6 Tips On Maintaining Your Parquet Flooring

Parquet flooring is popular with many home owners in Singapore for several reasons. It is decorative, durable and relatively easy to maintain. For general maintenance, cleaning your parquet floor will keep it looking appealing and enhance the beauty of your home.

Listed below are some handy tips to help you keep your parquet wood flooring in great shape:

1. Limit the moisture
When wood is continually exposed to moisture, it can be damaged easily. Fortunately, the wood used to manufacture modern parquet flooring is made with technology that enhances its moisture resistance.
When you mop the floor or wipe spills, use a damp mop or cloth instead of a wet one. This will minimize the amount of moisture you expose the flooring to. Make sure to wipe spills as soon as possible. Wiping the floor regularly with a dry cloth during humid and wet seasons also helps to keep the floor dry.

2. Protection from physical damage
Parquet flooring is vulnerable to physical damage from heavy use. This can make the flooring look worn out and aged. Therefore when moving furniture or other objects, avoid dragging them along the floor and lift them instead. Place felt pads on the bottom of movable furniture to protect the floor.
Avoid also wearing shoes with sharp heels when walking on parquet flooring. These may leave scratches and marks on the floor. On areas of the flooring that tend to have high traffic, consider placing rugs to minimize the pressure on the floor.

3. Cleaning
Basically, the cleaning method for parquet flooring depends on the material used on the wood finishing. For flooring with polyurethane finishing, mopping or using a special hard wood cleaner once a week is enough to keep it clean. This however depends on the use and frequent cleaning may be necessary if the floor is used more. Flooring with varnish, lacquer and shellac finishing should be cleaned with a special wax that is buffed on the floor with a soft cloth. This should be done about once every four months.

4. Removing stains
Spills on parquet floor can leave noticeable stains. When spills occur, apply a non-abrasive wood cleaner with a soft cloth. To remove marks left by hard objects such as shoes, buff lightly with the cleaner and fine steel wool then apply wax that is suitable for parquet flooring.

5. Touching up parquet flooring
When your flooring begins to look worn out and aged because of wear and tear, you can touch it up to repair the damaged areas and refresh its appearance. Use a touch up stick that is made with special wax to repair marks on the floor. These are made with colour that matches the floor to improve the wood’s appearance. Finish off by buffing the area.

6. Professional maintenance
It is important to engage professional parquet flooring maintenance services in Singapore regularly especially if you have no experience in wood flooring maintenance. By using professionals, you benefit from their experience and knowledge in wood flooring maintenance, and advice that will help you avoid causing damage to your floor.