A wood floor looked after correctly will improve with age. The difference between a floor that looks better at ten years than it did at installation, and one that looks tired at three, is almost entirely down to how it is maintained. This guide covers daily care, periodic maintenance, finish-specific requirements, and what to do when things go wrong — written from the experience of installing and restoring wood floors across London and the South East every week.
Regardless of finish type — oil, lacquer, or wax — there are four daily care rules that apply to every wood floor. Getting these right prevents almost every common problem.
Sweep, do not mop. Wet mopping is the single most damaging thing you can do to a wood floor. Water penetrates between boards, causes the tongue-and-groove joint to swell, and over time leads to cupping, gapping, and joint failure. A dry microfibre mop or a lightly dampened cloth for specific marks is correct. The floor should never be wet.
Deal with spills immediately. Liquid sitting on a wood floor for more than a few minutes will begin to penetrate the finish. On an oiled floor, this dulls the oil in the affected area. On a lacquered floor, prolonged water exposure whitens the lacquer film. The remedy in both cases is a dry cloth applied immediately — not later.
Use appropriate cleaning products. Generic kitchen or bathroom cleaners, bleach, ammonia, or silicone-based sprays will all damage a wood floor finish over time. Purpose-made wood floor cleaners compatible with the specific finish type (oil or lacquer) are the only products that should be used. We recommend the same brand as the finish applied at installation.
Always:
Never:
An oiled floor is a living surface. The oil penetrates the wood fibres and builds up a protective layer within the board — not on top of it. This has two practical consequences for maintenance.
Periodic re-oiling is required. The oil wears in high-traffic areas over time — the board becomes more absorbent, the surface duller, and water no longer beads but soaks in. When this happens, the floor needs a light clean and a fresh coat of hardwax oil applied to the worn areas (or the full floor if the wear is even).
In a busy family home, re-oiling once a year in the kitchen and hallway is typical. In less-trafficked areas, every two to three years. The test: drop water onto the floor. If it beads, the oil is working. If it soaks in, re-oil.
The significant advantage: individual boards can be spot-repaired. A scratch, scuff, or localised dulling can be sanded back lightly and re-oiled in that board alone, producing an invisible repair. This is not possible with lacquer.
A lacquered floor has a hard clear film applied over the surface of the wood. This film is more resistant to liquid penetration than oil and requires no periodic re-coating under normal conditions — which makes day-to-day maintenance simpler.
The trade-off is that when the lacquer does eventually wear — typically in traffic lines across the kitchen or hallway — the worn area cannot be spot-repaired invisibly. The worn section must be sanded back and the lacquer reapplied to the full floor or the full room to produce a consistent sheen level.
How long before a lacquered floor needs attention depends entirely on traffic and the quality of the original lacquer. A two-coat satin lacquer in a busy kitchen might show wear after five to eight years. In a less-trafficked room, fifteen years or more.
Daily care for lacquered floors is the same as for oiled floors: dry-mop only, deal with spills immediately, and never use products that contain silicone or wax — these contaminate the lacquer surface and make the eventual re-coating impossible to apply evenly.
Wood floors above underfloor heating require a small amount of additional attention through the seasonal transition periods — particularly when heating systems are first switched on in autumn and when they are turned off in spring.
Never switch UFH from cold to full temperature in a single step. The warm-up protocol provided at handover exists for a reason: a rapid temperature change causes the boards to lose moisture faster than they can adjust, producing gapping and, in severe cases, cupping. The standard protocol increases floor surface temperature by no more than 1°C per day from a starting temperature, up to the maximum permitted 27°C.
Minor gapping in winter — small gaps appearing between boards — is normal behaviour in a heated property with low relative humidity. In most cases, these gaps close again in spring when the heating is reduced. If gapping is significant (more than 1mm consistently) or does not close in spring, contact us — this may indicate a humidity or installation issue that needs assessment.
