Engineered wood in the kitchen looks cracking for the first year. Then the kids drop a glass of squash by the back door in Parkstone, nobody mops it up straight away, and the edge of a board starts to lift. Sound familiar? It’s one of the most common calls a carpet shop in Poole gets once the new floor has settled in.
A feature in Construction Magazine UK this month covers the care side properly, and it matches what we tell customers across Kinson and Bournemouth. Sweep daily, because grit is what scratches the lacquer, not the mop. Damp-mop two or three times a week with a well wrung-out microfibre mop and a pH-neutral cleaner made for wood. Damp, not wet. Water running into the bevelled edges does the real damage over a few years.
Steam mops are out. So are wax, oil soaps, bleach and anything acidic, because they strip the protective finish or leave a film you can’t shift. We see a lot of floors in Canford Heath and Broadstone spoiled by a bottle of ‘miracle’ cleaner from the supermarket.
Humidity matters too. Boards are happiest with kitchen humidity sitting between 40 and 60 per cent, so run the extractor while you’re boiling pasta and open a window now and then. Stick 10mm felt pads under the fridge and the table legs, and put an anti-fatigue mat down in front of the sink where everyone stands. Little habits, but they add up to a floor that lasts decades rather than a few winters.
Choosing a floor for your kitchen is half the battle. At The Flooring Factory in Kinson we supply engineered wood, LVT, laminate and carpets to homes across Poole and Bournemouth, and we’ll show you samples against your own units before you decide. Find out more at https://theflooring-factory.co.uk/ or pop into the shop.