Be Warned Hard Floors Are Much More Unhealthy That Carpets Are! That’s a pretty controversial statement that carpets are healthier that hard flooring. Why would I say it when Asthma UK recommends that asthma sufferers remove their carpets?
Well first not all asthma is caused by what we call “air allergens”. The four main air allergen in the home are, dust mites, pet dander, mould, and pollen. Let’s start with that statement and then I will explain my reasons.
For one moment think about the term “Air Allergen” air being the key word here, well if you have hard floors then those allergen will blow around every time you open a door from outside. Carpet act as a filter trapping those allergens stopping them blowing around.
You might say but having them trapped is not a good thing. Well they are better trapped than in you lungs. And they don no harm here where they can be vacuumed away and periodically removed with carpet cleaning.
So why do Asthma UK recommend removing carpets? You will have to ask them but I will say they will tell you that dust mite bread here. It’s now been proven that dust mite needs moisture in their environment and carpets don’t provide this. It’s the mattress that they love.
I remember watching a TV program about asthma and Asthma UK where telling these sufferers that they should rip up carpets and use hard floors. Well as I have said dust will then be a problem. Well you could get around this by mopping every day. The amount of times each day would depend on the type of home environment you have. More kids and pets more dust equals more mopping each day.
Seeing your carpets as your homes lungs filtering out the dust for you help’s you understand what’s going on with causes of asthma attacks.
Source: http://tinakimmens.wordpress.com
The more you understand about any subject, the more interesting it becomes. As you read this article you’ll find that the subject of Hardwood Floor is certainly no exception.
Repairing and refinishing your hardwood floor can be quite a challenge, but with the right preventive measures and maintenance techniques, your hardwoord floor can stay as good as the first time you installed it even after several years.
Some of the best hardwood flooring, for instance, have withstood the test of time and stayed around for decades, even a century. If you take a look at old homes that still stand nowadays, you will see how their hardwood floors have stayed intact and stable through the years.
Thus, if we want to enjoy the full aesthetic and functional benefits of our hardwood floors, we should know how to properly take care of them so they don’t easily succumb to wear. Because hardwood floors are organic and can potentially decay, cleaning them regularly is necessary.
See how much you can learn about Hardwood Floor when you take a little time to read a well-researched article? Don’t miss out on the rest of this great information.
There is a technique to the proper cleaning of hardwood floors. For one, you shouldn’t use a damp rag to wipe it because the moisture might cause damage to your finishing. If your floor has just been waxed and coated with finish, you have no reason to worry about the water seeping into the woodwork. But if it has been a while since you’ve refinished your floor, then you should be careful to use only soft dry rags to polish it.
When sweeping, use only brooms with exploding bristles because they are the most effective in taking out grime and dust. The wrong broom might only have the dirt accummulate in the wrong places and lead to bigger headaches in the future. There are also cleaning fluids that are exclusive for use on hardwood floors. Don’t experiment with other cleaning materials or you might be sorry.
If your hardwood floor has lots of burns and scratches, sanding the area lightly and then reapplying a coat of finish will make your floor as good as new again. If sticky chewing gum is your problem, then you should ice the deposit first until it becomes brittle enough to crumble off. For hardheaded gums, try pouring floor cleaner around it so it loosens up.
Hardwood floors last a lifetime and more if properly maintained and regularly cleaned. Thus, it is our responsibility to apply the right methods to ensure that they outlive us.
You can’t predict when knowing something extra about Hardwood Floor will come in handy. If you learned anything new about &keyword% in this article, you should file the article where you can find it again.
Source: http://www.apxa.info/hardwood-floor/properly-cleaning-your-hardwood-floor.htm
The floor of your garage is often a place that is subject to the most amount of dirt and grime. When you consider all of the materials that get spilled on it every single day it is a wonder that you can actually see the floor through the grime. There are many things that you can do to get the garage floor looking clean again.
