lot of people my age (Millennials) would kill to take up old carpet or sheet vinyl and find hardwood floors underneath. Since the flooring is becoming popular again, it is a great time for a discussion on hardwood floors.
Hardwood floors add character, beauty, warmth, and calm to any space in your home.
Properties of Hardwood Floors
Buying an older home? Flooring in older homes are often made of oak or pine. Modern solid wood flooring can be a wide variety of woods- walnut, ash, bamboo (which is actually a grass), even exotic varieties like teak or jarrah.
The kind of wood is important to a homeowner and will greatly affect the aesthetic of the home in three ways: color, pattern, and price.
What matters to a professional cleaner, however, is the finish style. Solid wood floors are either site-finished or factory finished in wither polyurethane or oil. We will focus on polyurethane floors as this is the most common finish that is available or installed in the United States.
Site Finished Floors
Site Finished Floors were extremely popular in the 50’s and 60’s. Sanded, unfinished boards are stained with the color of the homeowner’s choice, and then a continuous layer of polyurethane is poured over the top of the boards. This creates a thick layer of clear plastic that protects the floors from spills, scrapes, kids, and pets. Because it is a continuous layer of finish, moisture is not able to get between boards on a properly sealed floor. Vulnerable points are only around the edges of the room. Site finished floors need to be resealed every 7-10 years. This is a rather extensive and expensive process requiring the entire floor to be sanded, re-stained, and polyurethane coating to be reapplied. Left: The lines between floors can be seen by color, but not texture. The floor is smooth all the way across.
Factory Finished
Finishes are applied in the factory and the flooring is installed in the home without any additional finish. Because technicians can closely control conditions in a factory, this method gives a harder and more durable finish on the faces of each board, however, moisture can penetrate between boards and cause considerable problems for homeowners over time. Ever see a floor buckle? Chances are, it was factory-finished. Left: planks are clearly delineated by both color and texture. The planks dip down where they meet and are not smooth all the way across the floor.
Enemies of Hardwood Floors
There are three common enemies to hardwood floors: soil, sunlight, and moisture.
Soil: Dirt on the floor can act as an abrasive when you walk on the floors. This can lead to an early demise of your polyurethane finish.
Sunlight: UV exposure can cause fading in wood floors. In decades-old floors where a rug has sat for a long time, you can see that the wood beneath the rug is shades darker than the wood elsewhere. You will also notice lighter wood in areas that direct sunlight comes in through a window.
Moisture: Ever walk into an old house and see a darker area in front of the sink? That’s a sign of water being in contact with the wood itself. Dark edges of boards are another indicator of water intrusion, and usually indicate that the polyurethane finish is in need of a redo. If you see a dark spot forming in a solid wood, site finished floor without a faucet close by, it’s time to call a flooring expert: water may be intruding from a wall or subfloor.
Hardwood Floor Care
Frequent vacuuming or dust mopping will keep soil to a minimum. Mop with a flat mop, using a neutral pH cleaner and a low-moisture approach. The more people and pets in your home, the more frequently you should mop. Low-moisture approaches work best when there is less soil to contend with. Wipe up spills right away to avoid potential damage.
Amber Starling, Author
Founder and President of
Good Witch Cleaning Services, LLC
IICRC Journeyman Textile Cleaner