Now that you have a beautiful hardwood floor, you want to make sure you take care of it. Follow the following guidelines for maintaining your floor:

1. Place mats at all exterior doors to trap dirt. Throw rugs inside the entrances and in high traffic pathways are also helpful.

2. Use protective pads or caps (preferably felt) on the legs of furniture. They allow furniture to be moved easily without scuffing the floor.

3. Vacuum or sweep floor regularly using a brush attachment.

4. Wipe up spills promptly with a dry cloth or paper towel. Use slightly dampened cloth for sticky spills.

5. It is good practice to keep your floor as clean as possible. When cleaning is needed, use a damp mop with warm water only. Dip a clean cloth or sponge mop into warm water and wring nearly DRY before mopping. (NEVER leave puddles or too much water on the floor.)

6. Do not use any kind of chemicals, abrasive cleaners, wax, oil soap or other household cleaners on polyurethane finished floors. These can harm the floor's finish.

7. Never wax a polyurethane finish floor. Once waxed the floor will have to be completely sanded down to raw wood to restore the floor.

8. Trim your pets' claws regularly to avoid scratches and gouges.

9. Avoid walking on hardwood floors in high heels.