Wood flooring in wet areas Can do with the right care

Cleaning and finishing wooden floors regularly poses a major challenge to building cleaners. What all wood flooring types have in common is limited durability in areas exposed to moisture. This is especially true in wellness clubs and spas where water ingress can lead to severe floor damage.Just what are the reasons for these damages that seem to be simply unavoidable even with the most careful cleaning and finishing? There are quite a few, in fact, and they should be taken into consideration right at the beginning – when the wood flooring is initially installed in a ‘wet zone.’ First off, get a handle on how much water will be entering the area with the wooden flooring during the course of the day.Can the water be removed once in a while (in an intermediate cleaning pass, for instance), or do the surfaces that get wet (because of the water that’s carried in) have to dry out on their own? What quantities and types of minerals or other substances (shampoo, body lotion etc.) can be expected to cling to the surface as the floor dries up? Does the area have to be disinfected?What types of wood are going to be installed? Some pose no problems when exposed to water, of course. But even then you may expect some surface discoloration, usually in the form of rough, grayish (mildew) spots. The way a floor is installed makes a differenceWhen selecting wood flooring, one must take into account how it will be integrated into the building project. You may opt for solid wood parquet flooring – depending on the variant it may have a layer thickness of 12 to 22 mm – or for the prefab kind, which has an under-layer of lesser quality wood and a veneer that is no more than 4 mm thick in most cases. You may even find plank flooring here and there. Laminate floors are usually considered to be wood floorings, but because of the way they are constructed, they are not suitable for wet zones and are therefore not considered any further in this chapter. Prefab parquet is always more vulnerable to moisture than solid wood parquet flooring, since the top layer reacts differently to water ingress than do the supporting layers. ‘Cupping’ (warping) or other surface damage will develop much faster in this case. This is due to the fact that parquet flooring will always have seams; they cannot be completely prevented even if the floor is laid with the utmost care. Since prefab parquet usually comes with a pre-treated surface finish right out of the box, it hardly ever receives any additional treatment after installation. The dispersion of an additional surface care layer is usually omitted. For this reason, some water will seep into the seams at each exposure and build up over time. Depending on the type of wood, and the treatment, water exposure may well eventually lead to damages. Especially where prefab parquet floors are concerned, even with the most thorough care, you can expect surface damage that will be extremely difficult to remove or repair by the service provider. Solid wood parquet is usually laid, glued and then sanded off on-site. This ensures a homogeneous surface with smooth edges and very few cracks or crevices. Subsequent finishing treatments are designed to protect the wood from moisture and other damaging influences. The surface finish of the wood is therefore another very important characteristic. The industry distinguishes between spray finished (sealed), waxed and oiled surfaces. Prefab parquet flooring will also come with a UV-cured surface finish (lacquers or oils), which offers a very strong mechanical or chemical resistance. In fact, UV-cured finishes can even be prepared and applied on-site. Untreated wood flooring surfaces are very much the exception in modern construction projects. Here, the builder is usually careful to select water resistant wood types. Even sealants are not 100 percent waterproofAn intact, professionally lacquered surface provides the protection against moisture and mechanical damage. Be aware, however, that even lacquered surface finishes are not 100% waterproof. One of the most important features of a wooden floor is its tendency to ‘work.’ In a damp environment wood flooring will take up some of that moisture and swell; when the air is dry again the wood will release this moisture and shrink. This repeated process of expanding and shrinking eventually causes fine cracks to appear in what was initially a completely waterproof lacquer, opening the door to water ingress. This effect will actually intensify if water-based surfactants (common in cleaning products, soaps and shower lotions etc.) are used for cleaning. They are designed to enhance the capillary action of water, actually helping it to penetrate even deeper into the small cracks. The moisture then spreads and the wood begins to rot. Mildew stains are the most obvious telltale signs, and once they appear they can only be removed with considerable effort. Moreover, if mildew stains aren’t dealt with soon after they appear, they become virtually impossible to remove, even with intensive sanding. The only solution left at that point is to replace the wood in the affected spot. Despite these caveats, lacquer remains the most effective way to protect a wooden floor against moisture. Nowadays, the consensus is to apply an additional floor care dispersion to lacquered wood surfaces to increase their durability and service life. When wax whitensAnother way to protect the surface of wood flooring is to apply a coat of wax. Waxed floors are generally water-resistant. Still, there is a risk that water ingress will damage the surface finish, and that’s when the wax turns white. This, however, can easily be remedied by taking the appropriate measures, such as polishing and cleaning. Wax surfaces are especially vulnerable to surfactants and alkaline agents. Over time, these solutions will wear down the surface finish and cause the wax to re-emulsify. The