Care & Maintenance

HARDWOOD

Hardwood floors are a lifetime investment and you have spent a considerable amount of money to beautify and add value to your home.

Most important in keeping your investment at peak condition (healthy) is to allow for the right room climate by maintaining a stable environment in the home. To keep your investment healthy, a room temperature of 60° to 80° F and a humidity range of 30-55% is recommended year round. (The use of a humidifier or de-humidifier may be required.)

Keeping your wood floor looking like day one is pretty easy and is just a matter of some preventive maintenance and, like most things in life, some good old common sense. Here are some “do” and “don’t” pointers.

Do these

Use mats outside entryways to keep dirt and grit that can scratch your floor where it belongs. You can use area rugs inside for added protection.
Sweep or vacuum when needed. This will get the scratchy dirt and grit that makes it inside.
When deeper cleaning is required, we recommend the Bona line of products.
When moving heavy things – appliances, furniture and such – slip a blanket or carpet scrap face down under each foot of the piece and slide it over the floor to prevent scratching and gouging. It’ll move a whole lot easier, too.
Use floor protectors on the legs of furniture to avoid scratching and gouging. Also, if your furniture has floor casters, make sure they’re the wide-barrel type. These work best. If your furniture doesn’t have these, we suggest changing them. Your local hardware store can help you with any of these products.
Wipe spills up as soon as possible. Liquid and wood floors just don’t get along.
Keep your home’s relative humidity ideally between 30% and 55%. This will help prevent excess shrinkage, cracking, swelling or cupping. You can keep your relative humidity just right by using a humidifier or dehumidifier or even with the proper air conditioning.
Use runners or area rugs in high traffic zones to minimize wear. If you see wear developing, you should refinish the affected area. Catch it early, if you can. If you re-coat before the finish is completely worn, you can avoid the need to completely re-sand and refinish. It’s also a good idea to ask your wood flooring professional for their advice.
Wood floors age. It’s natural. Over time, your floor will change in color as it gains its final character and patina. Some wood species – cherry, for example – change more than others. So your floor ages uniformly, it’s a good idea to move furniture and area rugs from time to time – especially in areas exposed to direct sunlight.

Don’t do these

Don’t allow water to stand on your floor at any time. This will cause cupping, swelling and, eventually, gapping. When cleaning, don’t “over wet” your floor. Use only a slightly damp mop, sponge or rag.
Don’t allow “spike heel” shoes to be worn on your floor if you can help it. They’ll indent the floor, especially if the heel tip is damaged or has lost its pad.
Don’t use products such as amonia, pine soap, oil soap, chlorine bleach or any abrasive cleaners. All of these can damage your floor’s finish.
Don’t wax your floor. Using waxes on our pre-finished floors can make them slippery and dull the finish. If you do wax your floor and it ever needs renewing, you’ll have to sand the entire floor down to the bare wood before re-coating.

LAMINATE

Laminate flooring is virtually maintenance-free. Routine cleaning requires you only to vacuum, use a dust mop, or a slightly damp (not wet) mop and dry with a clean, cotton cloth. The only product that you will need to use to clean your floor on a regular basis is either water (distilled if your area has particularly hard water) or a cleaner formulated especially for laminate.

For dry maintenance, use a dust mop or vacuum cleaner. Avoid vacuum attachments with ‘beater bars’, which could damage your floor.

Important Tips

Never flood the floor with water.
Never steam clean your laminate.
Do not use soap-based detergents, as these may leave a dull finish on your floor.
Do not use abrasive cleaners, steel wool or scouring powder, as these may scratch your floor.
Never wax, polish, sand or lacquer a Laminate Floor.
Use doormats outside each entrance to your home to prevent dirt, sand, grit and other substances such as oil, asphalt and driveway sealer from being tracked onto your floor.
For furnishings, use wide-bearing, non-staining floor protectors, such as clear, hard plastic or non-staining felt protectors, for heavy furnishings.
Promptly remove all liquid spills, including pet urine.

SLATE

Suggested applications for slate

Slate with a fine texture and consistency (“honed” – ground to a smooth, matte finish) is often used for fabricating fireplace surrounds and tabletops. However, in today’s decorating, the heavier, natural texture of slate (“cleft”) has become extremely popular to add “relief” to any room setting.

Because of its physical characteristics and its cleavage, slate is also ideal for use in high traffic areas such as foyers, entryways, interior floors, basements, three season porches and sunrooms.

Some slates are practically non-absorbent due to their density and are frequently selected for floors where resistance to acids is an important factor.

Caring for your slate surfaces

Frequent sweeping is the easiest way to protect flooring surfaces. Soil is abrasive and it can get ground into and scratch stone. Use a broom with a bristle that matches your surface, a soft broom for smooth finishes and medium soft for textured surfaces. Damp mopping with water picks up microscopic abrasive soils and potential staining agents. This is recommended for most smooth surfaces on a regular basis.

GRANITE

Where does granite come from?

Granite is a stone formed from volcanic activity. As the magma from the volcanoes cooled very slowly (over millions of years!) mineral crystals in the magma deposits grew. Those minerals—primarily hornblende, feldspar, mica and quartz—are what give the granite its grainy texture. When the softer earth around the resulting granite deposit eroded, the harder rock became exposed, making it available for quarrying in nearly every region of the world.

