Why Homeowners Are Opting For Dustless Floor Sanding
Why Homeowners Are Opting For Dustless Floor SandingWith wood floors, proper care can see them last a lifetime. They are some of the sturdiest floor choices, and are used across the scope, from high traffic commercial establishments to busy homes with kids and pets running amok. The strength of the structure enables it to take a beating and still hold strong. Then there is the charm they bring to the room. That natural look and feel that comes with wood floors accentuates the interior space, making the décor pop. So elegant are these installations that wood floors contribute to increasing the real estate value of the property. Buyers and tenants are willing to fork out more funds to get into spaces that have this type of flooring. The numerous types of wood species available, plus the diverse finish treatments that can be applied on the surface, broaden the scope of colouration and gloss effects that one can obtain. To keep your installation in optimal condition, measures like routine cleaning will need to be put in place. The dirt and grime that accumulates on the surface is a threat to it, being ground against the wood under foot traffic. Spills should be cleaned up as soon as possible, and the items such as area rugs, walk-off mats, and even dehumidifiers to control the relative humidity of the room are recommended to add to your floor’s protection. Over time, after the existing finish has been deteriorated, a floor sanding and refinishing will be needed, which will give your installation a fresh start. You may even simply want to change things from the current wood stain and finish and have different ones applied for décor purposes. Here the existing finish will be abraded away, sanding through to the bare wood, in readiness for the new treatment to be applied. Whether you’re sanding solid hardwood or engineered wood floors, there is one issue that cuts across the board: the dust.
A messy affair
As the old layers of finish get sanded away, loads of dust are generated. This dust is a mixture of the finish coats, wood stains, varnishes, and other treatments that had been applied onto it, and the wood itself. The particles are both coarse and fine, and without proper control, end up all over the interior space. Furniture tops, vents and ducts, sinks, electronics, the chandelier, cabinets- none is spared. Those layers of dust building up are not just a nuisance- they also come with their associated health risks.
The dust is an allergen. Once the particles are inhaled, they trigger reactions in the affected persons. Incessant coughing, sneezing, irritated airways and all-out asthma attacks- these are not issues that you want to be facing for days after the floor renovation. Remember that the dust itself is a cocktail of wood particles, flakes of the finish products that the surface had been treated with, pollutants and a host of contaminants that may have accumulated in the structure over time. When these are inhaled, they expose the affected person to a range of health risks, from toxins to carcinogens. Those fine dust particles remain suspended in the air for long, further prolonging the amount of damage that they can cause. Speaking of which, the particles are actually abrasive. As such, if they do get to the lungs, there’ll be more to worry about, as they will cause scarring of the lung tissue.
How Dustless Floor Sanding Is Beneficial
With this system, the sanding machinery is connected to a high-powered vacuum that suctions up the dust the moment it is sanded off from the surface. It is then directed away through hoses, into containment units where it will be held awaiting disposal. This approach ensures that 99% of the dust gets effectively removed, thus preventing the mess that would have been caused, and making the process safer for the technicians themselves and the occupants of the building.
The dustless floor sanding cuts down the time that would have been taken up with the extra cleaning chores that would have been necessitated. Here, the clean-up after the sanding will be fast, allowing the rest of the floor renovation process to continue much sooner. Speaking of which, getting rid of the dust also prevents issues where particles contaminate the finish and distort the results.
Give your floor a new breath of life
The goal of the sanding process itself is to renovate the flooring. It’s basically an antidote for the worn-out, scratched and discoloured surfaces, where you get to remove the old finish, a leaving the bare wood itself, onto which fresh new coats can be applied. By hiring the professionals, you get to ensure that the sanding is done to quality standards. It is vital for the surface to be ready to bond with the treatments that would be applied. You don’t a situation where there are patches of old finish left behind on the surface, or scratches that will be made more prominent when the finish coats are applied. The state of the surface will have a huge impact on how effective the finishing process will be. It needs to be smooth to allow a uniform application, but not extremely smooth such that the finish coats are unable to get into the wood pores and adhere to the structure.
During the floor sanding process, defects that are on the floor can also be resolved. Those scratches that are distorting the surface and dips are evened out to form an even surface, to filling of cracks with filler products that have been mixed with the sanding dust- thus ensuring that the resultant mixture has similar properties with the rest of the flooring. The task is itself is arduous. In fact, the sanding stage will be the most labour-intensive part of the floor renovation. Getting professionals to take care of it for you allows you to sit back and relax, and get quality results fast- in far less time than a DIY job would have taken. The professionals also put in place safety measures to protect your property and the personnel themselves.
Why Homeowners Are Opting For Dustless Floor Sanding