Good morning! As a hardwood floor professional, I take it very seriously when I come across certain stories that can effect the health of uninformed consumers. I am a member of the National Wood Floor Association (NWFA), so I receive updates on current events from all over the nation on a pretty regular basis. When I came across this story about product being sold to the US at 100 x the formaldehyde limit, I felt that I needed to help spread the word in case someone has recently purchased this flooring and has no idea what it is that is in their home.
The original story was sent to me from NWFA through their Hardwood Floors magazine. Here is the link for you to read the original story: Formaldehyde Story Basically there is a company that has had several legal issues this past year that has now been selling a laminate floor product that has been manufactured in China with 100 x the allotted amount of Formaldehyde. So if you or anyone you know has purchased and installed a laminate floor from Lumber Liquidators, PLEASE read this story and follow up to see if it is the same product.
If you have any concerns or questions, don't hesitate to contact us. I understand that it can be difficult sifting through different information from different sources when in the end you just want to make sure you and your family are safe! I hope this story will be shared by many others so the correct consumers will be informed. Thank you all for your help with this!
Your Family @
Wichita Wood Floor Specialists
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Why Professional Cleaning for Hardwood Floors?
Many people ask us why they should professionally clean and maintain their hardwood floors. They are stuck in the rut of believing they should keep up with their normal maintenance techniques and then call their local wood floor professionals every 5 years or so to get their floors sanded and refinished to look new again. This is a never ending rut and a pain in the neck people have to deal with every 5 years. I have even heard some folks say they would rather not have real wood floors because of this.
The simple truth is you shouldn't need to sand and refinish your wood floors that often. If you maintain them the way your local wood floor professionals have taught you AND you have your wood floors professionally cleaned every 6 months to a year you should not ever need to sand and refinish your floors. The thing most people don't realize is that when you have your floors professionally cleaned by a wood floor company (and not just a carpet company), they can actually chemically bond a new polyurethane finish coat to your floor. This is adding another protective layer to your floors and making them not only look beautiful again, but helping to protect them for a longer period of time.
Professionally cleaning them not only is less stressful on your home life compared to sanding and refinishing your floors, it is also less stressful to your wallet! So it just makes sense to call your local professional wood floor cleaning company. When contacting the company please make sure to ask them if they are able to chemically bond a new polyurethane finish coat to the floor. There are several companies out there that will only apply a Refinisher coat to the floor. In some circumstances the Refinisher is all the floor may need, but if that is the only coat the company offers it is a sure sign that they aren't truly educated on the needs of your floor.
If you are interested in learning more, or would like to schedule a free estimate please give us a call at 316-747-4066. You can also visit our website at www.wichitawoodfloorcleaning.com From our family to yours, Happy Holidays!
The simple truth is you shouldn't need to sand and refinish your wood floors that often. If you maintain them the way your local wood floor professionals have taught you AND you have your wood floors professionally cleaned every 6 months to a year you should not ever need to sand and refinish your floors. The thing most people don't realize is that when you have your floors professionally cleaned by a wood floor company (and not just a carpet company), they can actually chemically bond a new polyurethane finish coat to your floor. This is adding another protective layer to your floors and making them not only look beautiful again, but helping to protect them for a longer period of time.
Professionally cleaning them not only is less stressful on your home life compared to sanding and refinishing your floors, it is also less stressful to your wallet! So it just makes sense to call your local professional wood floor cleaning company. When contacting the company please make sure to ask them if they are able to chemically bond a new polyurethane finish coat to the floor. There are several companies out there that will only apply a Refinisher coat to the floor. In some circumstances the Refinisher is all the floor may need, but if that is the only coat the company offers it is a sure sign that they aren't truly educated on the needs of your floor.
If you are interested in learning more, or would like to schedule a free estimate please give us a call at 316-747-4066. You can also visit our website at www.wichitawoodfloorcleaning.com From our family to yours, Happy Holidays!
