A hardwood floor immediately amplifies the beauty of a single-family rental home. On top of that, it also increases its lifespan. But if your rental property has hardwood floors, then you’ll have to add some tasks to your maintenance routine to make sure the floors don’t deteriorate. Having regular maintenance is one of these tasks. Sometimes, tenants aren’t cautious around hardwood, scratching and gouging floors either by accident or through negligence. For this reason, it is critical that both you and your tenant know how to care for and maintain your property’s hardwood floors properly.
One of the best ways to make sure that your Washington DC rental property stays functional and aesthetically pleasing is to have proper hardwood floor maintenance. And to that end, it is very important to know the right way to care for a hardwood floor. For example, most hardwood floors have a coat of surface finishes that protect the wood from liquid spills, scratches, and other types of damage. This means that keeping this finish intact is the best way to ensure the long life of your floor.
Hardwood can also be damaged by using harsh cleaning products or the wrong cleaning technique. This is another thing to account for. This is why experts suggesting using a soft microfiber mop or cloth to sweep dirt and dust off the floor. Even vacuum cleaners can scratch up a hardwood floor, and if you use regular mops, you may be using too much water— which is also bad for a hardwood floor. Now, if liquid spills on the floor, it needs to be cleaned up right away and steps should be taken to ensure that the floor is thoroughly dry.
As a property owner, there is a lot you can do, but by and large, the best way to keep your rental property’s hardwood flooring looking good is to work with your tenants. One of the first things you ought to do is to make sure your tenants know about proper hardwood floor maintenance and cleaning. So, do arrange a time and place for you to teach them these things. When you assist them so that they will learn how to clean the floor, you can extend the life and beauty of the hardwood and prevent damage at the same time.
Another way to preserve your property’s hardwood floor is to encourage your tenants to place rugs in high-traffic areas. This will gather the dirt and lessen the amount of cleaning required. Finally, it would be really helpful if your tenant uses the right cleaning products. You could make sure this happens by giving them the name of the one recommended for use on your floor, or maybe even require that they only use approved cleaning products that are listed in your lease. This can help boost the importance of proper hardwood floor maintenance.
Even with the proper care, hardwood floors need some additional attention every few years or between tenants. After a while, wear and tear can fade a floor’s finish and accumulate scratches or other blemishes. But if that’s the only damage its endured, then there may be no need to completely refinish the floor. For the most part, all a faded hardwood floor needs is a screening (which roughens up the surface of the existing finish) and a new application of a finish.
Although, if your hardwood has become seriously damaged, warped, or has deep scratches or other problems, repairing and refinishing the floor may be your only option. Refinishing a floor is a long, labor-intensive task that requires specialized equipment. Now, you can spend your time and money doing it yourself, but Washington DC property owners feel that hiring a professional is well worth the cost. A flooring contractor can tell you what specific flooring you have and what process you should do to restore it. Different kinds of wood require different techniques and engineered or wood laminate simply won’t tolerate heavy refinishing as solid hardwood does. For situations like these, any restoration work is best left to a professional.
Taking care of hardwood floors doesn’t have to be difficult; if you take the time to do some extra planning and enlist the help of your tenant, it would be a lot easier. The important part to make this solution succeed is maintaining good tenant relations. The better the relationship, the more likely they will be to help you keep your valuable hardwood floor in the best possible condition.
Take the headache and hassle out of managing your rental properties. At Real Property Management DC Metro, we handle the lease paperwork, renter relations, professional vendors and everything else! Feel free to contact us online or by phone at 202-269-0303 to talk to a professional Washington DC property manager today.
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