Floor Care & Maintenance
Purchasing your new floor from LeviArs or utilizing our professional flooring services are investments that will provide lifetime satisfaction. However, there are maintenance and care specifications that we recommend to maximize your floor’s life and beauty. Here are some steps you can take to ensure you are maintaining your floor:
- Wait 2-4 hours before walking (with socks only) on floors treated with water-based polyurethane. Resume normal traffic in 36 hrs. Wait 3 days to restore furniture.
- Wait 12-18 hours before walking with socks only on floors treated with oil-based polyurethane. Resume normal traffic in 3 days, as we want to make sure that the polyurethane has had sufficient time to fully cure. Wait 5 days to restore furniture.
- Wait at least 7 days before you return an area rug to your floors. Do not put tape of any kind on the floor, as it will strip it.
- Avoid items that may dent or scratch the floor. Using felt pads on chairs and furniture will reduce these chances. Monitor the pads and make sure they haven’t worn down.
- Be careful when wearing high heels and stiletto shoes, as they can cause deep dents and damage to the floor.
- Vacuum regularly and use a dry mop for dust. Professional cleaning systems are recommended, but you can also use a damp rag to wipe away most liquid spills. However do NOT use detergents, oil, or acidic based cleaners (Murphy’s Oil, Pledge, Mop & Glo or similar products that contain wax and/or oils). Most warranties are voided by the use of oil soap cleaners.
- Use only manufacturer-recommended cleaning products, which will not leave a contaminating residue on the floor. If the manufacturer isn’t known, one of our trained specialists can recommend an appropriate product. Each floor is unique, so we want to make sure that years down the road, the floor will look exactly as it did when it was finished.
- Do not allow your floors to come in contact with large amounts of water or high humidity (summer) or low moisture levels (winter). Because wood expands in the summer and contracts in the winter, we recommend a humidifier in the winter months and a humidifier in the summer months. Connecting them to a hot water pipe will ensure even distribution throughout your home. We also recommend the use of air conditioners in the summer to prevent cupping and swelling.
Here are three possible issues you’ll want to avoid:
- Cupping: Floors that absorb excessive moisture on the underside of the floorboard will begin to cup, causing edges to rise up
- Shrinking: If flooring loses too much moisture, the boards shrink on the underside, leaving the edges lower than in the center.
- Crosspulling: This happens when there are cracks at the end of consecutive strips in the same run. Crosspulls indicate movement in the flooring and the underlayment.
