What is the importance of maintaining wooden floors and doors?
With a busy home an important consideration is choosing suitable flooring throughout your home, whether this be engineered, solid wood or a laminate alternative. When you choose engineered or solid wood flooring, the work doesn’t stop there as your floor, along with your wooden doors, are exposed to wear and tear as part of your busy home life. Due to this, it is very easy for your wooden doors and floors to appear:
- Tired looking and lose their shine
- Scuffed and marked
- Cracked
- Dry and lifeless
- Faded in certain areas
- Stained with water marks / spillages
All of the above are signs that your wooden floors and wooden doors are in need of an oil treatment that will revitalise the wood, reduce the appearance of marks, cracks and that dull appearance. Oils are perfect for enhancing the natural tone of wood - giving it that permanent wet effect. We’ll go into more detail on the benefits presented.
Why are oils key in maintaining floors and doors?
As wood is a natural source, it does require a lot of ongoing maintenance to remain strong and protective, this is a key reason as to why you should use oil for wooden floors and doors:
- Using oils on your wooden floor means the oil can seep into the wood and harden, adding a degree of extra durability and strength to the wood.
- Benefit from stain resistance
- Reduce abrasion with a fully abrasion-resistant oil
- Water repellent - reducing likelihood of spills penetrating wood and staining
- Wooden floor oils are typically made from natural plant oils, which reduces issues with drying as these are chemical free
- Brings out details in your wood grain
- Prevents your wooden floors and doors from drying out and cracking
Our recommended oil for wooden floors
When it comes to oils for wooden floors we would always recommend Osmo Polyx-Oil, this will revitalise wood throughout your home, leaving it with a silky finish that is smooth to the touch. With the range of finishes available, using Osmo Polyx-Oil you can also benefit from:
- A flat and even surface
- Promotes the 3D effect of the wood grain
- Choose from a variety of finishes - glossy, satin, matt and semi-matt
- Choose from a clear finish or a translucent tinted finish
- Resistance against wine, beer, cola, tea, coffee, milk, and water
- Use on multi-surfaces ranging from wooden floors, wooden doors to wooden furniture
- Easy to apply & dry within 8-10 hours
How to oil wooden flooring?
We’ve broken down a step by step guide below on how to prepare your wooden flooring for oil, and suggestions on the number of layers you should apply.
Preparing your wooden floor for oil
Has your wood been oiled before? | Yes | No |
It should be fine to apply a new layer of Osmo Polyx-Oil on top | If your floor has not been oiled before it is recommended the top level, along with any scratches is sanded back |
For both scenarios we recommend the room is well ventilated, opening any windows to allow the vapours to escape and not linger in the room plus this will also help to speed up the drying process if there is a flow of fresh air.
How to apply oil onto wooden floors
- Firstly it’s advised that you apply to a test area, ensuring this fully dries and leaves your desired effect.
- Apply the oil with a firm and fine bristle brush, dip it into the paint being careful not to overfill it and then brush it evenly along the wood grain. Remove any surplus with a lint free cloth as you go.
- Dab in your floor brush and start application in the furthest point from the door. Brushing outwards along the grain of wood. Continue until the entire floor is covered.
- Leave the first coat to dry 8-10 hours.
- Once the first coat is fully dry, you can apply a second coat in the same fashion as the first.
- For best effects, we recommend you oil wooden floors and doors every 2 years.
Our recommended oil for wooden doors
Osmo Door Oil Satin is a clear wood finish that uniquely combines the advantages of natural oils and waxes in one product. Osmo Door Oil is resistant to dirt, water and abrasion and smooths the surface. It creates a microporous surface which means door won't crack, peel, flake or blister. It's super easy to apply, just using a brush or roller to apply to a clean, dry surface and allow it to dry before applying a second coat.
You'll also benefit from:
- Suitable for selected veneered doors and furniture
- Extremely water and dirt resistant
- 3060 Enhances the wood’s natural character
- 3033 Preserves the wood’s light colour ( lightly white pigmented)
- Saliva-resistant and sweatproof, also suitable for children’s toys
- No sanding necessary for future applications
How to oil wooden doors?
We’ve broken down a step by step guide below on how to prepare your wooden doors for oil, and suggestions on the number of layers you should apply.
Preparing your wooden floor for oil
Has your wood been oiled before? | Yes | No |
It should be fine to apply a new layer of Osmo Door Oil on top. | If your door has not been oiled before it is fine to apply directly. |
For both scenarios we recommend the room is well ventilated, opening any windows to allow the vapours to escape and not linger in the room plus this will also help to speed up the drying process if there is a flow of fresh air.
How to apply oil onto wooden doors
- Firstly we suggest that you apply a small amount to a test area, ensuring this fully dries and leaves your desired effect.
- Apply the oil with a brush or microfibre roller, dip it into the oil being careful not to overload and then brush it evenly and thinly along the wood grain. Remove any surplus with a lint-free cloth as you go.
- Leave the first coat to dry for 24 hours.
- Once the first coat is fully dry, you can apply a second coat in the same way as the first.
- For best effects, we recommend you oil wooden doors every 2 years.