How Ice Melt And Salt Are A Threat To Your Wood Floors
As the winter months draw to a close, the danger to your wood floors isn’t over yet. The residual ice and salt that is out on the sidewalks and pathways can still harm your elegant wood flooring. As more people walk up and about the locality, the shoes pick up the moisture and ice and these are tracked into the household. Moisture alone is already a threat to the wood, as you no doubt have seen and read on virtually every wood floor care blog. Add salt mixture to this, or ice melt, and the situation worsens. The abrasive effect on the wood surface deteriorates the finish, causing it to get dull faster.
Different chemicals can be used for the ice melt products. These are the likes of calcium chloride which is the most common due to its higher efficiency and lower price, sodium, potassium or magnesium chloride, and even urea. It can be one of these substances or a blend of them. These come with high levels of pH, and when these get tracked into the building, they will accelerate the breakdown on the finish coats that had been applied on the floor, making the structure more vulnerable to wearing down. Sometimes the chemicals can leave white residue on the surface after it dries, that contributes to the loss of appeal of the floor.
Protect Your Floor With Quick Clean-ups
These will go a long way in warding off the deterioration of the floor. The faster that you can clear up the moisture that is getting tracked into the house, the less the amount that gets an opportunity to soak into the wood tissue. For the dry residue, simply vacuum up the area.
Prevention measures like setting up welcome mats at the doorway are also particularly beneficial reducing the amount of material that is getting into the space. One can also opt for kitty litter as opposed to using ice melt products. While this don’t remove the ice, it provides grip to the shoes of the visitors into your home, and its softer texture won’t scratch the floors. However, there will be more clean up needed.
Revitalising Dilapidated Wood Floors
Has your wood floor lost its shine? In addition to the ice melt and salt, there is also the everyday abuse that is meted out onto the floor, from dirt being grinded against the wood surface by foot traffic, scratches that are formed by pets running around the premises, solar radiation that interacts with the finish coasts and wood tissue itself, causing colour change, all through to the occasional spills that create unsightly stains. Even the routine cleaning can affect the floor and cause it to lose its charm, especially when harsh chemicals are used, like when one is attempting to remove stubborn stains. Blunders like dragging furniture across the floor – especially those heavy sets, instead of lifting and carrying them, also ruins the finish.
Why Professional Floor Sanding Beats DIY
For starters, the professionals have the equipment and skills needed to deliver quality results. Years of experience working on residential and commercial floor restoration project is far more reliable than a few hours spent reading through blogs and watching YouTube tutorials. Even the pros took months to sharpen their skills. Taking it on as a DIY project puts you at a considerable disadvantage. There is plenty of room for error, especially when the wrong procedures are followed. Your floor’s structural integrity, and your very own safety, are on the line. From failing to sand the floor sufficiently such that the treatments that are to be applied don’t bond well with the wood, sanding too much into the wood tissue that it weakens the floor, failing to efficiently control the dust that is generated such that it ends up all over the surface in the house, and lingering in the air for weeks – these are not issues that you want to find yourself facing.
Then there are the costs. Sure, one of the main lures to DIY home improvement projects are the potential savings that can be made. However, for floor sanding, the costs usually end up being far much higher than when you hire a professional for the task. When it comes to the real numbers, the individual typically finds themselves digging deeper into their pocket. First, there is the cost of renting the machines needed for the task. These include the drum sander, radial sander, edger, orbital sander and even a buffer. You also need a vacuum to deal with the amount of dust generated, given that the dust bags that are on the rented sanders are not enough to deal with the dust. This equipment is usually rented out on a cost-per-day basis. Given that they are less powerful compared to the industrial-grade machinery that the floor sanding professionals use, it means that the task will end up taking much longer, meaning more money will be used. That’s not all. Extra material is needed for the process, from safety gear like work gloves, a mask or respirator, safety goggles, protective shoes, to heavy-duty trash bags for all the debris that will need to be cleared up.
In case of damage to the floor, more resources will go into getting it rectified. Issues like an uneven surface, peeling finish, or blotchy appearance because of the old coats not being removed – these are only resolved by another round of floor refinishing. Divots being dug into the floor, chatter marks all over the space – they affect the quality of the result, and you end up being forced to plan for another restoration project. In case there is damage to the rented equipment, costs of repairing it will add to your financial burden. Then there is the amount of time that you will take up for the project – is it really worth it? Add to this the frustration and health risks that come with the sanding dust that is generated, which put a strain on you. Avoid it all by simply leaving the task to the professionals who will come in and handle the floor sanding and refinishing in a fraction of the time and cost that it would take going the DIY route.
Carver Dergos / Oiled Floor Cleaner & Refresher