Hardwood Floor Refinishing: Wrapping Up

Hardwood floor cleaning also depends on a lot of other factors other than the type of wood involved...

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Types of Hardwood Flooring

When we are referring to types of hardwood flooring, we aren't talking about whether the floor is made of oak or hickory.  Instead, we're talking about plank size, solid hardwood flooring, and engineered hardwood flooring.  Let's start with the plank size.  

While plank size can vary, the most common sizes of planks are ¾” thick  X 2 ¼” wide. Where hardwood floor cleaning and restoration is concerned, this is considered a standard strip wood floor. Hardwood flooring usually comes from trees found primarily in North America:  maple, white oak,  white ash, red oak,  cherry,  hickory and pecan.  Wood from outside of America is more exotic hardwood such a Brazilian Cherry, ipe, teak, or rosewood to name but a few

Solid Hardwood Floors Vs Engineered

Where hardwood floor restoration is concerned, hardwood floor fits into two categories:  solid or engineered.  Solid hardwood floors are usually made up of a single piece of wood with tongue and groove sides. Most come unfinished, but there are many pre-finished 3/4" solid hardwood floors. Solid hardwood flooring is moisture-sensitive.  That means you want to protect them from a lot of moisture, so as we covered previously, do not wet mop.  This will almost certainly warp your boards.  Solid wood floors do have certain advantages, however.  For example, they can be refinished and re-coated multiple times throughout their lifespan. Because it’s an natural product, hardwood flooring expands and contracts in response to seasonal changes in moisture. Engineered hardwood flooring also has its advantages.

Engineered hardwood floor is made of three or more thin sheets of wood that are laminated together to form a single plank. The plies are usually laid in opposite directions (called cross-ply construction) to each other during the manufacturing process. This “cross-ply” type of construction creates a hardwood floor that is much more stable and unaffected by changes in moisture and temperature variations like traditional 3/4" solid wood floors.

Regardless of the type or size of hardwood floor that you have, you want to make sure that you take care of it.   Never wet mop hardwood, nor use harsh chemicals.  Sweep it periodically with a dustmop or a soft bristled broom.  Never use any hard metal wire brushes on your floor.   Finally, if you have any questions, call a professional hardwood floor cleaning service.

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4019 Stahl Rd, Suite 202
San Antonio TX 78217
(210) 637-5050
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Hardwood Floor Cleaning: Oak Floor

Hardwood floor cleaning depends on the type of floor you have.  While every type of wood floor has certain commonalities, such as no wet mopping, no hard scrubbing, and no harsh chemicals, some floors require more and different care than others.

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Oak Flooring: Hardwood Cleaning and Restoration

For example, hickory flooring needs different care than oak does.  Oak flooring is used in a lot of homes. Oak is usually categorized as either red oak or white oak.  Oak is typically installed unfinished, except for a thin polyurethane coating.  The finish that is put on oak should be protected, as otherwise, you can end up damaging the  wood itself.  You should never use harsh chemicals on your oak.  Like hickory, however, a little white vinegar and water won't hurt it, but again, no wet mopping.  If you make a mistake and it ends up that you would have to replace your floor.

That's a reason why you may wish to call a hardwood floor cleaning service.  Bleach, for example can not only whiten the wood, it can strip away the manufacturer's finish. Usually, oak flooring is a mixture of oak and other woods as well.  You never want to get too rough on your oak flooring even though oak is very tough compared to woods such as pine or even hickory.  Oak, however, because of it's toughness, is a great wood to look at refinishing.  Refinishing brings back your floor to it's former appearance by stripping away damage and revealing the raw wood underneath.

Hardwood Floor Refinishing

Hardwood floor refinishing works particularly well on oak.  A bit of sanding, a bit of dusting, and then a clear coat is applied, protecting the floor from any further damage. This coating is tough, tougher even than the oak that it is covering.  Like hickory, you want to protect your hardwood floor by putting carpets at the entrances of each of the rooms that have hardwood floors installed.  This will help to trap dirt and keep your floor from becoming scratched or pitted.

Oak is golden, beautiful, and long lasting.  It smells wonderful and goes with pretty much any decor.  It will probably outlive you and even some of your grandchildren.  So why not take care of your floor?  Lightly sweep it once a week.  Use a bit of water and white vinegar.  Get a professional hardwood floor cleaning service in San Antonio, TX.

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4019 Stahl Rd, Suite 202
San Antonio TX 78217
(210) 637-5050
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Hardwood Floor Cleaning: Hickory Floor

Hardwood floor cleaning is all about knowledge.  First off you have to know what type of wood your floor is made of.

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Hickory Hardwood Floor Cleaning & Care

For example, one type of floor that needs hardwood floor cleaning is hickory.  According to this article excerpt from WIKIPEDIA.ORG:

"Hickory wood is very hard, stiff, dense and shock resistant. There are woods that are stronger than hickory and woods that are harder, but the combination of strength, toughness, hardness and stiffness found in hickory wood is not found in any other commercial wood. Hickory is also highly prized for wood-burning stoves and chimineas, because of its high energy content. Hickory wood is also a preferred type for smoking cured meats. In the Southern United States, hickory is popular for cooking barbecue, as hickory grows abundantly in the region, and adds flavor to the meat. Hickory is sometimes used for wood flooring due to its durability in resisting wear and character." [READ MORE]

If you have a hardwood floor that is made of hickory, there is some simple steps you can take to keep your wood floor clean between visits from a hardwood floor cleaning service.  First off, never wet mop any hardwood floor.  Instead you either want to spray mop a mixture of white vinegar and water.  If you wet mop your floor, you run a good chance of warping your floor's floorboards. Unless your hardwood has been sealed, remember that all wood is porous. Also, with vinegar, remember less is more, or whatever room you are spraying it in will end up smelling like salad dressing.  A good rule of thumb is two tablespoons for every gallon of water.  Another thing that you want to have at the entry points for each room that you have hardwood in are throw rugs, which will help to  stop grit and dirt from scratching your floor.  You also want to avoid using any cleaning products that have wax in them.  Wax will give your floor a temporary shine, but it will also build up and dull your floor's finish.