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Still Confused on How to Take Care of Hardwood Floors
Good Morning Everyone! Fall has definitely hit here in Kansas this morning. In this blog I really try to educate the public on how to properly maintain their hardwood floors. It never fails, we receive several phone calls a week with someone that has been using a "hardwood floor cleaning product" that seems to be leaving that very familiar white film on their floor. So today we are going to be reviewing some of the old blogs and try to put them all together for a "HOW TO PROPERLY MAINTAIN THOSE WOOD FLOORS" day! :)
Two of our most popular blogs were : Orange Glo... No Go! & Orange Glo - No Glo Part 2 Feel free to click on the links and review these very informative blogs. The first actually has information from Orange Glo's website informing consumers that they probably have a wax build up on their floor from their product.
Another good blog was our Maintaining Your Floors. This Blog has a few quick tips on how to properly maintain your hardwood floors. It is a quick easy read, and well worth it! One of our last popular blogs is Quick Tips for a Healthy Wood Floor! This Blog is an overall what to do and what not to do guide. These are your basic guidelines to follow to keep your hardwood floors "happy"!
Please feel free to skim through any of our earlier blogs and let us know if you have any questions. One of the best parts about what we do is helping to educate everyone on how to really maintain their hardwood floors. You can reach us @ 316-747-4066 or check out our website @ www.wichitawoodfloorcleaning.com Have a great week!
Two of our most popular blogs were : Orange Glo... No Go! & Orange Glo - No Glo Part 2 Feel free to click on the links and review these very informative blogs. The first actually has information from Orange Glo's website informing consumers that they probably have a wax build up on their floor from their product.
Another good blog was our Maintaining Your Floors. This Blog has a few quick tips on how to properly maintain your hardwood floors. It is a quick easy read, and well worth it! One of our last popular blogs is Quick Tips for a Healthy Wood Floor! This Blog is an overall what to do and what not to do guide. These are your basic guidelines to follow to keep your hardwood floors "happy"!
Please feel free to skim through any of our earlier blogs and let us know if you have any questions. One of the best parts about what we do is helping to educate everyone on how to really maintain their hardwood floors. You can reach us @ 316-747-4066 or check out our website @ www.wichitawoodfloorcleaning.com Have a great week!
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Ripping Out the Carpet *UPDATE*
Good morning! I am so excited about the progress of our floor! Unfortunately it has taken our floor a little longer to be completed, because our customer's floors are coming before ours (which is how it should be!) But I am thrilled that we are almost done.
Last night we put the first coat on the floor, and what a difference it made. The characteristics of the wood came to life over night. In case I forgot to mention it in the previous blog, we decided to go with a grade 2 white oak. We decided grade 2 for two simple reasons: 1. Cost wise it is cheaper than grade one. 2. The characteristics are amazing. There are a lot more multi-colored boards, with knot holes and all sorts of characteristics. Some people don't care for it, but we love it!
Last night we put the first coat on the floor, and what a difference it made. The characteristics of the wood came to life over night. In case I forgot to mention it in the previous blog, we decided to go with a grade 2 white oak. We decided grade 2 for two simple reasons: 1. Cost wise it is cheaper than grade one. 2. The characteristics are amazing. There are a lot more multi-colored boards, with knot holes and all sorts of characteristics. Some people don't care for it, but we love it!
So we are in the home stretch! We have a few more coats to put on and then some dry time before we can replace any furniture, but it is coming along great.
The true confirmation was our four boys walking upstairs this morning to get ready for school and the "wow's" & "awesome's" we heard. It has definitely been a project, but by the end it is all worth it! There are so many advantages to us pulling out that old carpet and placing the hardwood floors. Obviously the beauty, but also the value it adds when we sell our house in the future. And we definitely can't forget the allergens! Our boys should definitely breathe better in our home now, which to me is priceless.
Visit our website @ www.wichitawoodfloorcleaning.com to learn more about our company and who we are. Feel free to leave comments, or give us a call at 316-747-4066 for any questions you may have. Have a great rest of the week! :)
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
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:
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.
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
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.
Monday, September 30, 2013
#wichitawoodfloor
Visit our website to learn more about professional wood floor maintenance and cleaning @
www.wichitawoodfloorcleaning.com
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!
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!
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