Maintenance, Care & Repairs

• Daily Cleaning: Vacuum or sweep the floor, or wipe with a damp mop or cloth. Mopping or sweeping the floor will minimise wear from abrasive grit and dirt.
• Spillages: Wipe up spillages as soon as possible with a damp mop or wiping cloth that has been well wrung out to remove all excess water.
• Cleaning Products: Floors are best cleaned with a floor cleaning product designed for lacquered floors. We use and recommend WOCA cleaning products. See below for pricing. We have these products available for purchase at our showroom.
• Mop and Bucket Method: When using a product that requires a “mop and bucket” method, ensure the mop is well wrung out leaving the mop damp rather than wet.
• Alternative Cleaning Solution: Should you not have a cleaning product available, methylated spirits can be used from time to time in the following method: mix one (1) part methylated spirits to ten (10) parts water, pre-mixed in a spray bottle, sprayed over the floor a section at a time, and mopped dry with an anti-static or similar mop.
• Avoid Wax and Abrasive Cleaners: Do not wax, polish, or use abrasive cleaners or scouring powder to clean your floor.
• Rejuvenating the Floor: The WOCA Master Care product is recommended to be used every 6 or 12 months to rejuvenate the appearance of the floor.

• Entrance Mats: Use quality area rugs and doormats by outdoor entrance areas to prevent dirt, sand, grit, and other substances such as oil, asphalt, or driveway sealer from being tracked onto your floor.
• Floor Protectors: Use floor protectors and wide-bearing leg bases/rollers to minimise indentations from heavy objects. As a rule, the heavier the item, the wider the floor protector should be for maximum protection.
• Furniture Protection: Felt or rubber protectors should be used under chair and table legs.
• Footwear: Avoid walking on the timber floor with metal-tipped stiletto-heeled shoes.
• Preventing Gouges: Avoid gouges or cuts into your floor from sharp objects. Small objects dropped from a height have immense impact pressure, and steps should be taken to protect the floor from such impacts.
• Moving Heavy Objects: Never try to slide or roll heavy objects across the floor without precautions.
• Rolling Loads: Rolling loads from castors under furniture and trolleys may damage the surface. The smaller the castor, the greater the likelihood of damage occurring.
• Pets: Keep pets’ nails trimmed.
• Rearrange Furniture: Rearrange rugs and furniture periodically so the floor ages evenly. UV sunlight will soften the tone of different species of hardwood to varying degrees.
• Humidity Control: Use a humidifier to maintain humidity levels between 45-60%.

WOCA Woodcare products are available from our French Oak Floors showroom at 24 Wellington Street, St Kilda, VIC. Prices listed as at 19 Jan 2024 and include GST.

• Spray Mop: Includes cleaner & microfiber pad – $75
• Master Cleaner 1L: Standard Cleaner – $34
• Master Cleaner 2.5L: Standard Cleaner – $65
• Master Care 1L: Post cleaning care / rejuvenator (6-12 months) – $43
• Intensive Wood Cleaner 1L: Commercial cleaning standard – $45
• Intensive Wood Cleaner 2.5L: Commercial cleaning standard – $68
• Intensive Cleaner Spray 0.75L: An easy use alternative to the wood cleaner – $27
• Replacement Mop Pad $16

There are a few ways to repair scratches on timber floors. The approach will depend on the colour of the floor (e.g., light or dark) and the direction of the scratch (e.g., with the grain or across the grain).

• The Tibetan almond stick is a very easy-to-apply solution to light scratches on timber flooring. It is best suited to darker colour floors. If your floor is a light colour, it can have the opposite result of making the scratch more noticeable. Therefore, it is always good to test it out on an area of the floor like a pantry or other area that is not commonly visible. We sell the stick here in our showroom for $20.00. Watch this video for a demonstration.
• Scratch Fix is a texta-like application that can be used on light scratches. This product comes in a variety of dark colours and is only useful on darker floors (browns to black). These are available in our showroom for $15.00.
• Wax Sticks are suitable for deeper scratches or dents. We use the Wax Putty Bricks, as they have a good colour range to suit many of our floors. Another product readily available (in Bunnings) is Timbermate. Some of their colours suit a couple of our lighter floor colours.
  
  Simply use the wax stick/putty bricks by rubbing the stick across the scratch or dent, filling and pressing in if necessary. The excess can be removed gently with the edge of a plastic scraper. Then, using a buffing rag, rub the excess off from the area. Multiple sticks can be blended to achieve a grain look. Watch this video for a demonstration.
• Professional Repair: If you would like to leave it up to a professional, we highly recommend the floor repair skills of Jena at Innovative Floors (Melbourne) 0409 243 189. We’ve received excellent feedback of his work from clients.