Many Irish homes and businesses have had wooden floors installed over the years. Some still look great after 20 years, while others have ignored the basic maintenance and now the floors look fit for the bin. The wood, being a natural material, is highly affected by humidity and intense traffic. To stay in great shape for as long as possible, a special maintenance routine has to be applied. This routine should include deep cleaning with proper wood floor cleaners and regular refreshments or re-sealing.
What Is A Wooden Floor?
A wooden floor is made from a raw tree trunk that can be anywhere from 5 years to 100 years old. Every year, the tree base gets thicker and thicker and when it reaches the optimal size, the wood is being collected and processed. Some special cutting machines will chop the wood to size and different types of wood floors will be made from it. Some wood floors will be made from 100% real wood, called hardwood floors, while others will be made into a semi solid, or engineered wood floor, where a sheet of real wood is attached to a special plank. Some wood floors will be sealed or coloured while others will be sold raw.
Biodegradable, Recyclable And Renewable
Most people do not realise just how extraordinary wood really is. As far as we currently know, trees grow naturally only on Earth, making wood an incredibly special natural material. Wood is 100% natural, renewable and highly versatile. Living trees absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen through photosynthesis, helping support the environment while they grow. Once harvested, wood can be cut, shaped, sanded, repaired, reused and recycled into countless different products.
Wood has been one of the world’s most important construction materials for thousands of years. It is used to build houses, floors, furniture, doors, structural components, tools and thousands of everyday products. One of the most interesting things about wood is that every species has different characteristics. Some woods are extremely hard and durable, while others are lighter, softer and easier to work with. This means different species are better suited to different applications.
Oak, for example, is strong and durable and is widely used for flooring, furniture and structural applications. Pine is lightweight, readily available and easy to work with, making it popular for construction, framing and joinery. Teak has excellent natural resistance to moisture and weathering, which makes it particularly suitable for outdoor furniture, benches and other exterior applications. From building houses to manufacturing beautiful hardwood floors, every species of wood has something different to offer. This combination of natural beauty, strength, versatility and renewability is what makes wood such an important and unique material.
Why Is The Floor Sanding Great For The Environment?
Refinishing or sanding an existing hardwood floor is one of the most environmentally responsible ways to reduce waste and limit the need for new raw materials. Hardwood floors are extremely durable and, with proper care and maintenance, can last for generations. Needlessly replacing a good hardwood floor is almost sacrilegious. In many cases, an old, scratched and tired looking wooden floor can simply be sanded, refinished and completely transformed. Once properly restored and protected with a quality floor finish, it can look almost brand new and provide many more years of service without the need to replace the existing timber. Restoring rather than replacing also reduces the demand for newly harvested wood and prevents perfectly usable flooring from unnecessarily becoming waste.
Modern water based floor lacquers make restoration even more attractive. Many of today’s professional finishes are low in VOCs, have very little odour and provide excellent durability without relying on the high solvent content associated with many traditional finishes.
Instead of ripping out a beautiful hardwood floor simply because it looks worn, consider restoring what is already there. Sand it, repair it, reseal it and give the existing wood a new life.
How To Extend The Life Span Of Your Hardwood Floors
As mentioned above, a hardwood floor can last up to 10-15 years before some kind of refinishing is needed. But that kind of durability is only possible if certain maintenance is respected.
- Little Water | The floors should be cleaned with as little water as possible to avoid soaking the wood and increasing the chances of water damage.
- Proper Cleaners | Proper wood floor cleaners should be used at all times. If the wood is oiled, then oiled floor cleaners should be used and if the wood is lacquered, then proper lacquer safe floor cleaners should be used.
- Refreshing | Some areas that receive more than usual traffic should be refreshed with the appropriate refreshers to top up the protection.
- Care | Do not drag heavy items on the wood floors and make sure that all the chairs and the furniture are fitted with leg protectors.
- Once every 10-15 years, ask a professional floor sanding company to assess your hardwood floors and see if the time for a floor refinishing has just arrived or is nearby.