Not everyone will be able to paint their garage floors and have it look great when they are done. There are some things that can be done in place of paint that will give your garage floor a fresh look in no time. You should be careful of the products that you use so that you can make sure that you get a great looking floor when you are finished.
The preparation of your floor is as important as the product that you use to seal and coat it. It will be necessary for you to take a look at the floor and determine what kind of preparation it will need to receive the coat of floor paint or epoxy.
You can go ahead with the paints or sealers if you have a floor that has never been painted before. You will still have to clean the floor completely before you start painting. There absolutely cannot be any oil or dirt on the floor when you begin with these products or it will show through.
You can use a standard cleaning product if all you have is dirt on the floor. But if you have oil and gas on the floor you will need a special product that will clean this up off of your garage floor. You should remove the oil stains before you begin cleaning the floor.
When you have painted and sealed the floor, you will have to wait seven days for it to cure before you are able to drive on it.
For floors that are filled with holes and marks there are products that you can use to fill the holes. If there are too many to fill in with one of these products, you should consider resurfacing the whole floor.
There is a lot of work involved in cleaning and making your garage door look good again. You might find that it is easier if you buy a mat and cover the floor instead. There are many types of flooring mats that you can put on your floor and get a great look for your garage. Check out the different designs that you can use on your garage floor. You’ll still have to clean the floor before you use one of these mats for your floor. Get the oil stains up and scrub it till it is clean.
Source: http://beautifulhomegarden.blogspot.com/2008/09/easy-way-to-make-your-garage-floor.html
Hardwood floors can create a feeling of warmth and elegance in a home or business. However, hardwood floors can also be a nightmare for your cleaning company to keep looking good. Knowing what to do and when to do it will help you to keep hardwood floors in prime condition.
Before beginning a maintenance program on a hardwood floor it’s a good idea to ask questions about the background of the floor (finish used, when it was last sanded, etc.). If that information isn’t available, then you’ll need to assess the floor to determine the condition of the floor. Some basic observations of the wood and the finish will help to determine what type of cleaning or refinishing is needed.
Begin by evaluating the condition of the wood. If the floor has extensive damage, warped boards and a lot of wear, the entire floor may need to be replaced. But that is the worst case scenario. Inspect the entire floor, including the edges, and look for differences in the level of the floor. Following are categories you can assign to the floor:
A. Overall very good condition. The hardwood floor looks good or may even be new. The floor may just need a good cleaning to get its luster back.
B. Slight scuffed. The floor is in fairly good condition, however, has a few scuffs and scratches, especially in high traffic areas.
C. Heavy wear. The floor has quite a few scratches, scrapes and dents and looks worn in places. It may even have a few expansion cracks.
D. Warped appearance. The boards in the floor have some minor warping, uneven boards, and many scratches and scrapes.
Next decide the condition of the finish. The condition of the finish may be related to the condition of the wood. For instance if there are deep cuts, scratches or chips in the finish they may go through the finish and into the wood itself. Look at the finish decide what categories are applicable:
A. The floor has a finish, but it looks dirty. The floor most likely just needs a good cleaning to get back that glossy luster.
B. The finish has light scratches, dings and chips and is worn (or is dull) in heavy traffic areas.
C. The finish is chipped in many places. Although the floor definitely has a finish, there are light scrapes, scratches and dings throughout the finish.
D. Finish is worn. There is little or no finish on the floor. The finish may appear to have deep gouges from dragging furniture across it.
E. No finish. The finish is gone or chipped and has a poor appearance.
If the wood and the finish are in good or reasonably good condition, a good cleaning and starting up a routine maintenance program is the next step. If the wood (category C, D or E) or finish (C, D or E) is in bad shape, you may need to do more research or consult a professional on the best way to proceed.