When switching on (autumn):
When switching off (spring):
Maximum floor surface temperature: 27°C. This is the industry-standard limit for all wood flooring above underfloor heating. Exceeding this temperature does not immediately destroy the floor, but repeated temperature spikes above 27°C cause cumulative moisture loss that leads to permanent gapping and surface checking. All LIGNORA engineered oak is tested and specified at this temperature. We provide written UFH confirmation and the warm-up protocol at every installation handover. Full detail at our UFH guide.
On an oiled floor: light scratches in the surface can often be buffed out with a fresh application of hardwax oil to the affected board. Deeper scratches that have reached the wood beneath the oil can be sanded back lightly with fine-grit sandpaper (180 or 240 grit) along the grain, then re-oiled. The repair is almost invisible on a well-matched oil. On a lacquered floor, scratches are more visible because the lacquer film reflects light at a consistent angle — a deep scratch breaks this reflection. Light surface scratches on lacquer can sometimes be improved with a touch-up pen matched to the floor colour, but they cannot be made fully invisible without re-lacquering the board.
If water has penetrated between boards (from a dishwasher leak, burst pipe, or persistent wet mopping), the boards may cup — the edges rise above the centre as the board absorbs moisture unevenly. In most cases, once the source of moisture is removed and the floor is allowed to dry out fully — which can take several weeks — the cupping will reduce significantly. Do not sand a cupped floor until it has fully dried; sanding a wet board removes material from the high edges and when the board dries flat, a concave hollow is left permanently. If cupping is severe or does not recover, call us for an assessment before taking any action.
Small gaps appearing between boards in winter are almost always a humidity issue rather than an installation defect. Wood loses moisture in heated, dry air and the boards contract. The remedy is to maintain relative humidity above 40% in winter using a humidifier — the gaps will typically close in spring. Persistent gapping that does not recover across a full seasonal cycle, or gaps that are present in summer as well as winter, should be assessed — this may indicate an installation issue, a product incompatibility, or a subfloor problem. For original floorboards being restored, gapping is part of the character of the floor and can be filled with sanding dust filler as part of a restoration.
Eventually, every wood floor reaches a point where maintenance alone is insufficient — the finish has worn through completely in traffic areas, or the surface has accumulated enough minor damage that a fresh sand and refinish is the right solution. This is not a failure; it is the floor working as designed. A correctly specified engineered oak floor with a 3mm+ wear layer can be sanded two to three times in its lifetime. A solid oak floor can be sanded more times still.
We visit and assess the remaining wear layer thickness, the extent of finish wear, and whether any structural issues (cupping, loose boards, subfloor movement) need to be addressed before sanding. A floor that is sanded without addressing structural issues will look good for a month and then deteriorate again.
Furniture cleared, all fixed items protected. Loose boards re-fixed. Any nails countersunk below the surface. The room is sealed to contain dust — our equipment captures approximately 99% of sanding dust, but preparation minimises what reaches the rest of the house.
Coarse, medium, fine — following the board direction throughout. Edge sanding by hand. Gap filling with sanding dust and compatible filler if required. The floor is vacuumed between each pass. The result is a clean, flat surface ready for finishing.
Hardwax oil or lacquer in two coats, with a light buff between coats. Sheen level agreed before work begins. The finish choice can be changed at this point — an oiled floor can be re-lacquered, or vice versa, subject to correct preparation. We provide the aftercare guide again at handover.
The full sand and restore service covers all floor types. Pricing is on the cost guide.
When maintenance is no longer enough — the full sand, fill and refinish service across London and the South East.
View service GuideA deeper look at how brushed, oiled, lacquered, and untreated finishes differ in appearance, feel, and long-term performance.
Read guide InformationEverything on maximum temperature, warm-up protocol, recommended thickness and UFH-compatible products.
Read guideIf your floor has gone beyond routine maintenance — or you're not sure what it needs — we visit, assess, and advise honestly. Free assessment, no obligation.