Hardwood Flooring Cleaning Tips (for NYE)

New Year's Eve is here and that means parties or at least a get together. For many people, we will either be going somewhere to welcome in 2014 or we will be welcoming people into our homes to welcome in 2014. In both cases, especially if you are the one doing the entertaining, here are a few tips for you to keep your hardwood floors looking great as you have a great time tonight.

• Wipe up spills immediately. The longer you let spills sit on your hardwood floor, the harder it will be to remove and the better the chances it will do damage to your floors. 
• Use doormats, both interior and exterior, to collect any moisture and dirt that is on the bottom of your guests' shoes. 
• It is winter afterall; for those of us in the northern half of the US, it means there is snow and ice on the ground. 
• Place area rugs in spots of your floor that are considered high traffic points. 
• In front of food, sinks, fridges, etc. If you think a lot of people will be in an area, then put a rug there. 
• Consider a dehumidifier because it will reduce the amount of humidity produced by all the moisture outside and the body heat inside. 
• Do not let water, either being brought in from outside due to the snow or from spills, sit on your floors for extended periods of time (we have already mentioned this). However, in addition to it doing damage to the floors if you let it sit but it can also create a dangerous surface for your guests- they can slip. 

If you do have any damage happen to your floors after tonight's festivities that need hardwood flooring maintenance or hardwood flooring restoration then feel free to contact us. 

Winter Options for Hardwood Flooring

So winter is just around the corner now that we find ourselves in November. The mornings and nights are colder, or just downright cold, and there are times when walking barefoot on the hardwood floors is just not an option. So what can you do?

The options you have to solve the cold feet problem range from simple to more creative.

1. The first option you have is to use socks and/or slippers. If you would rather not cover up your hardwood flooring at all and just wear socks and/or slippers in the house, then that is a good option. 
2. The second option you have to solve this problem is by purchasing some rugs. You can find rugs in any shape, size, and color. You can get your rugs to match any upholstery or just a nice general color that compliments your rooms. 
3. Your third option is to purchase carpeting tiles. Carpeting tiles are just what they sound like, tiles of carpet that you easily install and can then uninstall when you no longer want them in. The perk to these is that if there is a stain one of them, you only have to replace one or however many are stained. 

If cold hardwood floors is not something you have a problem with, then maybe dry air is. As we know, in the winter, the air gets dry and this can be annoying for many reasons. For one reason, unknown to many, is that if the air is too dry then it can harm you hardwood flooring. What do you do to fix this? Keep a humidifier in the house. Aside from keeping the floors moisturized, it will help if you get dry skin during the winter too, just a tip. 

Make sure that you keep snow and ice off your hardwood floors. Just like when it rains, water can get trekked into the house easily when snow and ice are on the ground. Leaving the snow and ice on your hardwood floors to melt can ruin your flooring. This means laying down a welcome mat or two for people and pets in your home to wipe their feet on. 

If you are looking for a hardwood flooring company for some hardwood flooring maintenance then contact Chicagoland Pro - a Palatine hardwood flooring company. 

Fixing the Scratches in Your Hardwood Floors

Scratches can be such a nuisance in hardwood flooring! You have all these beautiful hardwood floors that you spent all that time and money installing and maintaining and then BAM! Scratch. Now your beautiful floors have that embarrassing looking scratch. How do you fix it? Well, there are some steps you can take to get rid of the scratch.

1. Figure out how deep the scratch is. This is an important step in figuring out what to do next. Most scratches are only in the finish of the wood or at deepest, the surface level of the wood. Most scratches are not in the underpart of the wood, past the surface level, since those are considered cracks or gauges and they often require replacing that piece of wood or possibly a small section of the hardwood flooring. You will indeed know if the scratch is actually a gauge or a crack since they are such large imperfections in your floors. 
2. Clean the area. The scratch area, like a scratch on a person, requires cleaning before you can start to repair the area. The reason for needing to clean the floors is because you want to remove any dirt that is in the area that will inhibit the repair from going smoothly. 
3. Hide the scratch. If it is not time to refinish the floors and you would rather wait to fix the scratch until it is actually time to refinish the floors, then you have a few options. 
1. The first is to hide the scratch with a permanent marker; these come in a wide variety of colors at stores and so you can find one that is similar if not exactly the color of your hardwood floors. 
2. The second option is to find a stain marker. You can find these in flooring stores and hardware stores in colors that are going to match your hardwood flooring color. 
3. Reapply some of the stain from the staining. If you have some of the stain laying around, go ahead and reapply some. You can do this with a cotton swab, cotton ball, something that will gently apply the stain but not leave any of itself behind. 
4. Get a fix-it kit. Generally, flooring companies have fix-it kits they can give you to fix the scratch if you have a scratch that will not go away, even after you have tried the other home remedies. 
5. What if you have deeper scratches? To fix the larger or deeper scratches, get a fine grade sandpaper and rub the area. Make sure to follow the direction of the grain and move the sandpaper in a circular motion. After that, wipe the area with a damp cloth to clean the area, then allow it to dry. Once the area is dry, grab some stain and use a paint brush or whatever tool you used during the original staining and reapply some stain. Do it gently and then allow it to dry. 

