Caring for Your Cork Floor

If you've chosen a cork floor instead of a hardwood floor, you know that cork flooring is durable and attractive. But you may be curious as to how to care properly for your cork floor and keep it in great shape for the life of your home.

Cork flooring is remarkably easy to maintain. All you require is some basic knowledge on caring for your cork floors.

As with any fine floor, cork flooring can be scratched. Place felt pads on table legs, and put blankets under furniture before moving it across the cork floor. Furniture should be lifted, not dragged, when possible, to avoid leaving any marks on the cork flooring.

Place carpeted floor mats in front of doors and sinks. In front of doors, dirt and grit, not to mention rain and melted snow, are your cork floor's worst enemies. In front of sinks, make sure your floor mat catches water spilled in front of the sink, because excess water can be damaging to cork floors.

Keep drip pans under all your plants, so that water does not seep out and soak the cork flooring.

Cork flooring can become discolored by UV rays, so use curtains or blinds, or place tinted film on your windows to prevent excess light from hitting your cork floor.

Cleaning cork floors is very easy, and takes very little time.

The main cleaning requirement for cork floors is to not let spills stand; standing water can damage your cork floor. Wipe up all spills immediately.

Sweep and/or vacuum regularly to remove dirt and gritty residue that builds up on your cork floor.

When mopping or cleaning is required, use cleaners specially formulated for cork floors.

The ease of maintaining cork flooring is one of the best reasons to choose a cork floor in the first place.