The following maintenance procedure is designed to ensure that the beauty of your wood and the quality of your contractors workmanship is maintained as long as possible, thus avoiding unnecessary deterioration of the finish and ultimately the wood itself. Should it prove desirable a custom made maintenance plan can be desiged for individual floors.
Please contact your representative at Hamwoods if you require any advice with any of the following procedures.
After the final coat of finish has been applied, it must be left to cure for a minimum period of 12 hours. Please note: It is important that the curing time of the finish is allowed before implementing the following:
INITIAL MAINTENANCE TREATMENT
In order to minimize damage to your floor surface, created by dirt, abrasive materials and moisture, fit entrance areas with dirt control matting. Table, chairs and other moveable items of furniture should be fitted with suitable felt furniture protectors which will reduce damage to your floor surface. The implementation of the cleaning program should only commence once the finish has fully cured, if applicable.
Floors must be swept and vacuumed to remove dust, dirt and any loose particles. It is very important that every effort is made to remove abrasive materials to minimize scratching and premature wear of the finish. In exceptional heavily used areas it is suggested that this operation is carried out twice daily. All liquids (e.g. alcohol and fruit drinks etc.) should be removed from the floor as quickly as possible using a mop (wrung out as dry as possible) or wet vacuum machine or a scrubber / drier to reduce the possibility of staining and / or sticky areas which will attract dirt to the surface.
For confined spillages and dirt, the floor should be ‘spot’ cleaned using a suitable neutral detergent applied diluted to an absorbent cloth. For larger areas the cleaning solution may be applied directly onto the floor in workable sections, allowed to stand for approximately 1 – 2 minutes and then scrubbed using tan or white maintenance pads under a rotary floor machine pr scrubber / drier. All slurry created from this process should be removed as quickly as possible. When dry, floors may be buffed using tan pads to enhance the floors appearance. All chewing gum should be removed daily.
REGULAR MAINTENANCE
It is strongly advised that wood floors are buffed regularly using a maintenance solution in conjunction with mop (wrung out dry) or wet vacuum machine or scrubber / drier using tan floor pads to thoroughly clean and degrease the surface. These procedures will enhance the appearance of the floors.
PERIODIC MAINTENANCE
Due to the heavy use some floors are subjected to, it is advised that the condition of the finish be monitored approximately every three months. When it proves necessary to do so, apply further coats of finish.
Note: We can recommend cleaning products which may be used. Despite regular maintenance, after a period of time your floor may require refinishing in order to restore original appearance and thus offering further protection to the wood.
IMPORTANT
As wood is a hygroscopic material and will expand and contract with the introduction of moisture. We strongly recommend that all moisture is kept to a minimum and that the temperature of the room / building falls within the guidelines set by the N.W.F.A. (National Wood Flooring Association). Wood flooring will perform best when the interior environment has a controlled relative humidity (R.H.) of between 35% – 50% and within a temperature range of 14 to 28 Celsius.