If your scratch is just too large or deep, then you may have to replace some of the flooring or at least that floorboard. Hardwood flooring maintenance and hardwood flooring refinishing is not always difficult work for things but if you would rather hire someone to fix it, then hire Chicagoland Pro - a Palatine hardwood flooring company. We give free estimates.  As a Chicago hardwood flooring company, we know that people love their floors and having a scratch or some repair can be stressful, don't worry, we can take care of it and you will love your floors! 

Refinishing Your Hardwood Floors 101

Have you been wondering how to do hardwood restoration at home? Well this blog will give you a few quick tips that can help you handle your hardwood floors .

The first tip is that you have to pick the right hardwood floor sander. If you are new to this sort of thing, then choosing any orbital sander is your safe bet; while these kinds of sanders do take longer to remove finish than drum sanders, they are more user-friendly. The reason orbital sanders are better for novices is because you can move them with or against the grain of the wood, it doesn't matter. The only precaution is that you keep the sander level while using it or you can have uneven sanding.

The second tip is to be careful & take precautions. Because of the amount of dust that is generated while doing hardwood refinishing , you should have plenty of dust masks, earplugs, and eye protection. Please, do not do the sanding without these things or the dust can get in your eyes, lungs & airways, ears and the sanders can be loud and damage your hearing. When applying the finish liquid, make sure to wear appropriate respirators, gloves (neoprene or vinyl).

The third tip is to be gentle. Don't be too aggressive with your hardwood while sanding them. Generally, you want to start with a lower grit count and then move them up as you progress your sanding and reach the desired fineness.

The fourth tip is to the careful while applying the finish. A good way to make sure you do the finish evenly is to go row by row on your hardwood floors . This way, you minimize the risk of over-coating while doing the floors . It is better to use thinner coats than thick coats while doing this stage.

Enjoy doing your own hardwood flooring refinishing and consult a pro if you run into any problems or questions.

Why You Should Choose Walnut Flooring

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Our Palatine hardwood flooring company knows how important it is to shop for the best quality flooring that will not exceed your budget.  Many people do not realize this, but most often, the floor is the first thing people look at when they walk into a new place.  Hardwood flooring is truly a focal point of your home and we want to help you make sure you make the best selection for your budget, the beauty of your home, and of course, for functionality.

Our hardwood flooring company knows that deciding on your flooring can be very time consuming and cannot be a spontaneous decision.  We are experts when it comes to hardwood flooring installation, hardwood flooring restoration, hardwood flooring maintenance and hardwood flooring restoration. 

Perhaps one of our favorite hardwood flooring panels we suggest to our clients is the dark walnut flooring.  We find that walnut flooring creates a timeless elegance in all homes that looks fantastic throughout the entire home.  The panels pick up a lot of colors that are great to match with furniture and art throughout your home.  Walnut definitely creates a warm ambiance and is very welcoming and comforting to guests. 

Palatine hardwood flooring also suggest walnut flooring because it is a hardwood that is extremely durable.  We know that you are looking for an affordable flooring option that is still attractive which is why one of our hardwood flooring tips is to buy walnut hardwood.  Walnut hardwood lasts much longer than other woods, so in the long run, it is a much better buy and will keep your home feeling cozy and beautiful longer.  Walnut also requires very little hardwood flooring maintenance.  We have found that walnut tends to resist water damage, mold, bug infestations, etc.  Not to mention, cleaning the floor is very simple because you are able to mop the floor without damaging it.  And hardwood flooring often, because walnut has a darker appearance, it hides dirt and grime well.  Walnut is also relatively easy to install, so our flooring experts can have your house looking beautiful in no time.

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If we haven’t sold you on selecting walnut hardwood flooring for your home, give our Palatine Hardwood Flooring Company a call.  We would love to speak with you about what flooring is best for your home and schedule an appointment for one of our Palatine hardwood flooring installers to visit your home.

