Whether you have a solid wood or engineered wood floor in your home, knowing how to sand it properly is important so that you can maintain the health and beauty of the floor.
Due to the fact that we work with so many people, and of course, so many floors, we get asked a lot of questions about sanding wood floors.
Considering some of the many queries we get, here are our top tips for sanding a wooden floor in your own home.
Think about hiring a professional
A lot of the time people consider sanding a floor themselves, as there are many guides on the internet that propose it to be a good and easy idea.
However, sanding the floor by yourself is not always advised, especially if you don’t have any previous experience of sanding an entire wood floor.
Hiring a professional to help sand your floor will cost more, but this will guarantee that the job will be done to a good standard, and likely, in a much quicker amount of time.
Although we don’t discourage people from sanding their own floors, costs, equipment, and skill levels are all aspects that should be considered.
Prepare the floor
If you do decide to sand the floor yourself, it’s important that you prepare the floor to ensure that it gets sanded properly.
Take the time out to have a good sweep and clean to ensure that the surface is clear of any dust, dirt, and animal dander.
If you happen to live in a detached or semi-detached house, it’s worth noting that sanding a floor is quite noisy, so it’s worth notifying your neighbours in advance.
Although there isn’t usually too much dust, consider using masking tape to seal around doors to other rooms.
If you have art hanging on a wall, it’s also worth covering frames or temporarily placing them in another room while the sanding takes place.
Remember that some stains are stronger than others
It’s worth noting that if you are sanding your floor to remove a particular stain, that some will be harder to remove than others.
For instance, water stains can usually be removed with a couple of passes with the sander, but pet stains can often penetrate deep into the wood.
Sometimes it might be the case that you will need to remove the affected area and replace the flooring with new planks, which is often easier if you have engineered solid wood flooring.
You can tell if a stain is caused by a pet as these kind of stains are usually darker in appearance.
Consider health and safety
As you can imagine, health and safety is an important consideration for when you sand the flooring in a room.
Ensure that it is clear of every possible object, including any curtains that you might have around the windows.
Remember to also purchase a mask and eye protection, as although modern sanders don’t create as much dust as they once did, dust particles can be damaging to your health, so personal protection is strongly advised.
If you want to know more about flooring, or any flooring accessories that might be available from our store, contact us on 0113 223 4138.
