How to Look After a Parquet Floor

Parquet is ruined by two things, and neither of them is walking on it: water and dry air. Water gets into the joints and lifts the boards; dry air shrinks them and opens gaps. Almost all the care comes down to keeping both under control, and the mop matters far less than people think.

What you need

• A pH-neutral wood floor cleaner — per the label, usually 1 capful per 5 litres
• Hardwax oil — for oiled floors, once or twice a year
• Felt pads for furniture legs

• A flat mop with a microfibre pad
• A vacuum with a soft brush head or parquet head
• Two microfibre cloths
• A hygrometer

Time: 20 minutes for a routine clean.

Step by step

1. Vacuum first, always. Sand on parquet is sandpaper underfoot: a wet mop over it grinds the lacquer.
2. Wring the pad almost dry. It should feel damp, not wet — no water should be left visible on the boards.
3. Work along the boards. Following the grain, so any streaks fall along the pattern rather than across it.
4. Dry the joints. Anything still wet after two minutes is too much water: go over it with a dry cloth.
5. Check the humidity. 40 to 60 per cent. Below that the boards shrink; above, they swell.
6. Deal with marks at once. A dry cloth, then a barely damp one. A puddle left overnight leaves a permanent stain.

Method 2 — lacquered versus oiled

A lacquered floor has a film on top: it is washed with a neutral cleaner and needs nothing else, but the lacquer is scratched by grit and cannot be repaired locally — the whole area is resanded. An oiled floor takes the oil into the wood: it is more vulnerable to stains but repairs in patches, and it needs re-oiling once or twice a year. Cleaners for one are wrong for the other, and this is what the label on the bottle is for.

Method 3 — scratches and dents

Fine scratches in lacquer are masked by a repair wax stick matched to the shade; dents in oiled wood often lift with a damp cloth and a warm iron, since the fibre swells back. Neither is a repair, and both are honest cosmetic fixes that hold for a year or two — a floor with scratches across the whole traffic path needs sanding and refinishing, which is joinery, not cleaning.

What to avoid

• A wet mop. The single commonest way parquet is destroyed: water in the joints lifts the boards within a season.
• A steam cleaner. Hot steam drives moisture under the lacquer and delaminates the top layer.
• Alkaline and abrasive products. They dull lacquer and strip oil, leaving matt patches.
• Furniture without felt pads. A chair leg scratches through the lacquer in one movement.

What actually decides how long it lasts

Three things, in order of effect. A doormat at the entrance — most of the abrasive sand comes in on shoes and stops there. Felt pads under every leg. And humidity between 40 and 60 per cent, which in a heated flat in winter means a humidifier, because dry air opens the joints faster than any traffic wears the surface.

Regular vacuuming ranks above washing: it is grit, not dirt, that ends a parquet floor's life, and washing only makes it look better while doing nothing about the abrasive.

When to call a cleaner

Parquet is not a separate service — it is part of a flat clean, and it needs a cleaner who knows the difference between lacquer and oil and uses a barely damp pad rather than a bucket. A flat clean starts from UAH 1,550; if the work runs longer than usual — a deep clean taking in the tops of cupboards and the skirting — an extra hour costs UAH 450. Price it in the order form. Sanding, lacquering and restoration we do not do, and we say so before the visit.

Frequently asked questions

Can I wash parquet with water?

Only with a barely damp mop and a neutral cleaner. A wet mop lifts the boards at the joints.

Can parquet be steam cleaned?

No. Steam gets under the lacquer and the top layer separates.

How often should an oiled floor be re-oiled?

Once or twice a year depending on traffic. Lacquered floors need nothing beyond washing.

Photo credit

Distressed parquet floor, Heritage Wood Floors Ltd, CC BY-SA 4.0