Basket-weave parquet floor under the dining table in a London home finished by Howard Naish

For Our Clients

Congratulations on Your New Floor

Finished by Howard Naish, and now yours to enjoy. This page is for clients whose floors we've just finished: how to look after them, the products we trust, and how to keep them looking like day one, forever.

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Find the Guide For Your Finish

Every floor we finish uses a professional system from one of three manufacturers we trust: Bona, LOBA or Osmo. Each one publishes its own care recommendations, and we've turned them into the plain-English guides below, with the exact products they recommend. Not sure which system we used on yours? It's named on your quote, or just ring us on 020 3131 0122 and we'll tell you.

Bona · Lacquered Bona · Oiled LOBA · Lacquered LOBA · Oiled Osmo · Oiled

Whatever the Finish

Six Rules That Apply to Every Wood Floor

Grit is the enemy. A doormat inside and outside every external door, and felt pads under chair and table legs. Grit ground underfoot is what wears a finish, not feet.
Damp, never wet. A well wrung mop or a light mist is all a wood floor ever wants. Standing water works its way between the boards and swells them.
No steam mops. Ever. Steam forces moisture down into the joints and over time the boards warp and move. Every manufacturer we use says the same.
No supermarket polishes, vinegar or washing-up liquid. They leave residues that dull the floor and can stop future maintenance coats from sticking.
Wipe spills as they happen. Especially on oiled floors, where a sitting spill can leave a permanent mark.
Use the products made for your finish. Lacquer products on a lacquered floor, oil products on an oiled one. The wrong product does quiet damage you only see later.

Just Finished?

The First Week on Your New Floor

A freshly finished floor is touch dry quickly, but underneath it is still hardening for days. We'll give you the exact timings for your finish on handover; as a general rule:

First hours: socks only. Bona's own guidance is stocking feet from around 3 to 4 hours after the final coat; shoes wait until the next day.
After about 48 hours: furniture can go back. Placed, never dragged, and with felt pads going on as it lands.
Rugs wait longest: at least a week on a lacquered floor, and 2 to 3 weeks on an oiled one. A rug down too early traps the finish before it has cured.
First clean: dry only (a soft brush or a microfibre dust pad) for the first week. The first damp clean with your finish's own cleaner comes after that.
Pets: claws and a curing floor don't mix; keep them off as long as you can manage in that first week.

Bona · Lacquered Floors

Caring For Your Bona Lacquered Floor

Your floor is sealed under three coats of Bona lacquer, a hard protective skin over the timber. It asks very little of you: keep grit off it, clean it gently, and top up its shine a few times a year. This is Bona's own recommended routine, in our words.

Your routine

Day to day: run a microfibre dusting pad over it. A broom just pushes the grit around; the pad picks it up.
Weekly: a light mist of Bona Wood Floor Cleaner with the Bona spray mop. A fine mist is genuinely enough.
Every few months in busy rooms: a coat of Bona Wood Floor Polish (matt or gloss to match your finish). It fills the micro-scratches and tops up the wear layer.
When something's really stuck on: Bona's OxyPower deep cleaner lifts heavy build-up without harming the lacquer.

The products Bona recommends

Bona Wood Floor Cleaner: the everyday one. pH-neutral, dries fast, leaves nothing behind.
Bona Premium Spray Mop: cleaner cartridge in the handle, washable pad, no bucket. The single best thing you can own for this floor.
Bona Wood Floor Polish (Matt or Gloss): the top-up coat that keeps the wear layer fed.
Bona OxyPower Deep Cleaner: for the occasional proper deep clean.

Never: steam mops, wet mopping, vinegar or generic polishes. And never use these lacquer products on an oiled floor.

Straight from the manufacturer: Bona's guide to your newly finished floor (including the first week) and Bona's cleaning guide.

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Bona · Oiled Floors

Caring For Your Bona Oiled Floor

Your floor is finished with two coats of oil that live inside the timber, which is why it looks and feels so natural. An oiled floor wants feeding, not just cleaning: the right cleaner nourishes the oil every time you mop.

Your routine

Often: vacuum or dust mop. Grit wears oil away faster than anything else.
Weekly: Bona Oiled Wood Floor Cleaner, sprayed and wiped. It cleans and feeds the oil in one pass. Water to an absolute minimum.
Spills: wipe them the moment they happen. Oil repels water briefly, but a sitting spill can stain.
A few times a year: Bona Oiled Wood Floor Refresher. Clean first, pour on, spread, let it dry. It restores the matt look and the protection, no machine needed. Kitchens appreciate an extra application.

The products Bona recommends

Bona Oiled Wood Floor Cleaner: made for oil; an ordinary cleaner strips what a floor like yours needs to keep.
Bona Premium Spray Mop for Oiled Floors: the same brilliant mop, loaded with the oiled-floor cleaner.
Bona Oiled Wood Floor Refresher: the periodic feed that keeps the finish alive between our visits.

Never: all-purpose cleaners (they leave a dull residue), steam, standing water, or any product marked for varnished floors.

