Sealed wood floors have an extra layer of protection that prevents the majority of water damage, whereas unsealed floors are much more sensitive to moisture. (You can find out which one you have by placing a drop of water on the floor. If it keeps its shape, your floor is sealed.
The sealing process prevents moisture from sinking into the floor. Try dropping a small amount of water onto the floor and see what happens. If the droplets bead up, that means your floor is sealed. If they spread out or absorb into the wood, then it isn't.
Unsealed wood floors mean the hardwood doesn't have a protective layer. Many homeowners like the look of untreated floors. The lack of shine and polish makes it look more natural. But its rustic charm also means the wood is at the mercy of the environment. Rainwater, spills, and such will have an impact on it.
Applying sealants will add much-needed protection for the hardwood to prevent potential finish damage, especially with untreated hardwood floors. This precaution elongates the life of your hardwood floor's finish and restricts the need for hardwood floor refinishing.
No, they will incur damage if a pipe bursts or if the home is flooded. Most floors will stand up just fine to spills or water tracked in from outside as long as the water is dried up quickly. Hardwood floors give homeowners a number of advantages over other flooring.
In the meantime there's a quick way to test and see if your hardwood is sealed or not. Place a drop of water on the floor. If it beads, sits there, looks at you and says, “Whatchya gonna do?” It's sealed. ProTip, don't do this in the middle of the floor where you could stare at it for a few days.
You can use natural oils, floor wax, or vinegar to clean your unfinished wood floors. You can also use a whole set of cleaning and polishing products, such as mineral spirits, tri-sodium phosphate, oil soaps, chemical cleaners, etc.
Better Water Resistance. Water damage is one of the biggest concerns for people who choose natural wood flooring, making it one of the most important reasons you need to seal your engineered wood flooring. Upon exposure to excess moisture, wood flooring can stain, warp, and split.
What is the Best Finish for Hardwood Floors? Polyurethane is the most popular finish for floors. It's tough enough to handle constant traffic and is resistant to almost everything. There are two types of polyurethane finish: oil-based (solvent borne) and water-based (waterborne).
With regular wear and tear, the finish on your hardwood floor should last about 7-10 years. Floors in high-traffic areas or that are exposed to a lot of sunlight may need to be refinished more often. So if we do some quick math, your hardwood floors will last up to 60 years with being refinished every ten years!
Unsealed parquet floors are fairly easy to clean. They should only be cleaned with a vacuum, broom, or mop, and if you need to use moisture to remove any dirt, then try to stick to only water.
Sealed hardwood floors can withstand the moisture and heat from a steam mop, and they clean really nicely with a streak-free finish. However, avoid using a steam mop on unsealed hardwoods, as they're more vulnerable and easily damaged by excessive moisture.
Acid-Cured (Swedish) Finish
They're among the toughest of all hardwood flooring finishes, and the most expensive. They're sometimes called conversion varnish sealers. Acid-cured finishes have extremely high VOC content; you'll have to bunk elsewhere for a few days after finishing to give the odors a chance to clear.
Most unfinished hardwood floors require one coat of sealer and at least two coats of protectant finishing. Sealing is very important, especially under polyurethane finishes, because it seals the wood and helps to prevent panelization; the separation of groups of boards from others or from the rest of the floor.
Avoid Using a Steam Mop on Wood
Some steam mop manufacturers, such as Shark and Bissell, may say you can use it on a sealed hardwood floor, but Stocki recommends against it because moisture could still possibly force itself into the joints between the boards and get into the wood and warp it.
Thus, it's best to wait until all coats have been applied and dried before walking through the room. After that final coat, your floors should be off-limits for 24 hours. This is the only way to avoid any damage. Also, if you can swing it, hold off 3-7 days before moving furniture back into the room.
The less gloss in your floor's finish, the less scratches, dings, and imperfections will show (same goes for dust and dirt!). So if you have a large family, pets, or a high-traffic area in your home, the more matte (the lower the percentage of luster) your floors are, the less damage will show up on your floors.
There are three highly popular hardwood floor finishes used for hardwood flooring today: water-based polyurethane, oil finishes, and wax finishes. In this three-part series, we'll explore the benefits of each finish along with options for sheen and for finishing the floor on-site vs.
Both Oil and Urethane have individual benefits when providing floors with a protective coating against scratches. Urethane with Aluminum Oxide is traditionally considered the more protective of the finishes, acting as a thick barrier against scrapes.
Leaving your floors naked and raw may feel wrong, but if they've been installed correctly and sanded smooth so you won't get splinters in your feet, then unfinished floors can be quite beautiful, and just as durable as those with a finish.
Moisture in Spring and Summer
Like any other organic or natural product, wood also absorbs moisture because it is highly porous. If the hardwood flooring installation is done either in the summer or the spring, then your floors might become vulnerable to distortion, as these seasons have the highest humidity levels.
'Recoating is a great way to restore the look of your hardwood without a full sand down. It's the process of adding a new topcoat of finish to an existing wood floor finish,' explains Brett Miller, vice president, Technical Standards, Training, and Certification at the National Wood Flooring Association.
Resealing hardwood floors
Resealing, also known as recoating, involves lightly scuffing the existing finish and applying a new coat of finish. This process refreshes the shine of your floor and provides a new protective layer. It's a quicker, easier, and less expensive process than refinishing.
As an alternative to polyurethane finishes, natural oils like tung oil and linseed oil offer a healthier finish. Unlike urethanes, which dry on top of the floor, oils penetrate into the wood and harden. This process creates a low-sheen matte finish that brings out the grain and texture of a hardwood floor.
A water-based polyurethane sealer will allow the natural quality of the wood to come through. It also won't distort the color of any stain you apply to the wood. But it will also not cover up any imperfections that are already lurking on the surface of the floor.