Hickory: Some Final Thoughts

If you have hickory flooring, you have a touch of southern elegance in your home.  But even though your floor is beautiful, it is also more than that.  Hardwood floor is also an investment.  As such you want to take care of it.  Sweep your floor every now and then with a dust mop or a soft bristled broom.

So if you have a hardwood floor, take care of it.  And call a hardwood floor cleaning service if you need any help

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Lone Star Tile and Grout Cleaning
4019 Stahl Rd, Suite 202
San Antonio TX 78217
(210) 637-5050
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Ceramic Tile Cleaning: The Skinny on Tile

If you want to hire a service to clean your tile, you need to know a few pieces of information.  One of the things you should know in addition to your square footage is the size of your tile.

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What are Standard Tile Sizes?

First off, know that there  is no such thing as standard tile size. Tile manufacturer offer sizes from 1/2 of an inch by 1/2 of an inch to a whopping 24 inch tile.  There are typical sizes of tile to be found, however.  Ceramic tile for example is usually in squares or rectangles 4 X 4, 6 X 6, 8 X 8, etc.  Tiles are of different thickness.  For example, 12” x 12” ceramic tiles are 1/3 of an inch thick. Generally bigger tiles are thicker, and smaller tiles are thinner.  The size, type, and thickness of the tile will determine the sort of tile cleaning that will be involved.  Of equal, but often understated importance is the grout.

Grout helps to cushion ceramic tile as well as strengthen it.  And you want your tile strong to prevent tile from cracking.  While ceramic tile and porcelain tile are relatively cheap, you don't want to have to replace your tile and run the risk of your tile being mismatched as it will stand out in your floor.  For example, let's say  that you have a lovely Mexican cobalt blue tile, and you break it.  No problem.  It's just a matter of going out and buying another cobalt blue tile.  Wrong.  More likely your tile will be newer and as such will have a slightly darker hue than your original tile will.  And it will be very obvious that you replaced it.  That's where tile cleaning comes in.

Tile Cleaning Vs. Replacing

With tile cleaning you can usually walk on your floor within a few minutes.  Replacing your tile will make the room that you're doing it in unavailable for a day or two at least.  Professional tile cleaning services also have techniques that not only clean y our tile, then protect your tile as well.  With things such as grout sealing and tile sealing, it will help to protect your tile and make clean up a breeze.

So remember, there is a big difference between cleaning tile and replacing it.  As such, you want to hire someone that you can trust to clean your tile.

Lone Star Tile and Grout Cleaning
4019 Stahl Rd, Suite 202
San Antonio TX 78217
(210) 637-5050
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Professional Stone Cleaning and Your Floor Part 3

Marble cleaning, like other forms of stone cleaning is something you should only start when you have all the facts.

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Marble Cleaning Do's and Don'ts

While marble is a stone, it isn't as hard as you might think.  Stone hardness is measured by the Mohs scale.  Stove with a Mohs hardness level of 10 is hardest, which is the diamond.  Marble is only a 3 on the Mohs scale.  That's why you really should consider getting a professional marble cleaning service in to take care of it.  What gets a lot of people in trouble where marble is concerned is the fact that it is surprisingly easy to damage.

Not by marble polishing and marble honing mind you.  On the contrary, these activities are actually quite beneficial where marble cleaning is concerned.  Marble honing is essentially grinding, and should only be done by a professional service.  Use the wrong abrasive and you could end up scratching your marble.  Don't use a tough enough abrasive, and it won't help your floor.  As for marble polishing itself, it may be tempting to use a store-bought solution.  One of the problems with store bought cleaning solutions for marble is the fact that a great many of them give your floor a shine by using wax.  Wax can give your floor that shine, but there is a downside to it.  Over time, wax builds up, and traps dirt and other impurities which causes your floor to lose it's luster.  Another component of marble cleaning products is worse than wax, though.  A lot of products like this have acidic compounds in them.  As we covered in a previous article, marble is a delicate stone, and anything acidic spilled on it from coffee to wine can have a disastrous effect on marble.

Final Thoughts on Marble Care

You have to know what to do as well as what not to do.  If you use the wrong product to clean your marble, you could find yourself having to clean it more because of buildup, or have it damage your stone. If you buy a honing powder, and get it too abrasive, you can end up scratching your marble or having nothing happen.  So, why take the chance?

Remember, that even cheap marble is expensive.  So instead of replacing your marble, clean it.  And get the right help:  a marble cleaning service in San Antonio.

 

Lone Star Tile and Grout Cleaning
4019 Stahl Rd, Suite 202
San Antonio TX 78217
(210) 637-5050
http://www.lonestartileandgroutcleaning.com