Straight from the manufacturer: Bona's guide to your newly finished floor and Bona's oiled floor care guide.

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LOBA · Lacquered Floors

Caring For Your LOBA Lacquered Floor

Your floor is sealed with LOBA lacquer, the German system we use on floors that have to work hard. LOBA's routine has a clever extra step: a care product that builds a thin sacrificial film over the lacquer, so daily life scratches the film, not your finish.

Your routine

First, always: vacuum or dry mop before any wet cleaning, so you're not dragging grit around in the damp.
Routine clean: LOBA Cleaner diluted about ten parts water to one, with a well wrung mop. Never let water sit; parquet especially will swell.
Every few cleans in busy rooms: a coat of LOBA ParkettCare to rebuild that protective film. Use it neat, never diluted, and give it a couple of hours before walking on it.
About once a year: deep clean with LOBA CareRemover to strip the old care film and any build-up, then lay a fresh coat of ParkettCare and go back to normal.

The products LOBA recommends

LOBA Cleaner: the mild everyday cleaner, one capful goes a long way.
LOBA ParkettCare: the sacrificial care film. This is the product that makes a LOBA floor last.
LOBA CareRemover: the annual reset before a fresh care coat.
LOBA Spray Mop: microfibre head and cleaner in one tool for quick cleans.

Never: dilute ParkettCare, leave water standing, or use generic cleaners; they leave residues that the CareRemover then has to fight.

Straight from the manufacturer: LOBA's official care instructions for lacquered floors (PDF).

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LOBA · Oiled Floors

Caring For Your LOBA Oiled Floor

Your floor is finished with LOBA oil, deep in the timber rather than sitting on top of it. Clean it gently, and when it starts to look dry or dull, feed it. Done right, the oil only ever gets better with age.

Your routine

Often: vacuum or dry mop to keep grit off the surface.
Routine clean: LOBA Cleaner diluted about ten to one, mop well wrung out.
When it looks dry, dull or shows wear marks: a thin, even coat of LOBA ParkettOil with a lint-free cotton cloth. Careful feet after a few hours, furniture back the next day.
If it's had a hard life first: deep clean with LOBA Parkett Soap before the fresh oil, so you're feeding clean timber.

The products LOBA recommends

LOBA Cleaner: the same gentle everyday cleaner, safe on oil.
LOBA ParkettOil: the maintenance oil that replenishes protection and lifts wear marks.
LOBA Parkett Soap: the deep clean before a re-oil on a heavily used floor.

Never: thin the oil or add water to it. And one real safety note: cloths soaked in maintenance oil can self-ignite as they dry. When you're done, soak them in water or seal them in a metal tin before they go in the bin.

Straight from the manufacturer: LOBA's official care instructions for oiled floors (PDF).

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Osmo · Oiled Floors

Caring For Your Osmo Oiled Floor

Your floor is finished with Osmo hardwax oil, the finish we reach for when a client wants the wood to feel like wood. Osmo's own care system is four simple steps, and the beauty of it is that the floor can always be brought back without sanding.

Your routine

Day to day: dust mop or vacuum to keep grit off the wax.
Weekly: damp mop with Osmo Wash and Care, a small splash in a bucket of water, mop wrung well out. It cleans without stripping the oil.
Two or three times a year: Osmo Liquid Wax Cleaner. It deep cleans and regenerates the finish in one pass, and it's the one that shifts stubborn marks like grease or shoe polish.
When the floor looks tired: a thin coat of Osmo Maintenance Oil brings the protection and the look right back. No sanding, dry in hours.

The products Osmo recommends

Osmo Wash and Care: the everyday cleaner that feeds as it cleans.
Osmo Liquid Wax Cleaner: the periodic intensive clean and refresh.
Osmo Maintenance Oil (matt or satin): the no-sanding revival coat.
Osmo Cleaning Kit or Spray Mop: the dry dust mop, damp mop and intensive cloth in one set.

Never: steam cleaners, standing water, washing-up liquid, bleach, ammonia or baking soda (they discolour the wood), or furniture spray polish (it makes the floor slippery). The same oily-cloth fire note applies: soak used cloths in water or seal them in a metal tin.

Straight from the manufacturer: Osmo's floor care guide and the full Osmo flooring care brochure (PDF download).

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The Part Most People Miss

You Never Need to Sand This Floor Again

Here's the secret the trade doesn't shout about: a floor that gets a little professional attention on schedule never needs the big machines back. Oiled floors: book us in once a year and we'll apply a fresh coat of oil, keeping the timber fed and the finish looking new. Lacquered floors: every two years we come back, key up the surface and lay a fresh coat over the top. Do that, and the wear layer never wears through, which means no dust, no furniture out, no sanding, ever again. Just a floor that looks perfect all year round.

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Everything Your Floor Needs

The Right Products, From the People Who Finished It

Spray mops, cleaners, polishes and oils from Bona, LOBA and Osmo, picked for your exact finish. Tell us which floor is yours and we'll point you at the right ones.

020 3131 0122

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