Special
Who sells cleaning and maintenance products for wooden floors?
ADVISE CLIENTS PROPERLY SOME TIPS TO KEEP WOODEN FLOORS LOOKING GOOD Wood, including oak which is so popular in Europe, can lose its colour when exposed to cleaning and maintenance products which are not PH-neutral. For instance, some floor cleaning products on sale in supermarkets are often alkaline (with a high PH value). They clean effectively, but, in particular, they do cause the joints of the wood to become discoloured, and that’s not so attractive. Moreover, they are so aggressive that they affect the finish coat and they are not kind to human skin. The message is quite clear: Don’t recommend just any product whatsoever for cleaning and maintaining wooden floors. You should also consider the fact that wooden floors have various finishes. For instance, an oiled floor may require a different approach to that of a lacquered floor.
wooden floor. That’s why we consider it briefly here. In this case you have to make it clear to users that untreated wood will absorb water, and that in turn can lead to stains and even mould. The important point is not to use water to clean such a floor, but to use a special floor wax. Rub a small quantity of this floor wax into the floor with steel wool, for instance, until all stains have disappeared. As with water, you still have to take great care: Do not use too much of this wax; otherwise you risk creating even more stains!
What’s on the market ? Bona
Cleaning finished wooden floors If we consider firstly the most common case, namely finished wooden floors, always remember that they might have a solid and durable coat of lacquer which protects the underlying wood. The most popular lacquers (polyurethane and polyacrylic) are both waterproof and therefore easy to maintain. Here you just clean with soapy water and a very mild soap. The key message to give the client is always to keep the use of water to an absolute minimum. Moreover, some floors have only undergone a pre-treatment; this means that the planks were lacquered before the fitting. Various factors mean that untreated gaps will emerge between the planks and those gaps will not be waterproof. Cleaning with a mop is an option, but you must wring it out thoroughly so that it is only damp. How do producers tackle various factors? For this edition, to get an example of the assortment, we called on Lecol, which offers a waterbased and solventless full range of cleaning and maintenance products for wooden floors. These maintenance products have been developed and produced by its exclusive producer LOBA from Germany. The products are tailored to the lacquers and oils from LOBA, although they can also be used on finishes of other brands. Amongst other things, we note how for daily (or weekly) cleaning they offer a detergent based on acrylate to combine a cleaning and maintenance product in one. This is a 100% solventless product which makes it possible, for instance, to preserve and protect an extremely matt exterior. Specially for white oiled floors they offer a solventless soap, which is available in natural and white. What is special here is that the producers have thought not only of cleaning, but also nourishing the oiled floor. They do advise clients that it is better to provide extra nourishment with a thorough clean.
Cleaning untreated wooden floors One special case is an untreated or merely lightly finished floor. This is very rare, but you might encounter it in older houses with an ‘old’
Maintaining wooden floors requires attention from all floor owners. Regular maintenance is needed to keep floors looking good for years. Bona offers all the necessary maintenance products of high quality for all lacquered and oiled wooden floors. Their maintenance range includes products for both professionals and consumers. The first condition for the choice of suitable products is whether we are talking about a lacquered or oiled wooden floor. The Bona assortment of maintenance products for lacquered parquet floors: - Regular cleaning: Bona Cleaner (soluble), Bona Spray Mop & assortment (ready for use, for daily use) - Deep cleaning: Bona Deep Clean (for machine use, with the Bona Power Scrubber) - Protection: Bona Polish, Bona Polish D509. For oiled floors Bona has: - Regular cleaning: Bona Oil Soap (intensive cleaning), Bona Spray Mop & oil assortment (for daily use) - Deep cleaning: Bona Deep Clean (for machine use, with the Bona Power Scrubber) - Protection: Bona Oil Care (maintenance oil), Bona Hard Wax Oil (waterproof and dirt-proof).
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