How Do I Know if My Hardwood Floors are Sealed?

Protection is key. When you pay a lot of money for your new hardwood floor, you need to make sure it is protected. If you don’t then you will be paying a lot of money to replace warped, twisted, and damaged boards.

The way to protect the wood on your floors is to make sure they are sealed. If you are not sure if your floors are sealed or not, just continue to read our article. it gives you the information you want to know about in order to have a little peace of mind about your floors.

How Can I Tell What Finish is on My Wood Floors?

You may be thinking that there is some long-drawn-out procedure with lots of steps to follow to answer this question. Fortunately, you would be mistaken, and the procedure takes less than one minute and only has one step to follow.

All you have to do is put a little cold water in a glass or easy-to-pour container and find a nice out-of-the-way spot. Once there just pour a little water onto one floorboard and let it sit there.

If the water is not absorbed by the wood, then your floor is sealed. The one thing you have to watch out for is if you pour too much water onto the floorboard. When you do that, the water can reach the seam and find its way into the wood.

That situation will not give you an accurate answer as seams and joints are always hard to seal. That is all there is to finding out if your floors are sealed or not. The process is quick, easy, and gives you a very accurate answer.

What to Do if My Floors are Not Sealed

If the water does get absorbed by the wood, you know that your floors are not sealed. That leaves you with a little decision to make. You can either call in a professional to handle the finishing or you can do it yourself.

Of course, if you are not that handy it is best to let the professionals tackle the job. This means making sure you have enough money on hand to cover their costs. Depending on the type of wood that needs to be resealed you are looking at paying between $1.20 and $4.50 per square foot.

To give you a ballpark figure, say your room is 20 feet by 20 feet in size, those dimensions bring you a total of 400 square feet. If you had a pine floor you would be paying the lowest price per square foot, which would be $1.20 or $480.

If you had some exotic wood on your floors then you would be looking at paying $4.50 per square foot or $1800. Qualified handymen may be a bit cheaper but you may not have the same amount of protection if anything goes wrong as you would if you used a professional.

You could do it yourself and save but you may use a lot of that savings buying the different tools and supplies you will need to do the job correctly. Plus, if you make a mistake, you may not have the experience or knowledge to correct it.

There is nothing wrong with doing it yourself. Just be prepared and make sure you know what you are doing. These jobs are not always easy as you may think.

What Do I Do if My Floors are Sealed

Then you can relax and take some time to learn how to clean them correctly. Cleaning hardwood floors is not the same as cleaning carpets, linoleum, or tile. Sweeping or vacuuming is the first step and using the right cleaner is the second.

Some people say to use vinegar but be careful as vinegar is a liquid and it can damage your wood floors if too much is applied. There are some good commercial cleaners made to clean hardwood floors that you can use.

While you may want to go natural and avoid harmful chemicals, sometimes that is not the best cleaning option. Do a comparison to make sure you find the right cleanser.

Some Final Words

Testing to see if your floors are sealed or not is one of the easiest tasks you can do in your home. It takes less than 10 minutes to complete, and you do not need to be an expert to determine the final results.