Colour Oiled Floors

How to Maintain Your Oiled Timber Floor

It is important to clean and maintain your oiled timber floor correctly, using specially formulated products. In our more than 13 years’ experience, we’ve found the best products to be from Blanchon.

The guide set-out here is suitable for both domestic and commercial applications.

Maintaining an oiled floor is easy, fast and cost-effective and does normally not require any sanding. A simple cleaning of the surface is sufficient and the re-oiling can commence as soon as the surface is dry.

WARNING!

Do not use bleach or steam cleaners on timber floors.  This will damage the finish and potentially warp the timber.

General/Regular Cleaning

Clean the surface using Blanchon Natural Soap.  Mix 100ml in 5ltrs of warm water for normal cleaning and apply with a damp cloth or well wrung out mop.  Do not allow large amounts of water to be left on the floorboards.  (For heavily soiled floors increase natural soap strength of 250ml in the same amount of water).
The surface should dry in 10-20mins at which point the area can be put back into full use.

Periodic Maintenance

Periodic maintenance is when the floor requires re-oiling.  There’s no set time for this, however it is good if this can be done at least once a year in normal domestic situations. 

You can identify if the floor needs re-oiling by the following factors:

Timber feels or looks dry/grain feels more noticeable
Floor easily gets dirty
Floor shows signs of wear
Surface Scratches

If your floor requires re-oiling please follow these steps:

Clean the floor as directed in ‘General/Regular Cleaning’ noted above and allow the floor to dry fully.
Apply a thin coat of Blanchon Maintenance Oil onto the surface a lint-free cloth is usually easiest but a brush can be used – just be careful not to overapply. 
Note: Always work in the direction of the wood grain.  To make the process easier, work in small areas at a time.
Wipe the floor using a dry cotton cloth; this should result in matt finish.
To even the sheen and to increase the sheen level, use a buffing machine to polish the surface.
After 4-6 hours, the floor should be sufficiently dry to allow light traffic (based on an average temp of 20 degrees centigrade)
Note: Full cure will take around 7-10 days.  During this time do not wet the floor and avoid heavy traffic.

If you have any questions on caring for your oiled timber floor please contact us on:
+44 (0) 1666 504 015 or info@thesolidwoodflooringcompany.com