Archive for the ‘Hardwood / Laminate’ Category

Bamboo Flooring

Saturday, September 4th, 2010
Bamboo flooring is all the rage these days not only for its aesthetic value, but also the environmentally friendly factor it lends to the homes where it is used. To give you a brief idea as to where its eco-friendliness stems from, bamboo is actaully a rapidly growing grass which can reach maturity within a time span of three to seven years. This is tremendously fast – especially when you compare it with other trees which are normally used for wood flooring like oak, which can take up to 120 years to grow to its full height.
Although bamboo is sometimes thought of as exotic, that doesn’t mean it has to be expensive!  This makes for a rare combination of eco-friendly and affordable. If you plan to install on your own, before beginning installation, leave the bamboo in the room you wish to use it, for a few days. This process is called acclimation and it allows the bamboo acclimate to the temperature and moisture content of the room preventing any unnecessary expansion and contraction.
If you think bamboo flooring may look too monotone for a whole room, you’d be surprised at the diversity bamboo flooring is now offered in. Bamboo flooring can suit any style of decoration that you are planning to use in your house.
Installation and maintenance of bamboo flooring is very simple. Bamboo flooring can be easily swept every day and does not require special maintenance efforts on your part… except where water is concerned. Keep water contact with the floor at a bare minimum. If some amount of water is spilled, wipe it up immediately. Other than that, sit back and relax and enjoy your environmentally friendly floor!
If you are not familiar with the look of bamboo, you can view samples in our online product catalog by clicking here.
Go Bamboo, Go Green!

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Floor Care and Maintenance

Friday, February 5th, 2010

One of the goals of this blog is to help educate you on topics ranging from design ideas for new projects to how to care for and maintain the products you already have. We feel it’s important to educate you on how to maintain your floors properly because we know they are an investment that you want to keep. Floors take a lot of abuse, but like anything else, if you treat them well they will return the favor by staying in good shape for as long as possible.

A few things to keep in mind before we talk specifics about cleaning:

  • Always have walk off mats at every entrance to your home. These are important because they can aide in trapping dirt from shoes before it can enter your home and scratch the floors.
  • Check your furniture feet to ensure they have feet protectors on the bottom. These will prevent the chair bottoms from scratching and denting your floors when people slide their chairs out to stand up.
  • Remove any spills as quickly as possible. The longer a spill sits, the more risk you run of damage or permanent staining.

Ok, now let’s talk specifics!

First are foremost, you should always try to use a manufacture approved floor cleaner. (and follow the directions) Why, you ask?

  • Manufacturers have spent countless hours designing cleaners that are most effective for their product. They know how it was made and what ingredients are most effective in caring for their product.
  • Side note: You want to follow the directions because we are Americans….. meaning that we generally think that more is better. Many floor cleaners only require minimal amounts of product to achieve optimal results. Too much of a good thing can actually cause more harm than good.
  • Some warranties can be voided if the proper cleaner is not used.  It would be a shame to ruin your floors over a bottle of the wrong cleaner. It happens, believe us!
  • Using multiple cleaners on the same product (particularly hard surfaces) can leave a film that can permanently damage the floors.

How to tackle each type of flooring product: Click on the category below for more information:

Carpet

Hardwood

Tile

Vinyl

Laminate

Stone

Area Rugs

If you have specific stain concerns, please leave us a comment and we will publish the proper way to remove the stain and share with others in case they have the same concern!

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Posted in Area Rugs, Care and Maintenance, Carpet, Ceramic / Porcelain, Hardwood / Laminate | No Comments »

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