Wood is a beautiful addition to any home. But different types of wood and wood-look floors have different maintenance requirements and challenges. Traditional sanding and sealing is messy, stinky and time-intensive, and can only be used for hard wood. Veneer-type engineered wood can’t be sanded without destroying the veneer, and sanding and sealing is completely inappropriate for laminate flooring. Clean Tile and More provides a more convenient, affordable alternative for restoring and protecting each of these types of floor.
Traditional hard wood restoration is a lengthy, messy, smelly process. And it’s expensive, too! Even high-tech sanders with vacuums attached leave some fine saw dust in the air. Traditional polyurethane sealant typically takes 2 to 3 days to dry, rendering the floor unusable to the homeowner. In fact, homeowners with large wood floor areas often decide to move out when their floors are being redone, increasing the cost of an already-expensive process. Polyurethane is also very smelly, emitting an odor that many people are sensitive to. And because it takes so long to dry, special care must be taken to prevent pet hair and other particulates from settling on the still-drying surface. Polyurethane is also problematic to use because it doesn’t self-level, meaning special application methods must be used to prevent applicator lines from showing on the floor.
Some homeowners make the mistake of using floor care products sold in grocery and home improvement stores. While these products do work for some people, many find themselves trying to figure out what to do with the cloudy residue and streakiness they find on their floor after multiple uses.
Our Solution
Clean Tile and More uses a completely different process to restore and protect your wood flooring investment. There’s no mess and little odor; it’s fast drying, and — best of all — about a quarter of the cost of traditional restoration processes. And we can correct your wood product nightmare as well!
Our first step is to thoroughly clean the hard wood surface. We use a non-weighted buffing machine with a polishing pad to agitate the dirt, grime, and sealants then mop up the resulting residue with a microfiber mop. This step prepares the wood surface for sealant application.
Our hard wood sealing product has several advantages over traditional polyurethane. First, only cleaning is required — NO SANDING! It applies easily and quickly and dries in about 30 minutes per coat, greatly reducing the probability of particulates and hair getting trapped in the sealant while it is drying. We find that two coats are usually sufficient for most homeowner’s needs, but additional coats can be applied if more shine is desired. Best of all, our entire process runs about a quarter of the price of traditional wood restoration methods!
Unlike traditional methods, future touch-ups don’t involve redoing the entire floor. With our sealant, high traffic areas can be treated separately to restore the shine, at significant savings. The typical touch-up timeframe is between 18-24 months, depending on foot traffic.
Engineered Wood Restoration & Protection
The Problem
Engineered wood can be a beautiful option to get the look of hard wood without as much expense. The only problem is that most engineered wood is constructed of thin veneer over multiple thin ply layers of wood glued together. While expensive engineered wood with thicker veneer layers can be sanded and refinished, the process removes the top layer, including 7-10 coats of aluminum oxide finish, reducing not only the thickness of the veneer, but also removing whatever is left of the protective coating.
Clean Tile and More to the rescue!
Our Solution
Since our wood restoration and protection method does not include sanding, we can beautify your engineered wood floor, touching up scratches and other blemishes before providing a high-quality shine. We use the same process for engineered wood as with hard wood, first thoroughly cleaning the floor then laying down a minimum of two coats of our sealant for a beautiful, easily maintained shine. And the cost is definitely much more reasonable than replacement!
Laminate Protection
The Problem
Laminate flooring is a multi-layer synthetic product that is made to look like wood (or stone, in some cases) with what amounts to a top layer photograph under a clear protective finish. The inner core layer is usually made up of melamine resin and fiber board. The least expensive of the three wood-type flooring options, laminate can often seem more durable than hard wood or engineered wood since it is less susceptible to compression from high heels, pet claws, and other sources of dings and gouges. However, once the top layer of laminate is damaged, the best option is usually to replace it.
Another problem with laminate is that it is usually much duller than real wood, without the rich sheen that wood floor finishes have. When it becomes scratched from particulates, furniture, and footwear, it can look very weathered, and products from the local home improvement center only make it look cloudy.
It is also important to keep laminate relatively dry, since sitting water/moisture can cause the planks to swell and warp. Once the water seeps between the boards, the damage to the underlayer of laminate can definitely mean replacement.
Our Solution
If your laminate floors are lightly scratched and worn looking, we can disguise the scratches and give it a whole new look with our cleaning and sealing process. Many customers report that their laminate floors look better after we have cleaned and sealed their floor than they did when they were new!
While we can give your laminate a facelift if it looks worn, we recommend protecting your laminate floor before it is damaged. Our sealant protects while it beautifies. It seals the joints between boards, so that water doesn’t easily penetrate the underlayer. Our sealant also protects the surface against scratches and dings, acting as a “sacrificial surface” or second protective layer shielding the thin top layer from damage. Maintenance is a breeze, and touch-ups are low-cost!
We use exactly the same process for your laminate flooring as we do with traditional hard wood and engineered wood floors. And the results are fantastic!
Testimonials
Leslie P. (Friendswood) Grade ‘A’ from Angie’s List
I have a large home, and David spent a great deal of time making sure everything was prepared before he began working. He explained everything as he was doing the job. He was courteous and very neat. I left him alone the second day while I ran errands, I felt that comfortable with him. When he finished the first day, he cleaned up after himself. As each part of the job was complete, he called me in to make sure I was happy with the results. I will use him again!
David K. (Nassau Bay)
I tried multiple products remove the ugly Orange Glo residue from my floor. Now our engineered wood floor looks better than when it was new!
Reed L. (League City)
I don’t know what the previous owners put on our hard wood floors, but it made them look splotchy. I’m so glad we had Clean Tile and More out to restore our floors. Now they look as beautiful as the rest of our house!
