How Often To Oil Wood Flooring

Oiled finish wood flooring provides a natural and warm look and the oil finish helps make the real character of the wood stand out without any shine.  A hardwearing option, thanks to the strength the oil brings to the wood, such finish is perfect for anyone who is seeking to retain and enhance the natural good looks of the wood, while respecting the need for durability.  Oiled finish is available in both solid and engineered options so, no matter where you plan to install your new floor, there should be an oiled option to suit.

If you have opted for oiled finish wood flooring, it’s important to keep the coating of your flooring in good condition by oiling it regularly and minimising the risk of scratches, scrapes and chips.  One of the ways you can help protect the coating on your floor is through a thorough and regular cleaning regime and by investing in a good quality doormat.  Dust and grit are amongst the worst enemies for oil coated wood flooring because they act as an abrasive, serving to remove the oil coating and leave your wood flooring exposed.  It’s for this reason that a good quality doormat will be this finish best friend, serving to remove as much of the outdoor dust and grime as possible before it can scratch or damage your floor.  If your oiled floor has taken its fair share of scratches, check out our article on Repairing Scratches on Oiled Floors, which will help you sort out the problem.

When it comes to cleaning, a well-oiled wood floor simply requires a regular vacuum and a thorough going over with a moist, not wet mop to keep it looking great.  When it comes to a complete revamp, ie. re-sand and re-finish, how often you require such drastic treatment will depend upon the traffic, wear and tear and maintenance regime your floor has experienced.  If your oiled wood floor is looking really tired and in need of a complete re-vamp, here’s what you need to do:

Clear your room.  Make sure you remove all furniture and soft furnishings from your room because sanding is messy and dusty.  Take care when you remove your furniture not to drag it because this could cause even more extensive damage to your floor.

Once you have the room completely empty, make sure that there are no nails or staples standing proud of your floor.

Sand the floor.  If you plan to do this yourself, do bear in mind that it can be a messy job and you’ll need to hire both a drum and an edge sander to get a good result.  Select a range of sandpaper from heavy, 40 grit, through to fine, which may be anything up to 120 grit.  Start to sand, with the heaviest grit and re-do the floor, working with a finer grit each time (apply the same rule to the edges if you’re using an edging sander).

When you’ve finished sanding, vacuum up all the dust which has collected on the floor, especially between any gaps in the boards.

Leave enough time between sanding and oiling to make sure any airborne dust has settled and has been cleared away before moving on to the next phase.