Exeter Karndean Floor experts, Walter Wall, offer you some hints and tips for keeping your Karndean floor in top condition.

When you purchase a Karndean floor, you are provided with an owners pack to ensure that you can care for the floor properly and with the minimum of hassle. As well as a Basic Cleaner, Stripper, Dim Glow sealer and instruction guide, there are furniture protectors (to protect the floor from furniture, not the other way around) and an applicator.

Scuff marks caused by foot traffic, especially with rubber soles. These can be removed by thoroughly cleaning the floor with the Karndean Basic Cleaner. This will effortlessly remove any surface marks and leave your floor sparkling and clean. Deeper scuffs may need the Dim Glow Hard Sealer to be applied once the floor has been cleaned. In the typical course of wear and tear, the floor would need cleaning in this way once every six months.

If the floor is slippery then you should check for any liquid or greasy residue on the floor. Liquids can make any hard floor slippery and this can be simply fixed by mopping up the liquid with paper towels or a dry mop. A greasy residue can often be cleaned up with a gentle cleaner (diluted dish washing liquid is fine) but this itself can lead to a residue which is slippery. Using unsuitable detergents or an overly concentrated quantity can result in some of the detergent being left behind, which would need to be carefully removed. Using kitchen towel or mopping with warm water and then thoroughly cleaning with the Karndean Basic Cleaner will leave the floor in pristine condition.

Scratching of the floor is often a result of grit or dirt being ground into the floor. Prevention is always better than cure and ensuring that you have an good doormat will help stop grit and dirt coming into contact with the floor in the first place. Karndean actually recommends an especially large mat (two paces or four feet from the entrance), but this isn't something which is always feasible in the home so perhaps a hardwearing mat in the entrance.Regularly sweep the floor with a soft bristled broom to remove any debris. Karndean Dim Glow Hard Sealer is designed to provide an additional layer of protection to the floor.

Occasionally, your Karndean floor may take on a slightly streaky appearance, this is most often cause by a cleaning product not being removed properly. This can be simply fixed by giving the floor a good rinsing. It may be caused by the Dim Glow Hard Sealer drying irregularly. This can be caused by draughts, sunlight or underfloor heating. Remove the Dim Glow Hard Sealer with Karndean Basic Cleaner and reapply the Sealer with underfloor heating turned off, windows and curtains closed to prevent a reccurance.

If the floor looks grimy or dull this is usually a result of the floor not being cared for correctly. Either a cleaning product has been used that is not recommended by Karndean or the maintenance equipment (mops, buffers, etc) are dirty. It can also be caused when the Dim Glow Hard Sealer has been applied to the floor when it is not clean. In this case, use the Basic Cleaner to bring the floor back to its original clean condition and if needed, reapply the Dim Glow Hard Sealer.

1. Almost every hard floor will be slippery when it is wet. You need to take care while the floor is being cleaned and let the floor dry fully before it is used. If you don't have a properly absorbant doormat, then water from outside can be walked onto the floor so care should be taken to dry feet properly.
2. Spilled liquids need to be mopped up as soon as they happen to prevent slips and stains. Karndean supply Dim Glow Floor
   Sealer with new installation to provide protection against most stains.
3. A good quality entrance mat without rubber backing and a full two paces width will protect against debris such as grit from scratching the floor. They should be cleaned regularly or even just shaken out to remain effective.
4. Do not use any silicone-based products, (such as polish or glass cleaner) on your Karndean floor. Do not even allow these to come into contact with the floor. These will make that patch of floor very slippery and will need to be thoroughly cleaned to prevent accidents.
5. Only use cleaning products which are recommended by Karndean. Simply because anything else may contain ingredients which can cause damage to the floor because it reacts with the sealer or the floor itself.
6. Only use two thin coatings of the Dim Glow Floor Sealer, three in areas of especially high traffic. Excess layers of can cause the floor to be unattractive or slippery.
7. Never slide or drag any furniture or other heavy objects over the surface of a Karndean floor. This will leave grooves in the floor, either lift and carry or fix load bearing castors to furniture.
8. All resilient floor surfaces can be permanently discoloured by contact with latex or other artificial rubber sustitutes. You should ensure that there is no contact with the floor from these materials.

Of course, excessive roughness will damage your floor, as it would regardless of what surface you had fitted. Physical and chemical damage are two things which you should avoid inflicting on your Karndean floor and there are clear guidelines in the owners instructions, or you can ask us. As Exeter's