UV Oil Finished Floors
Maintenance of UV cured Oil finished Floors:
Oil treated floors offer a very special finish which ensures a pleasant and natural living environment. In order to ensure lasting pleasure of your oil finished floor, it is necessary to care correctly for the floor. This means understanding the finish and adhering to some simple rules…
All Oil finishes including UV cured, contain vegetable Oil. These are not as hard or durable as pure polymer finishes and thereby require owners to be aware and not expect the same performance. Plan to protect your investment a little more judiciously and diligently.
- Use good quality mats at entrances both exterior and interior to trap grit from footwear.
- Use felt protectors under chairs, couch legs or any furniture. CAUTION – pads beneath chairs or other furniture which will be moved periodically should be changed regularly to void build-up of grit. Felt pads compress, become hard and lose their ability to protect, so clean them regularly and replace those which become compressed, or dislodged. Further – do not slide heavy furniture across Oil finished floors as this can leave marks difficult to buff out.
- Regularly vacuum the floor to remove dust, or grit near entrances not captured by mats.
- Use the correct Soap…. All manufacturers offer soap concentrate formulated to compliment their finish products. Don’t use other products, whether recommended by stores, sales people cleaners, friends etc. Just use the right type.
- Most Oil soaps contain paraben which protects and nourishes Oiled finish. On UV Oiled floors this can leave a haze or build-up of film which on dark floors should be avoided.
- Dark rich looking floors will require soap without wax content. Consult the manufacturer or supplier for advice.
- Typically, soap Concentrate is used in 2 – 3% solution with water. We recommend filtered water to avoid mineral or chlorine content.
- If Oiled flooring is installed in cooking and eating areas, plan to keep concentrated soap solution for spot cleaning. 5 – 10% solution normally works for this. Clean up dropped foods or spillage promptly, as dried residue is much more difficult to remove.
- Correct mop head. The most commonly available mop heads are Microfibre, often recycled material. The best type are “Cut end” type, rather than “Loop” type which are more aggressive and can cause erosion of the finish.
- Plan to use several of these mop heads, as they become soiled during cleaning and require frequent replacement. Between uses these should be laundered for re-use.
- Spray the mop head to start, and lightly spray the floor surface ahead of where you plan to clean. Work backwards to avoid walking on the wet surface. As you work the surface should be wet but not saturated. Inspect the mop head frequently to ensure you’re not simply spreading dirt about. Soon as it becomes soiled, replace with a clean one and continue. The goal is to remove the dirt so keep replacing mop heads.
- Once completed, the floor needs time to thoroughly dry before replacing furniture and resuming daily use.
Periodic Maintenance for UV Oil Finished Floors:
Over some period of time, dependant on usage, Oil finished as well as UV Oil finished floors will show the need to ‘ Refresh ‘ the surface back to original.
Oil Refresher product should be the first level of care as it can be applied relatively easily, typically by cleaning staff, or owners. Consult the Oil finish manufacturer or contact us to confirm availability.
If Refresh is not deemed sufficient or lasting, then the next level of care will be application of Maintenance Oil. These are also provided by Oil finish manufacturers, and can be described as a “low solids” version of Oil or Hardwax Oil finish. Maintenance Oils are lower viscosity, easy to apply, spread much further than original Oils or Hardwax’s, covering the area in a thin layer to rejuvenate ‘ tired ‘ or ‘thirsty looking’ floor finish.
Usage involves proper cleaning prior to application, using “Intensive cleaner” to strip away contaminants which may impair adhesion or curing of Maintenance Oil, and also to avoid encapsulating contaminants into the Maintenance Oil.
The longevity of these treatments depends again on continued and exclusive use of the correct Soap, applicators, cleaning & usage frequency.