Hardwood Flooring and the Holidays

The holidays are well on their way and with the holidays comes all the parties.  Are you planning on having family and friends over for the holidays?  Perhaps you just had an excellent hardwood flooring installation job done and you're just dying to show everyone how great it looks.  Having beautiful hardwood flooring to show is great, but be wary because with all the holiday parties you plan on hosting comes the dirty floor and potential for damage to your hardwood flooring.  Here are few tips from Chicagoland Pro on how to keep your hardwood floors safe during the holiday celebrations:

Protecting Your Hardwood Flooring-- Christmas Tree

1- Use of felt appliques: If part of your decorations include having a Christmas tree there are a few things you need to keep in mind for the well-being of your hardwood flooring.  If you have decided to use a real tree then this means you will obviously need to make sure that the stem or base of the tree is being watered.  Here's where things can get tricky.  If for some reason the base begins leaking water it can cause great damage to your hardwood flooring.  No one wants a beautiful hardwood flooring installation job ruined, so save yourself the trouble and make sure the base of the tree is protected.  Place a felt applique tightly around the base of the tree.  If any water seeps out, it will not be directly on the hardwood flooring.

2- Say no to sap:  Here's another tree tip-- If you intend on using a real tree as a part of your holiday directions watch out for the sap that could potentially wind up on your hardwood flooring.  If you find a spot where sap has accumulated the best way to remove it is to stick an ice cube on it.  This will pop the sap right off.  After you pop the sap off clean the floor with a hardwood flooring-safe cleaner.

3- Eliminate tree needles:  Protect your hardwood flooring from all of those pesky pine needles that trees can leave behind during the holiday season.  Keep a microfiber dust mop or hardwood flooring-safe vacuum handy at all times.  Scratches on hardwood floors typically come from any debris left on the flooring that moves across the floor.  This will dull the flooring's finish.  Try to sweep the floor daily.

Protecting Your Hardwood Flooring-- Guests

4- Polishing:  Before holiday guests arrive, consider a quick floor polishing.  A quick floor polishing will make your floors look their best just in time for your guests to arrive.  Just remember to leave yourself enough time for your handy work to dry.  Give yourself a window of 1-2 hours before allowing people to walk on the floors.

5- Shoes off:  Make it a point that all guests take off their shoes at the door upon their arrival.  This will leave the dirt and debris from outside off of your hardwood flooring preventing any damage from being done.

Looking for more tips on protecting your hardwood flooring from all the holiday commotion?  Feel free to leave us a comment below or contact us.

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Today's Hardwood Flooring Trends

Trends aren't just a part of the fashion world.  Trends are even a part of the hardwood flooring world. Installing and refinishing hardwood flooring for the past 25 years, we really have seen it all here at Palatine Hardwood Flooring company Chicagoland Pro.  What are today's homeowners looking for in their hardwood flooring today?  Here are a few today's hardwood flooring trends:

(1) Sustainability: As time goes on we become more and more concerned about preserving the environment.  Concerns for forests and the environment has began impacting how hardwood flooring is being produced.  Sustainable domestic species of wood have become popular as the days of cutting down forests just to produced lumber has began fading.  Homeowners are choosing materials like bamboo or cork, which offers peak performance like that of hardwood flooring, but there's no need to cut down trees.  Bamboo, cork and other similar materials are great sustainable products, which is great for environmentally friendly folks.

(2) Authenticity: Homeowner's today are looking for authenticity in their hardwood flooring.  The idea of incorporating more nature into our homes comes through in our flooring choices.  Hardwood flooring gives a touch of nature to our homes and perhaps that's why homeowner's today seek out authenticity in their flooring.  Authentic flooring harkens back to the flooring of the past reminding us of a life-style that was slower paced and perhaps that's part of why homeowner's are liking the authentic flooring.

(3) Wide-width wood planks: Buildings and homes constructed in the 1800s feature hardwood flooring with wood planks with wide-widths, different from our hardwood flooring today.  Typically boards today are 2 to 3-inch widths, whereas older flooring was commonly 5 to 8-inch widths, depending on the wood species.  Manufacturers are looking to provide wider-widths for homeowner's looking to again bring back parts of the past.

(4) Distressing wood flooring: Instead of the perfected look, homeowners are starting to like the distressed look of hardwood flooring again.  The 1970s ushered in a want for distressed flooring, but typically that meant the floor looked extremely distressed.  Gouges, stains, slices, marks show some authenticity.Today distressing is making a comeback, but is more toned down then distressed floors from the past.

(5) Color: Homeowners usually want their flooring to match the rest of the decor in the room, so it's only natural that color is a popular trend.  Homeowners today aren't just interested in different shades of brown flooring.  They even show interest in a wide variety of other colors including whites (off-whites), blacks, grays and reds.  Stain allows you to pick your color choice.

If you have comments or questions, just comment on this post or contact us.  We're always happy to talk hardwood flooring.

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