A part of the more than 2.3 square miles of Southport, North Carolina is filled with beautiful homes, some of which are famous bed and breakfast places tourists love, and which boast of elegant Southport carpentry works done by reputable home contractors like Drew’s Roofing and Home Repair. One of these carpentry jobs is hardwood flooring, which has given many homes a classic and elegant look that complements the creative and talented people of this Southern town. Hardwood, though pricey, is easy to maintain, and its natural grain and shine come out as it ages. Here are some important tips on cleaning and maintaining hardwood flooring.

Making the Most of Mats

Place floor mats in all entryways leading to areas with hardwood flooring to stop dirt and grime right at your doorstep. You can also place them in moisture-prone spots like in front of the windows and sink, or under your wall-mounted AC unit. This keeps your floor dry at all times.

On Spills and Moisture

Immediately wipe any liquid spills—water, juice, soda, even soup—on the floor. Hardwood floors may be resistant to spills for a few minutes, but allowing liquid to seep through the wood after that can damage the floor over time. It doesn’t take much to clean hardwood. A mop, floor polisher, and occasionally liquid wax are essentially your cleaning partners.

Sealing Does the Trick

If you want your hardwood floor to be perfectly safe from moisture and other damaging elements, consider having it sealed. Ask your home contractor to apply a stain or sealer solution to give it a nice luster and to make it moisture-resistant for easier clean-ups. This floor type has very hard surfaces, making it last for decades

Prevent Scratching

Scratches are unavoidable especially when there’s heavy traffic with kids around, and furniture being moved occasionally. However, you can minimize scratches by keeping sharp objects from scraping the floor, and lifting instead of pushing furniture to reposition them. Should your floor have noticeable scratches and scrapes over time, a home repair contractor can sand or grind it to remove about 0.5 to 1 mm of the surface to restore its finish.

Protecting elegant Southport carpentry works like hardwood floors will definitely increase the value of your property since they, like wine, age beautifully over time. Moreover, you do your share in caring for the environment because solid hardwood lasts a lifetime.