Care and Maintenance Page
Carpet care
No flooring lasts forever, but by following the maintenance tips outlined below, you’ll extend the life and beauty of your carpet.
Clean your carpet professionally every 12 – 18 months to comply with some manufacturers’ stain or soil protection warranties.
For best results, give prompt attention to spots and spills.
- Use a spoon or dull knife to remove solid materials.
- Blot up liquid spills with a white towel.
- Never rub, scrub or use a brush. This may cause damage to the carpet fibers.
- Use a cleaning agent and procedure appropriate for the type of stain being removed.
- Apply all cleaning agents to the cloth rather than directly to the stained area to avoid saturating the carpet when spot cleaning.
- Work from the outside to the center of large stains. This prevents spreading.
Beware of Color Destroying Substances (oven cleaners, furniture polish,exc…), they can cause your nylon or nylon blend carpet to become permanently discolored.
Deep stains might require repeat cleaning because they can “wick” back up after initial cleaning.
If stain remains, mix 1 cup of white vinegar with 2 cups of water.
Apply the vinegar solution, rinse and blot as outlined before.
(Do not use on coffee, tea or urine stains.)
Hardwood Care
Once your new floor is installed, you’ll want to prevent scratches. Some scratches can be caused by dust. You can prevent scratches caused by dust with the use of mats or rugs. Buy a good quality broom and sweep your new floor regularly to pick up grains of dirt, dust and other particles. A vacuum cleaner, without a beater bar, can be helpful in between planks and other hard to reach areas.
Hardwood floors with a urethane finish should never be waxed. They require cleaners that won’t leave a film or residue.
Do not use ammonia cleaners or oil soaps on a wood floor, as they will dull the finish and performance of your floor. Since wood naturally expands when it is wet, never wet mop or use excessive water to clean your floor. Large amounts of water can cause the wood to swell and may cause your floor to crack or splinter.
Tile Care
To keep your tile looking like new, apply a good quality sealer. Sealers are easy to apply and relatively affordable.
Sweep and mop your tile regularly.
To avoid stubborn grout stains, try to clean up spills as quickly as possible. However, no matter what lengths we try to go to keep our tile clean and looking like new, stains may still find their way into our grout, while for design there are great doors like bi folding doors can add a lot of style to your home and there are easy to get online, click here for more.
To tackle stubborn grout stains, follow a few simple steps:
- Start off with a gentle (least acidic) household tile and grout cleaner first. If this doesn’t do the job, move up to a harsher chemical cleaner. Try to avoid using bleach since it can alter the color of your grout and cause damage with repeated use.
- Spray cleaner onto a small length of grout and scrub with a stiff brush.
- Scrub in a circular motion rather than straight up and down. This will remove more debris.
- Rinse well with warm water and mop up and remaining moisture.
Acid Brick Care
No other kind of flooring is so extremely hard, durable and resistant to impact damage as a chemical resistant brick.
Acid brick is easy to look after.
The hard surface of this material makes it very easy to clean up dirt and wipe away spills.
Cleaning solutions must be chosen based on the nature of the sealant.
It is recommended that to maintain and care for your brick floor, you vacuum frequently so that grit and particles do not scratch or become ground into the sealant.
Many manufacturers also recommend periodic waxing.
Monolithic floors can lose bond with the substrate, or split apart, when a crack develops in the substrate, resulting in extensive damage to the floor’s chemical resistance. In such cases chipped or broken brick should be replaced. You can do it relatively easy or it can be done by a professional within a few hours.
Resilient Care
To care for your new resilient floor and keep it looking new, follow these simple tips…
After installation
- Wait at least 24 hours before cleaning your new resilient flooring.
- Cover your entryways with mats to reduce the amount of dirt, sand and oil that could be tracked in. Avoid mats that have a rubber backing as this may cause damage or discolor your flooring.
- Take your shoes off at the door! Be sure to wear slippers or socks. Your feet have oil on them that will transfer onto the floor.
- Cover your furniture legs with floor protectors that are made of hard plastic or felt.
Routine Care
- Vacuum regularly to remove loose dirt. Use a vacuum without a beater bar to avoid scratching your floor.
- When further cleaning is needed, use a mop with warm water. Use water by itself or use a manufacturer-recommended cleaning product. It should be a cleaner that rinses clean. Many cleaners can leave behind a sticky residue that will act like a dirt magnet and allow dirt to build up on your flooring.
- Use non-abrasive cleansers or scrubbing pads on your resilient floor to avoid scratches.
- To prevent stains, wipe up spills immediately.
- Use a non-abrasive scrubbing pad for stubborn stains that are caused by these: Mustard, ink, permanent marker, asphalt, shoe polish, mold, mildew or hair dye.
Laminate Care
By following some simple cleaning and maintenance tips, you will ensure that the beauty of your laminate will last as long as possible.
- You may need to wait 48 hours after installing before cleaning.
- place mats at entryways to stop dirt, sand, and oil from being tracked onto your floor.
- Vacuum regularly or use a dry dust mop.
- A damp mop can be used if needed. Don’t use a wet mop and never let water stand on a laminate floor. Water can seep into the flooring causing warping, swelling and joint separation.
- Never use an abrasive cleanser or steel wool.
- Never wax or polish a laminate floor.
- Clean spills immediately. Don’t allow liquids to stand on the floor.
- Put easy-glide protectors on the feet of your furniture.
- If your laminate get scratched, you may be able to buy a touch-up stick from the manufacturer.
Laminates are highly resistant to stains, however if a tougher stain does occur, follow these guidelines:
– clean the spills of grease, blood, beer, wine, juice, chocolate with warm water and mild detergent.
– to remove marks from shoe polish, ink, oil, paint, markers, lipstick, crayon, nail polish use mineral spirits, acetone or denatured alcohol. Then wipe with a damp cloth.
– candle wax or chewing gum should be hardened with ice. Then scrape it carefully off with a plastic scraper and wipe with warm water.