The key to lasting beauty
of your Bamboo flooring investment is proper maintenance for the life of
your floor. Educating your customers on the
proper maintenance procedures for their floors is an important part of any
sale, whether it’s a new installation or refinish. Customer’s expectations
play an important role in determining satisfaction. A properly maintained
floor significantly increases the likelihood of a satisfied customer.
Bamboo Floors
Regardless of how the floor has been finished, there
are certain steps that shall be taken to maintain the beauty of the bamboo
floor.
The floor shall be dust mopped, vacuumed or swept with
a soft bristle broom daily, or as often as necessary, to remove grit and
dust from the surface. Walking on a dusty or dirty floor is the quickest way
to damage a finish.
Place walk-off mats at all exterior entrances. This
will capture much of the harmful dirt before it reaches the Bamboo floor.
Shake out, vacuum or wash mats and area rugs frequently.
Floor protector pads should be placed on the bottoms
of the legs of furniture. Floor protectors shall be kept clean of grit and
periodically replaced. Wheels should have hardened-plastic casters at least
2" in width depending on weight. Narrow or metal casters may dent the
flooring.
Keep high heels in good repairs. An unprotected tip
will dent a bamboo floor.
Kitchen floors experience the most traffic in a home.
To prevent premature wear of the floor, place an area rug in front of the
sink and stove area. Shake out or vacuum the rugs frequently.
Using a dehumidifier or humidifier to maintain
relative humidity in the home at 30-50% will maintain the moisture level in
the wood and help minimize cracks between the boards.
Continued excessive humidity may cause swelling of the
floor. Continued lack of humidity (below 20%) can cause shrinking of the
planks and/or cracking of the bamboo strips.
Urethane Finishes
Routine Cleaning
Use a cleaner that will not leave a residue that will
inhibit bonding and re-coating. Wax should only be used for commercial
applications since it requires periodic buffing beyond what most homeowners
are willing to do. Once wax, in any form, has been applied to a bamboo
floor, only wax may be used as a coating over the floor. Urethane and other
surface finishes can not be applied over an existing wax finish.
While bamboo is more resistant to moisture than most
woods, never use a wet mop or sponge to clean the floor. When using any wood
flooring cleaner that requires mixing with water, follow the mixing
directions precisely.
A cloth wetted with water and the squeezed dry may be
used to wipe up foodstuffs and other spills, provided the area is buffed dry
immediately. Heel or scuff marks and stubborn stains may be removed by
lightly rubbing with a cloth and a wood floor cleaner.
Long-term Maintenance
Urethane finishes eventually will show wear patterns
from surface scratching. When high surface areas look dull, it is time to
re-coat or restore the finish. Always follow the manufacturer’s
recommendations. |