Dreaming of an authentic parquet floor, but put off by stories about its heavy maintenance? Don't be! With a little extra attention and the right products, you can enjoy your dream parquet for years to come. Impermo gives you some useful instructions and practical tips in this blog post. Child's play, right?
General maintenance of a parquet floor
Contrary to what is sometimes said, it's okay to hoover or mop your parquet. You just need to be a bit more careful, compared to a tiled floor: add the parquet brush to the end of your hoover to avoid scratches and keep in mind whether you're parquet is oiled or varnished when mopping. You wouldn't want any spots or damage.
Oiled parquet
You should never mop oiled parquet using pure water. Pure water affects the protective oil layer of the floor and will allow for the stains to set. Mix the water - at room temperature - with a nourishing parquet soap and make sure your mop is wet enough but not soaked. Also, make sure there is sufficient air circulation so that the water can evaporate quickly and the wood doesn't have time to absorb the water. Once a year, and immediately after the placement, you give your parquet some extra loving care with a conditioner. First mop as described above and then apply the conditioner without adding water. Do this with a microfibre cloth and allow to dry for six hours afterwards.
Varnished parquet
Unlike oiled parquet, it's okay to mop varnished parquet using clean water at room temperature. However, it's highly recommended to add a splash of parquet cleaner once a month. For extra protection and preservation of the colours, Impermo recommends treating the floor once a year with a conditioner for varnished parquet, to fill up scratches and to avoid peeling. When your floor has been fitted, it's best to treat your varnished parquet using conditioner.
Scratch alert
No matter how careful you are, you will end up making scratches in your parquet. Most of the time, however, the scratch remains rather superficial, and it can be removed with some simple tips. Don't ever, ever add some varnish over the stains. This can cause colour differences. Instead, try to fill the scratches using floor polish.
In the case of oiled parquet, scratches are rather easy to remove: lightly sand the damaged spot using fine-grained sandpaper, spray the floor for the wood pores to open and fill them with oil. Then remove the excess oil with a cloth.
SUPER TIP FROM IMPERMO
Did you just buy a house with a fantastic oiled parquet, but is the floor covered in scratches? Then call on a professional to treat the entire floor and give it a new oil layer!
Convinced maintaining a parquet floor isn't that hard after all?
Discover Impermo's parquet floors and make a choice that makes you happy every day.
