Floor of a lifetime – the importance of care oiling
Many people worry that maintaining a wooden floor might be too burdensome, and that cleaning and preserving oak or ash parquet is a complicated and difficult task. However, this concern is unfounded: cleaning a wooden floor does not require more time or effort than maintaining any other type of flooring. On a daily basis, it is usually enough to vacuum and occasionally wipe with a lightly damp mop.
For more stubborn stains, we recommend OLI-NATURA Wood Soap, which cleans quickly and effectively without fading the wood’s color. Floors in heavily used areas, such as restaurants or cafés, should be cleaned several times a week.
As for oiled floors, in general, depending on the level of cleaning and wear, a care oil treatment may only be needed every 6–8 years in average-use areas like family homes or apartments. In high-traffic areas, such as restaurants, an annual treatment is recommended due to more frequent cleaning.
Unlike lacquered surfaces, oiled wooden floors do not need sanding when scratches or wear occur—after proper cleaning, applying care oil is sufficient. The care oil removes minor scratches and refreshes the floor’s colour.
In contrast, lacquered floors cannot be repaired in the event of damage, not to mention wear caused by heavy use, which can be quite unsightly. A typical example is the grey worn area under school desks or the worn lacquer paths formed in restaurant traffic zones—these can only be restored by fully sanding and re-lacquering the entire surface, which is costly. It is also worth emphasizing that sanding and re-lacquering not only come with significant costs but also result in the complete loss of the original factory finish, which can never be restored.
Another major advantage of oiled floors in high-traffic areas is the minimal downtime required for surface refreshing. After an afternoon oil treatment, the floor is ready for use the next day. In contrast, refurbishing a lacquered floor through sanding and re-lacquering involves a much longer period of unavailability, which can be a significant disadvantage for hospitality venues.
In public spaces with heavy foot traffic, the floor can wear out sooner. For oiled floors in such areas, a low-cost, refreshing oil treatment once a year is sufficient and can be done in just one afternoon—without any sanding and with minimal effort.
We recommend noting the type of your engineered wood or parquet flooring and keeping this information for years after purchase. This will help you easily select the proper care products we recommend for your specific flooring. If you are unsure which maintenance product to use, feel free to contact our expert staff, who are happy to help with any questions.
Before starting the care or refreshing process for engineered wood or parquet flooring, it's important to follow our guide for both dry and wet cleaning. Afterwards, the refreshing oil treatment and care can easily be done yourself. Our guide provides a detailed step-by-step explanation.
