Grit is the enemy, not water
Almost every scratch pattern we're shown is grit walked in from outside and ground across the finish. A decent doormat at each external door removes most of it. Sweep or vacuum on a hard-floor setting regularly; mop damp, never wet.
Use the right products
Oiled and lacquered floors need different cleaners, and generic supermarket floor products can dull or strip a finish. We supply the maintenance products matched to your exact finish at handover for that reason — use those, or their equivalents from the same system.
- Felt pads under every chair and table leg, checked twice a year
- No steam mops on wood — heat and moisture, the two things to avoid
- Wipe spills promptly, particularly at the end joints
- Lift, don't drag, furniture and appliances
Humidity
Wood responds to the moisture in the air. Very dry winter heating shrinks boards and can open small gaps; very humid conditions do the reverse. Keeping the house within a normal comfortable range is enough — you don't need to manage it actively.
Re-oiling and re-coating
Oiled floors are refreshed zone by zone as the traffic demands, hallways long before bedrooms, and a scratch can be cleaned and blended locally. Lacquered floors need nothing until the film wears through in a doorway or at a sink, at which point the room is re-coated rather than patched.