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klhaynie07

Engineered hardwood peeling away

7 years ago


Within the first 6 months of moving in the engineered hardwoods in one well travelled area started chipping or peeling away. Now multiple areas are beginning to do the same.


To clean I use a broom, hardwood floor vacuum and Bona hardwood cleaner about once a week.


is This something that happens over normal wear and tear or is there something I could be doing to make it worse?


Comments (4)

  • 7 years ago
    I have engineered hardwood and it's pristine after 3 years. I don't wash it as often as you do, but otherwise follow the same routine. Sounds like you may have warranty issues because a new floor shouldn't be flaking. Can you post some photos?
    klhaynie07 thanked jmm1837
  • 7 years ago

    thank you for your response! I have to wash it that often because of my two dogs but it’s strange because it’s only in one section of the house that’s doing it and not in a section we travel more than others.



  • 7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    "Sounds like you may have warranty issues because a new floor shouldn't be flaking."


    Under normal circumstances absolutely correct. But we need more info to offer any help. What brand and line is the flooring? Who did the install? Slab or wood floor system? HVAC system? New construction or added flooring? Moisture readings taken? Subfloor type?

    klhaynie07 thanked millworkman
  • 7 years ago

    How old is the floor? Is this a newly built home with 6mos old floors? Or is this an existing home that you purchased (with the floors in place) that you have lived in for 6 months?


    In the single photo, I can see the finish wearing off at the edges. This could be an indication of finish adhesion failure. This may be a factory thing...or it could be an installation thing. Or it could be a maintenance thing.


    It looks like (in the single photo....we will need more photos to get a better sense of this) the edge of the plank might be sitting proud (a little higher then the one next to it). If that is the case, the edge is getting more exposure to traffic than the wood around it.


    But if it is sitting proud, the next question is 'Why'? But what if it is NOT sitting proud? Why would it peel if it is NOT sitting proud?


    One of the things a flooring inspector will look at is the cleaning routine. The concept of "over cleaning" is a tough one to deal with. Hardwood floors are built to be 'dry'. That means sweeping is almost daily (get rid of the grit) and a damp cleaning (microfibre mop head that is WATER ONLY) once per week. And 'damp' means there is SO LITTLE WATER on the mop that it feels 'dry' to the touch.


    A "cleaner" is used ONCE or twice per month. Never more than that. And again, the microfibre mop head will have so LITTLE CLEANER/WATER in it that it feels DRY to the touch. And the reapplication of the cleaning solution will be to the MOP HEAD....never to the floor.


    Whew. My first suggestion would be: more walk-off mats where the dogs enter. If their paws are muddy, leave a towel by the door and wipe off the paws each time they enter the house. And reduce your "Bona cleaner" use to once per month. And make sure you are using the absolute MINIMUM amount of water when you do a damp-water-only mop the rest of the time.


    But again, before we go off thinking this is a finish-adhesion concern, we need to know a bit more about the home and the age of the wood floors and a few more photos would be really helpful.

    klhaynie07 thanked SJ McCarthy
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