Wives Tales of Hardwood Floors

Hello!  Part of owning a hardwood flooring company is being asked how to properly maintain the wood floors.  Over time people start to realize that the everyday cleaners you can purchase at the grocery store are actually wax based products leaving a film on their floors.  So then they turn to the old wives tales for advise, because they have no where else to turn.  So today we are going to go through these old wives tales and bring some light on the subject!

A good one I heard just last week was a mixture of vinegar and lemon juice with water.  What is funny about this, is I came home and Googled it.  As I was typing "lemon juice and vinegar for" a list of options came up.  Here they are:

• Dandruff
• Kidney Stones
• Ants
• Fleas
• Weight Loss

So this right away tell you that if it "cures" anything from fleas to weight loss, it probably won't be best for your wood floors.  You can actually find people online that SWEAR by using vinegar for their hardwood floors.  A few even add lemon to get rid of the nasty vinegar smell.  However you need to be wary of the acid contained in each of these ingredients.  After time it can actually etch the surface of the wood.

Another one I hear at least once a week is someone uses a steam mop on their wood floors.  Lets think about this...  What is steam?  Exactly!  You are taking super hot water and spreading it all over your wood floors.  Eventually your floors are going to start peeling, cracking, and even whitening leaving a cloudy finish on your floors finish.  I know they seem to work great on the home shopping network, AND they swear it's the best, easiest, safest thing to use on your hardwood floors. Just because it is safe on laminate flooring, does not make it safe on real hardwood floors. Do you use the same rag to clean ALL the same surfaces?  (I know that is pretty extreme, but you get the idea!)  Below is a picture of a damaged floor from a steam mop.



The good ol' wax and oil based products are next.  These seem to be EVERYWHERE!  Stay away from these products.  A lot of the newer products don't advertise to have wax in them , but do some research and I'm sure you will find that the product is wax or oil based.  Not only can these products damage the finish, they also leave a white film on the floor.

Why not use regular dusting products?  You can use them on all of your real wood furniture, so why not on your real wood floors as well?  Unless you want to make your floors into the slipperiest skating rink ever, I would suggest to use these products on furniture only.  This way you will avoid any hospital visits also!

What about ammonia?  This too over time will cause discoloration and deterioration to the floor.  It will also dull the finish, taking years off the life of the floor.

And the #1 culprit when it comes to damaging wood floors?  The wet mop!  If you do in fact use a mop on your floor, it should NEVER be more than SLIGHTLY damp.  Excess water is actually the most common way to damage your wood floors and finish.

Visit our earlier blog: Tips To A Clean Healthy Floor to see what you can do to properly maintain your wood floor.  And don't forget to set up your yearly professional cleaning with your local trusted company.  Just like carpets, wood floors need to be professionally cleaned and maintained at least once a year.  For anyone in the Wichita, KS area you can call us at 316-747-4066 to set up you routine maintenance cleaning.

#wichitawoodfloor

Visit our website to learn more about professional wood floor maintenance and cleaning @
www.wichitawoodfloorcleaning.com

Ripping Out the Carpet

We have been a little slower this last week so we FINALLY had time to work on OUR house!  We moved into our new home about two years ago and have been missing the wood floors from our old home.  So with idle hands, we finally had the opportunity to rip out our carpet upstairs.  Now, we have 4 boys between the ages of 7 and 12 along with a one year old Lab.  I clean ALL the time, vacuum, dust, dishes, etc.  But nothing could have prepared me for the amount of dirt that was trapped under all of that carpet padding!

I first felt ashamed and embarrassed, then a little angry.  I had spent so much time cleaning those darn carpets, and for what?  A HUGE amount of dirt to be left behind for us to live in!  No wonder my family's allergies have been acting up since we have lived in this house.

Dirt no more!  All of that old carpet and padding is out of here!  We decided to go with white oak and it is completely installed now.  The first of the sanding has been completed and now the filler is drying.  What an exciting process,  don't get me wrong it has been difficult at times not having a living room or dining room with our large family, but the end result is going to be priceless!

So if you know anyone who suffers from allergies and has carpet in their home, tell them to call us for a free estimate to get their dirt/allergen magnet OUT of their home!  I am not proud to show all of the dirt that came from under our carpet, but I wanted to share this with everyone so they can see what it is they are living with daily.  Give us a call for any questions, or to schedule your free estimate  316-747-4066.  We love comments on your thoughts, so feel free to comment on any of our blogs.  Thanks!

Solid vs Engineered Hardwood Flooring

Hardwood floors.... they can definitely add not only beauty to your home, but also value.  This is great when trying to place your house on the market.  Our housing market here in Wichita, KS has found that houses with well finished hardwood floors are selling almost twice as fast as houses with carpet, or hardwood that have not been taken care of properly.

If you don't have hardwood floors in your home and are planning on hiring someone to install them, the first decision you have to make is what type of hardwood flooring do you want.  Do you want solid hardwood flooring or engineered hardwood flooring, and what are the differences?

Solid wood flooring is made up of planks or strips that are complete hardwood lumber from top to bottom and end to end.  The wood can vary from length and width, depending on what you choose to go with.  The thickness of the wood is normally 3/4 of an inch thick.  The wood is installed unfinished and is then sanded and finished.

Engineered pre-finished flooring is made up of several layers of wood/plywood glued together in a cross grain pattern.  The top layer, which is the hardwood, is completely finished at the factory with multiple coats of highly durable (aluminum oxide) finish.  The floor is installed by nailing or gluing it into place.

