Wood Care Guidelines
Residential Floor Care
Our factory applied finish is compatible with Bona Kemi’s floor care and finish products.
Bona Kemi is one of the most respected finish manufacturers in the industry and offers a wide selection of on-site finishing materials as well as a full range of maintenance products, all of which are readily available from Floorcrafters Inc. For further information you may go to Bona Kemi’s web site at
www.bonakemi.com/maintenance.
For additional Maintenance Recommendations visit:
The National Oak Flooring Manufacturers web site at www.nofma.org/careguide.
The National Wood Flooring Association’s site at NWFA - Caring For Wood Floors.
Although our floors are tough, they are not indestructible and can be scratched and
damaged through improper use and care. We offer the following suggestions to
maximize the enjoyment of your floor.
An Ounce of Prevention is worth……………………!
As with any floor covering material, a bit of preventative care and some common
sense will go a long way in keeping your floor looking its best. Following are a few
suggested “do’s & don’ts”:
1: At all entryways provide outside mats to keep dirt and grit off the floor. Inside, you
may wish to consider using an area rug to further prevent the inside tracking of
dirt. Remember, sand and grit will scratch and wear any finish!
2: Sweep or vacuum as often as necessary to remove any loose dirt or grit before it
can scratch the floor.
3: When moving any appliances, heavy furniture, or other heavy objects slip a
blanket or scrap of carpet, face down, under each foot of the object and then
carefully slide the object over the floor. This will help avoid scratching and goug-ing.
4: Use floor protectors on the legs of all furniture to prevent gouging and scratching.
In addition, certain types of casters on furniture legs may damage hardwood
flooring. The wide barrel type of caster works best. If your furniture does not
have the correct type of caster, we recommend changing them. Floor protectors
may be purchased at your local hardware store.
5: Wipe up spills as soon as possible as water from spills can cause damage to any
wood floor.
6: To avoid excessive shrinkage, cracking, swelling or cupping, you should keep the
relative humidity ideally between the normal interior range of 45% and 50%, but
certainly between 35% and 55%. This can be accomplished through the use of a
dehumidifier /humidifier and/or air conditioning. (Your local Radio Shack sells
inexpensive combination thermometers/humidity gauges to monitor the relative
humidity levels in your home). It is not recommend to leave doors or windows open
for more then 1 hour. The moisture that the wind carries will lay on the floor
and soaks into the wood causing the wood to expand or create a cupping issue.
Floorcrafters, Inc. cannot warranty any issues that arise due to doors, windows
and openings not being closed in a home or business.
7: In areas of excessive traffic and wear, please make use of runners or area rugs.
If wear starts to develop in the finish in high traffic locations, these areas should
be periodically refinished. Re-coating prior to total wear through of the finish will
reduce the need for a complete re-sanding and refinishing. Contact Floorcrafters for
our expert advice on how to refinish worn areas.
8: As the wood in your new floor ages, it will change in color as it gains its final
character and patina. Certain species of wood, such as cherry, change color
more than others. You should periodically move area carpets and furniture,
especially in areas of direct sunlight, in order to allow the floor to age and change
color more uniformly.
9: Do not allow dirt and grit to scratch your floor. Making use of entry floor mats and
regular vacuuming of any grit and dirt that does reach the floor will help prevent
scratching and wear. Also, make sure your pet’s nails are trimmed as these can
also scratch your floor.
10: Do not allow water to stand on your floor at any time. Water will cause cupping,
swelling and subsequent gapping. Also, when dry mopping your floor or cleaning up
spills, do not over-wet your floor, as it will damage the wood. Only use a slightly
damp mop or rag/sponge when cleaning. Also, never use so called “oil soap”
type cleaners as many of these are actually water based and soaking the floor
with one is the same as soaking the floor with water ! And Citrus Cleaners leave an oily
residue which and only be removed by a full sanding.
This is especially important with solid ThinStrip style solid wood flooring, as it is
particularly susceptible to cupping when exposed to excessive moisture, either
from above or from below.
11: Do not allow the relative humidity to drop below 35% or above 55%, as this may
cause swelling, cupping or shrinking related problems.
12: Do not allow “spike heel” type shoes to indent wood floors, especially if the heel
tip is damaged or has lost its rubber pad.
13: Do not allow improperly padded or unprotected furniture legs to damage your
floor.
14: Do not use ammonia, pine soap, oil soap, chlorine bleach or any abrasive clean-ers
that might scratch or react with the floor finish.
15: Do not wax your floor. On our factory pre-finished floors, finished with U.V. cured
Acrylic Urethane, we do not recommend the use of any waxes, as these may
make the floor slippery and dull the finish. Also, if the floor is ever waxed, it will be
necessary to sand the entire waxed floor to bare wood before re-coating, should it
ever need renewing. Left unwaxed, a light screening and recoat would be all that
is required to renew the finish on an unwaxed floor.