A hardwood floor can exude superior elegance and toughness in a single-family rental home. However, in case your rental property has hardwood floors, there are various steps you must additionally perform to keep them in sound shape. Daily care, as well as regular maintenance, is fundamental. Also, tenants can be really difficult on hardwood, scratching and gouging floors either by accident or through negligence. As a result, it is crucial to correctly care for and maintain your property’s hardwood floors, and see to it that your tenant is aware of how to do so too.
Proper hardwood floor maintenance is among the best methods to make sure that the floor in your Ocala rental property lasts being functional and aesthetically pleasing. But, really, it is imperative to know the right way to care for a hardwood floor. For illustration, most hardwood floors have surface finishes that aid to protect the wood from liquid spills, scratches, and other types of damage. Keeping this finish intact is the best method to ensure the long life of your floor.
Also, hardwood can be damaged by using harsh cleaning products or the wrong cleaning technique. Professionals strongly advise the use of a soft microfiber mop or cloth to sweep dirt and dust off the floor. Vacuum cleaners can scratch up a hardwood floor, and regular mops use too much water, which isn’t the best for a hardwood floor either. Liquid spills should be cleaned up fast, and steps need to be taken to always keep the floor thoroughly dry.
There is a lot that a property owner can do and working closely with your tenants to take good care of your rental property’s hardwood flooring is one of the best approaches to preserve and keep it looking really attractive. The very first thing you have to implement is to enlighten your tenant on proper hardwood floor maintenance and cleaning. In assisting them to learn the best procedure to clean the floor, you will surely extend the life and beauty of the hardwood and prevent damage simultaneously.
One other way to motivate your tenants to support you in maintaining your property’s hardwood floor is to encourage your tenants to place rugs in high-traffic areas. This will definitely help keep most of the dirt off of the floor and also lessen the time required to clean the floor and keep it looking superb. Finally, you can ask your tenant to use the right cleaning products by sharing with them the name of the one recommended for use on your floor or require that they only use approved cleaning products in your lease. This can really help to promote the importance of proper hardwood floor maintenance.
However, even with adequate maintenance, hardwood floors need some additional attention every few years or between tenants. Through the years, wear and tear can fade a floor’s finish and accumulate scratches or other blemishes. Assuming that is all there is, there’s a big chance that you won’t have to entirely refinish the floor. Most commonly, 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.
In contrast, if your hardwood already looks to be 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. Even supposing it is attainable to accomplish it yourself, most Ocala property owners feel that hiring a professional is well worth the cost. A flooring contractor can definitely tell you what kind of flooring you have, and which method would best recondition or restore it. Different kinds of wood require different techniques and engineered or wood laminate simply won’t tolerate heavy refinishing as solid hardwood does. In situations such as these, any restoration work is best left to a professional.
Taking care of hardwood floors doesn’t need to be complicated, but it does require other extra thinking and motivation to enlist the help of your tenant. Nevertheless, by maintaining good tenant relations, they will be more than willing to assist you in keeping your valuable hardwood floor in the best possible condition.
Take the headache and hassle out of managing your rental properties. At Real Property Management Diversified, we handle the lease paperwork, renter relations, professional vendors and everything else! Contact us or call us at 352-854-2221 and talk to a professional Ocala property manager today.
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.