Suggested applications for granite

The beauty of the stone, coupled with its remarkable durability make granite an ideal surface treatment for countertops, vanities, floors, fireplaces and table tops.

Floors

MARBLE

Where does marble come from?

Marble is a metamorphic stone, which means it turned into marble from another type of rock. It is usually formed when limestone is compressed for longer periods of time. It is typically found in the roots of mountains, and is composed of up to 95% calcite. While marble is forming, impurities get into the mix, causing marble’s signature streaks of color.

Graphite is the mineral that causes gray or bluish streaks, while iron oxides like goethite and hematite are responsible for pink or reddish streaks. Marble rich in epidote takes on a green hue.

Suggested applications for marble

The beauty of a marble surface can last many lifetimes if it is not mistreated (using it for a purpose to which it is ill-suited, choosing the wrong surface finish for the intended use, or neglecting it).
Marble is more porous than granite, making it easier to stain, and it is not recommended for kitchen countertops. Marble is ideal for walls, fireplace surrounds and mantles, bathroom vanity tops, and some floors.

PORCELAIN FLOORS

Porcelain tiles require a minimum of maintenance. Sweep thoroughly and mop with a clean damp mop. If necessary a mild household detergent can be used. Do not use abrasive cleaners or brushes with hard bristles.

Clean up spills immediately, use detergent in strengths recommended by their manufacturer, allow the detergent to remain on the surface of the tile as recommended and rinse thoroughly with clean water to remove the detergent and the emulsified residue.

Choose a product compatible for cleaning the tile and grout at the same time. It is strongly recommended that a small test area be used prior to usage of installation, tile, cleaning and maintenance products to determine if the product selected will serve its intended purpose.

FLOORS

Always protect your finished stone floors against dirt, sand or any abrasive substance that might scratch or harm the tile finish. Please follow manufacturer’s instructions for proper usage of all care products. Never use acids or chemical cleaners for cleaning ceramic or porcelain tile.

Frequently wipe surfaces with a soft, damp rag. To remove fingerprints, food residues, grease and all the most common dirt from your countertops, walls, fireplaces, or vanity tops, use soap and water, then Superior® Grout & Tile Neutral Cleaner on the surface, rub it and wipe it dry. Superior® Grout & Tile Neutral Cleaner cleans, enhances and brightens your surfaces, helping to maintain their natural beauty for decades. Additional tips for keeping your stone tile looking like new:

Keep your stone surface clean from dust and dirt.
Blot up spills immediately.
Always use coasters under drinks and food containers.
Use placemats under dishware and flatware to prevent scratching.
Never use abrasive cleaners or scouring pads to clean the surface.
NEVER use vinegar, lemon juice or cleaners containing acids.
Use a felt-bottomed tray for cosmetics and toiletries stored on ceramic or porcelain surfaces.

GROUT

After the mortar has dried 24 hours, you are ready to grout. There are a variety of grout colors available to enhance the look of your tile floor. When working with grout it is mandatory to keep conditions as consistent as possible throughout the job: moisture, temperature, mixing and application.

MIXING INSTRUCTIONS

Mix the grout powder with FLEXIBLE GROUT ADMIXTURE (in place of water), and mix to a “toothpaste” consistency. It is better to mix no more than can be used within 20 minutes. Mix well. Mix each batch until all the pigments are dispersed and wet. Then allow the grout to stand for 5 minutes and mix again. The mixing time for each batch should be the same.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

Use a GROUT FLOAT to work the grout into the tile joints (refer to illustration below). Skim off the excess grout with the edge of the Grout Float and wipe the tile immediately with a damp GROUT SPONGE (rinse the Grout Sponge frequently and change the rinse water regularly). It is better to grout small areas at a time so no grout will dry on the face of the tile. Remove all of the grout with the exception of a fine film. This film can be buffed off in 30 to 45 minutes using a clean, dry cloth. For particularly tough areas where grout was inadvertently left on the tile after the clean-up phase, use GROUT HAZE AND LATEX FILM REMOVER with a scrub pad. NEVER CLEAN UP GROUT WITH ACIDS — THIS WILL REMOVE YOUR SEALER.

SEALING GROUT

After grout has dried 48 to 72 hours, seal all grout joints with PENETRATING SEALER or STONE SEAL to reduce maintenance and to retain the grout color. PENETRATING SEALER is a belowsurface sealer which reduces water penetration for interior and exterior applications. When applying PENETRATING SEALER to the grout, wipe excess sealer off the face of the tile IMMEDIATELY with a dry paper towel.

For weekly cleaning of your tile and grout, use GROUT and TILE NEUTRAL CLEANER. This is a neutral cleaner and will not strip the sealer from the grout joint and because it is not a soap, it is equally effective in hard or soft, hot or cold water. In the event you experience a stain or difficult soil problem, use HEAVY DUTY GROUT AND TILE CLEANER mixed with water and work it into the area with a GROUT BRUSH or SCRUB PAD.

Dreamfloors

Hardwood Laminate Tile Installation