Once you have had your beautiful new flooring laid you will want to keep it in tip top condition.
The first piece of good news is Floors For Paws is ‘factory finished’ which means you never need to polish, seal, wax, re-sand, or apply any special maintenance techniques.
The day after the installation give the flooring a clean with a flat head mop and a light detergent (We recommend a PH neutral floor cleaner if possible. It’s better for the dogs 😊) Be sparing with the floor cleaner for two reasons;
- It’s better for the environment and your dog
- Excess cleaning fluid can cause the floor to become slippy
Despite the grooves in the flooring, which aid your dog with grip, the floor can be cleaned the same as a smooth floor system.
- Vacuum the floor regularly. All vacuums are compatible with our flooring but from experience we recommend animal friendly vacuums – some vacuums will clog up with dog hair! If you prefer you can sweep up loose debris (keeping it old school)
- To remove muddy paws marks and spills you can spot clean with Floor wipes. Don’t worry if you don’t catch them straight away – Floors For Paws won’t stain from household marks such as mud, coffee, wine, spilt water bowls etc.
- Overnight wee and poo stains are no problem, although it is best not to leave dog wee on it for days at a time due to the production of ammonia (as if you would wait that long to clean up!) All nasties will stay on the top surface of your flooring and not impregnate beneath or into the flooring itself so you can be sure your new floor is 100% hypo-allergenic and there will be no bad odours from your floor.
- A flat head mop and your mild floor cleaner will lift any marks on your floor. Work up and down the length of the planks (wood effect only) for the best results. You do not need to pour a bucket of water on your flooring. A damp mop with some floor cleaner is enough.
- During winter and the unavoidable mud baths your dog will want to take, you may want to give your flooring a deep clean. You can use a nylon medium bristled brush on Floors For Paws without damaging or marking the floor.
- Steam cleaners will eventually loosen the adhesive used to secure your flooring. We do not recommend them. They were designed to lift stubborn stains and dirt impregnated into flooring. You will not have either of these with Floors For Paws.
Please do not drag heavy furniture over your flooring. This is tough stuff, but as with any flooring heavy furniture should be placed into position to avoid marking.
If you do mark/damage your flooring by accident the good news is you can replace individual planks/tiles by heating it with a hair dryer or heat gun, lifting the incriminating plank/tile and replacing it with a fresh one. Be sure to clean off the old adhesive underneath and apply some fresh adhesive before replacing the new.
The Floors For Paws team x