main drawback of waxing wooden floors, however, is that it makes the surface very slippery over time. When this occurs, the only option is to perform a thorough basic cleaning with solvent-based cleaners. The problem is that this will result in unpleasant fumes, which is not ideal in wellness and spa areas. Be careful not to use water-based emulsion waxes in wet areas: they contain emulsifiers and will re-emulsify in the presence of even the smallest amount of water, eventually destroying the protective film on the flooring surface. Oiled floors are high maintenanceUsing oil in wooden floor care or finishing has become increasingly popular. Here, so-called dry oils are used which leave a relatively thin protective film on the flooring. That is also one of the reasons oiled floors require the most care. Depending on use, oiled floors really should be re-oiled about once a week. This requires a lot of time and effort in theory; in practice it can be a bit more complicated. Re-oiling a floor means completely emptying out the room and giving the floor a thorough basic cleaning down to the wood. Depending on the care product used, the surface care must be left to dry for up to 24 hours. During that time the floor cannot be walked on. Furthermore, the ambient air will be laden with the smell of solvents. It should come as no surprise that, very often, oiled floors are not given the full treatment but just a cleaning pass just to get it over with. The problem with cleaning without care is that it eventually results in the floor finish turning into a dull gray. There is another problem, too: Wooden flooring in pool areas is not suitable for disinfectant cleaning. This holds true for all wood floor coverings, with painted and lacquered coverings being more resistant to disinfectant cleaning than waxed and oiled wooden floors. Also, all public baths, including wellness centers and spas with pool areas, are subject to health regulations. These can mandate that all barefoot areas must be cleaned with disinfectants to ensure adequate hygiene, for instance. In order to meet this objective, it is necessary to maintain a set standing time for the disinfectant (5, 15, 30, 60 or 240 minutes, according to the VAH list) before it may be wiped off. The area being disinfected must be isolated as well for the duration of the treatment. To ensure the disinfectant unfolds its full effectiveness, the entire surface must be covered and then allowed to dry naturally. Therefore, because rubbing the surface dry after disinfection is not allowed, there is a risk of formation of standing liquid. This, together with the biocides in the disinfectant, only compounds the threat to wooden floorings. In addition, the products have to comply with special requirements: for instance, they must be effective against the human papilloma virus (HPV) to prevent the transmission of warts. No standing water!If disinfection is not necessary, it may be sufficient to dry clean wood flooring using dust binding products. But if stubborn, caked on residues are to be removed, wet mopping is a must. This step is often, and quite mistakenly, referred to as ‘damp mopping’. Wet cleaning is the only way to effectively to remove recalcitrant dirt and grime; the key is to minimize the risk of water ingress and above all avoid any standing water after the cleaning pass. This operation requires great care because wet cleaning may, despite professional execution, still cause damage to the wood flooring. Wood is a natural product and therefore does not have the homogeneous properties of, for instance, elastic floorings made of PVC or rubber. In other words, changes in spots on the wood surface cannot be ruled out, especially in those places that were exposed to water or liquid cleaners. This, however, greatly depends on the type of wood and on the surface treatment applied. The safe choice is to go with wood products that are known to be water-resistant and that have an intact surface finish. Water-sensitive wood floorings with oil finishes are the most susceptible to damage, especially if they have been installed as a prefab parquet floor. Combining cleaning and careEnsuring the optimum conditions for preserving wood floors involves a combination of cleaning and care processes right from the outset. And that means immediately after installation. Once the floor is installed, any wet areas should be treated with a suitable surface care layer (e.g. Timer easy). This will not only increase the water repellent action of the surface finish, but will also guard the unavoidable seams against water ingress. It will also give the surface a more homogenous look and feel, especially with prefab floorings. For maintenance cleaning without aftercare, use a surfactant-free cleaner (Green Care Karacho, for instance) to prevent water from entering into fine cracks and capillaries and causing mildew stains. Using suitable scrubbers and vacuums is a proven approach to cleaning wood flooring safely and effectively. If manual cleaning is your only option, products with waterproofing properties (e.g. Lamitan) are recommended for protecting wood flooring against the risks of water damage. For those who prefer traditional solutions, there is no way around wood soaps, such as Green Care Floor Cleaner S, for example. Soap-based cleaners create a water repellent surface care layer that actually extends floor life. When using these solutions, it’s important to bear in mind that the floor should be polished on a regular basis to make the surface finish denser, which also improves the look. The soap seals the pores in the wood and makes it harder for water to penetrate into the wood fibers. Following these pointers is a sure way to keep wooden floors in wet areas ship-shape for many years to come. Jürgen Otterbein | Tana | peter.hartmann@holzmann-medien.de

Wood flooring in wet areas Can do with the right care

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