Properly maintaining hardwood floors is important to keep them looking good and extend their lifespan. It is extremely important to remove all the dirt, dropped food, grit and other debris that can end up on and ground into hardwood floors. Dirt that is not removed quickly can be “camouflaged” in the pattern or color of the wood making it not only difficult to see, but easy to ignore. There are several tools that you can use to remove dirt:
1. Brooms- make sure to use a broom that has “exploded” ends that can sweep up dust and fine grit.
2. Vacuums – Any type except an upright vacuum with a beater bar and brushes. These can cause damage to the floor.
3. Dust mop. Dust mopping and vacuuming are the most effective methods of removing debris from floors. If using a dust mop, buy a high quality mop with an eighteen inch head. Treat the mop with a dust mop treatment so it grabs the dirt and doesn’t just push it around.
Sweeping, vacuuming or dust mopping regularly is great for getting rid of the dirt, but you will still need to clean the floor. The best method to use is to mop the floor. Use a neutral cleaner (pH of 7) that is for use on hardwood floors and follow the product’s directions. Following are a few tips that will help to protect any hardwood floors that you care for:
Good matting is the best way to keep damaging soil and grit from getting onto and ground into the floor. Mats on the outside entryway will help to remove some soils. Make sure any mat(s) used inside (and on the floor) is a good quality rug that does not have a rubber coating. Plasticizers used on some rugs can “migrate” or move from the rug and into the finish of the wood floor.
High heels can cause permanent damage to hardwood floors. The spikes on heels can create dimples in hardwood floors. In a business it may not be possible to keep high heels off the hardwood floors, but if you are cleaning a residential floor, you can let the homeowner know of the problems associated with high heels.
Dragging furniture across the floor. This can cause scratches and dents in the floor. Anytime furniture needs to be moved it should be lifted and carried. Furniture legs need to be in good shape. A loose leg on a chair can dig into the floor’s finish anytime someone sits down in the chair.
Spills (food, cleaners, alcohol, oils) can damage the finish and the wood. Clean up spills as soon as possible.
Bright sunlight can bleach, darken or dry out wood. It may be necessary to cover windows with drapes or blinds to keep the ultraviolet rays off the wood.
Source: http://guide-hardwood.blogspot.com/2008/09/how-to-evaluate-and-care-for-hard-wood.html
It is high time that you say goodbye or bid a farewell to the ordinary cement flooring. Today there are a wide range of floorings available on the market to suit any aesthetic needs, as well as your budget. Every floor cleaning begins with vacuuming or sweeping to remove all the dust, hair and crumbs etc.. Obviously it is preferable to use an efficient vacuum, such as the Dyson DC25 Animal, so that the floors are completely free of any dirt, before preceding onto the main cleaning phase. The following are different kinds of cleaning measures for different types of floorings that can be followed afterwards:
Vinyl is one of the most commonly used types of flooring. It is also one easiest to clean and maintain. Simply clean the vinyl flooring, with floor mops washed or dipped in a solution of soap and warm water, once and then mop the entire floor again with the white vinegar and water solution. There are also a variety of ready-mix cleaning solutions made especially for vinyl flooring available on the market.
Bad scuff or other spots can be removed from wood flooring with a drop of lemon essential oil, or simply by using tea tree oil, if the wood is light coloured. Another amazing tip for removing spots from wooden flooring is to apply a mixture of a drop of each lemon juice and lavender oil, with a damp scrubbing sponge. For cleaning the entire floor, just mop with a soft rag dipped in the vinegar and water mixture. Never allow the water to stand on the wooden flooring, as this will lead to softening of the wood.
The stains in grout can easily be removed using a toothbrush. Finally, spray with tile cleaner and rub it thoroughly.
Alkaline or acid solutions should not be used for cleaning the marble floorings, as these solutions have a negative effect on marble floorings and lighten their colour.
There are different types of floorings at different places. There can be two places where you encounter the similar type of flooring, but still you will feel or picture both of them differently. It is majorly due to one simple reason; how the flooring has been cleaned and maintained. Cleaning the floor may seem to be quite an easy task, yet it is not commonly included into cleaning routines. There is definitely a lot of effort you need to put in, before you get to see amazing end results.
Source: http://www.home-living-news.co.uk/keeping-clean/270/cleaning-tips-for-different-kinds-of-floorings.html