How To Tell If My Wood Floors Are Sealed

Before you restore your wood floor finish or even clean it you need to know what type of finish it is or your efforts could be for naught.

How to tell if my wood floors are sealed.

When cleaning hardwood floors it is important to first determine whether or not your wood floors are finished or unfinished. Sealing the wood protects the floor from moisture which is the floor s worst enemy. However if the bead of water sinks down into the floor and makes a spot the sealant on your floors is no longer sound and water damage can and will occur. Surface sealed floors are stain and water damage resistant and easiest to clean.

If the water drop beads on top of the wood your floor is sealed. Similarly hardwood floors which have not yet been sealed face the same misfortunes. Therefore it is important to determine if your hardwood floor is sealed or unsealed before cleaning. Finished floors are considered sealed.

Sealed floors have been coated with a protective top coat such as varnish or polyurethane. Sealed wood will not change color when coated with water or if left too long the sealer will turn white but bare wood will darken. If it stands for 5 minutes without soaking in your hardwood floors are sealed. Wipe the water from the floor.

Gentle cleaners are best for any hardwood floor finish but oiled and waxed floors require a type of care you don t need to lavish on hard surface finishes. There are various ways to tell if your hardwood is properly sealed or not. Do not use water to clean your hardwood floors. Locate an out of the way area that is not on a seam for the hardwood boards.

However after years of service hardwood floors are bound to lose their spark and may appear dull and hard to clean due to the wear on the floor seal. Get a small glass of water. They then become prone to damping and eventually rot away when water is applied on them. How do i know if hardwood floors are sealed.

Many floors have a polyurethane finish but certain finishes are harder than polyurethane and restorative finishes won t adhere well to them. Protip don t do this in the middle of the floor where you could stare at it for a few days. Mopping unsealed hardwood floor with water or liquid cleaners is highly discouraged. Wood to tell if your wood floor is sealed find an inconspicuous area dab a drop of water on the surface and see if it soaks in or beads on top.

If your home or apartment sports a hardwood floor it is important for you to know if the floor has been treated or finished so that you can clean and care for it in the right manner. So how do i know if my hardwood floors are sealed. Use a simple test to determine what finish is on your floor. It is quite common to find unfinished wooden floors in older homes and apartments while finished or sealed floors are characteristic of contemporary homes with different sealing or treatment choices available.

Many newer homes today have sealed hardwood floors.