What are the benefits of using one over the other?  Well for the engineered wood it is the simplicity of it all.  The wood is pre-finished so there are no sanders coming in after the installation needing to sand.  Also, since the finish has already been applied, no waiting period to walk on your floors or to place any furniture on them.  You just install the floor and enjoy!

The benefits of solid wood floor are different yet very appeasing!  With solid wood floors if you get tired of the look of them, you simply have to sand them and then add any color stain you want.  Also, if you begin to have damage to your floors (kids, water, pets, sun, etc.) the floors can be easily patched or sanded and refinished.  Pre-finished floors have such a thin top layer of hardwood they often can only be sanded a few times and then it is time to rip out and replace.  Solid wood flooring, if properly taken care of, will last a lifetime or even longer!

Each person is different in the product they choose for their home.  Each situation is unique in it's own way of why a certain home needs a particular type of flooring over another.  It is best to contact a well educated installation company on what type of flooring is right for you and your home.  The large chain companies (Home Depot, Lowes, etc.) aren't usually the best place to find a well educated hardwood flooring professional.  Stick with the local companies that specialize in hardwood flooring only.  These are the people that do this everyday for a living, so they will help you on your journey of selecting what product is right for you.

If you have any questions, we are always here to answer them.  You can reach Wichita Wood Floor Specialists at 316-747-4066 or visit us at our website www.wichitawoodfloorcleaning.com .  Contact us for a free in home consultation today!

Wichita Wood Floor Specialists

Our Big announcement is here!  We are now officially "Wichita Wood Floor Specialists"!  We have enjoyed our run under the name Wichita Wood Floor Cleaning, but as we grow as a business and grow with the services we offer, a change was needed.

With our new name, comes a new look as well!  Introducing our new logo:

We feel we have encompassed the heart of Wichita with our new logo.  We wanted to add a piece of Wichita, KS to our company to thank the city for being so supportive of us!

We are so very excited with the changes we are making to our company.  We feel that our new look and name better explains who we are and what we do.  We are Wichita's Wood Floor Specialists!  We are still the only company in town that can offer Professional Wood Floor Cleaning & Maintenance Services as well as install a new floor, or even sand & refinish your existing floor!

Wichita Wood Floor Specialist is still family owned and operated by Jesse & Rachel Sample.  We work together to make sure every customer feels well taken care of from the initial call made to us for a free estimate, all the way to the hand shake when the job is completed.

Thank you Wichita for being so supportive to us, we are excited to make a new chapter with you as WICHITA WOOD FLOOR SPECIALISTS!

WWFC Asking for Help

WWFC has been growing and is needing help.  Please visit Our Story to see what you can do to help us.  Please feel free to comment your thoughts or feelings.  Any help is so very greatly appreciated!!!

WWFC Update! Exciting News!

It has been awhile since I have been on here, we have been SUPER busy!  I thought now would be the perfect time to write a little bit to get everyone caught up on WWFC and how we have evolved over the last year!

Like I said, we have been very blessed to stay busy.  For those of you who are reading this blog for the first time, let me explain who we are and what we do.  We are Wichita Wood Floor Cleaning.  We are based out of Wichita, KS.  We introduced the new option to professionally clean your wood floors opposed to having to spend the money and time to sand & refinish your wood floors.

For many floor situations this is the best option.  Professionally cleaning your wood floors is best for homeowners who are trying to get the most life out of their wood floors in between refinishing them.  Or for those who are trying to bring the shine and luster back to them.  The biggest hit we have had are with homeowners trying to get their houses ready to be put on the market.

Like any business, we have had a few hiccups along the way.  The first, as with any new concept, has been trying to educate the public with what professional wood floor cleaning CAN and CANNOT do.  Some people thought their only option to bring the luster back to their floors was by going through the process of sanding & refinishing their floors.  While others thought simply by professionally cleaning their floors, all of the years of bad maintenance and abuse would magically disappear.

The second hiccup came when we came across the floors that needed so much more than a professional cleaning.  Some wood floors that have not been well maintained or that have not been sanded & refinished for many years, cleaning just won't cut it for them, they need to be refinished.  There are several houses we have found where there is only one room that actually needs to be sanded & refinished, and the other rooms simply need to be professionally cleaned.

We have worked long and hard to improve both of these faults.  We have and still are educating everyone on all of their options for their floors, and which option fits their situation best.  The best decision we have made with the new year is to add extra options to what we provide for our services.

WWFC is proud to announce we now provide wood floor sanding & refinishing options added along with our 3 cleaning options we already provide.  We have had to turn jobs down in the past due to us not being in the sanding & refinishing business.  We felt bad telling customers and friends we were unable to help them with their floors just because of the condition they were in.  Well that is a problem no more!

We are proud to be the only company in Wichita, or even Kansas, that can provide the option of sanding & refinishing your floors and/or cleaning them!  We have even traveled up to K.C. last month to look at a floor.  Their house cleaner was using Orange Glo, and once again they were told refinishing was their only option.  No job is too large or small and we are not afraid to get in the car to travel a few extra miles.  Our goal is to change the way wood floor maintenance is viewed and handled, to give homeowners more options to better suit their situation and their pocket books!

For any questions or to call for a free estimate you can reach us at 316-747-4066.  Or feel free to visit our website @ www.wichitawoodfloorcleaning.com  We look forward to hearing from you!