Victorian Homes

How to maintain parquet flooring in your Victorian house

parquet flooring

Parquet flooring is a stylish and essential element of many Victorian homes, it’s hard wearing, easy on the eye and the coloured wood grains are comforting to look at.

This type of flooring consists of different pieces of wood arranged at angles and in sometimes quite intricate designs. The most common design is the herringbone pattern.

It is most often laid in entrance rooms, hallways, kitchens and dining rooms and it was often matched with rugs to protect it and provide a pleasing contrast on the eye.

parquet flooring

1. Maintain your parquet flooring daily

Day-to-day maintenance can be carried out with a dustpan and brush, a sweeper or vacuum cleaner to remove pet hairs, crumbs, dust, dirt and other particulates.

parquet flooring

2. Protect your flooring with shade or a rug

Parquet flooring can fade if bathed in excessive sunlight, so it’s a good idea to shade it with curtains or provide further protection with a rug. You can also place protective felt under the feet of heavy furniture to prevent scratches.

3. Mop up spillages quickly

All wooden flooring can absorb liquid, so it is essential you mop up any spillages immediately.

4. Try to avoid using lots of cleaning products

If your flooring is sealed, you can clean it with a mop, a little water and cleaning agents designed for the job. Use as little water and cleaning product as possible and don’t use excessive force as you may scratch the wood blocks.

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5. Protect parquet flooring against humidity

Humidity can damage parquet flooring, so make sure your home doesn’t become too humid. If your parquet is fitted in the kitchen or bathroom, make sure the rooms are well ventilated when drawing a bath or cooking. In some cases, you may need to consider investing in a humidifier.

6. Invest in some decent parquet flooring polish

If your flooring is looking tired, treat it to a little polish to restore it back to its former glory but never use harsh cleaning chemicals or abrasive cleaning tools. There are a number of reasonably priced polishing products for parquet flooring on the market.

7. Give your flooring a protective coating

If your parquet is in a high-traffic area of your home and heavily worn, it may need to be re-sealed. You will need a sander to smooth the floors and remove scuffs, scratches and chips. You’ll also need a sealing product to give the parquet a protective covering. Read instructions on all equipment and materials before you begin.

8. Replace any damaged parquet flooring tiles

If individual tiles are badly damaged, they will need to be replaced. Carefully drill into them and then chip them away using a chisel, removing all the wood and adhesive that may prevent your replacement tile from sitting snugly. Replace the damaged tile with a new one cut to measure and stained to match. You should use parquet flooring adhesive to fix it in place.

parquet flooring

What era is parquet flooring from?

Parquet has been laid in fine homes since the early 1600s, but it was particularly popular in the Victorian era. At this time, it was a regular design element in homes created in the Art Nouveau style that was championed by the likes of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Charles Annesley Voysey and Edwin L. Lutyens.

While it is hard wearing, without regular care and attention it can become damaged, tired and rather tatty. Thankfully, we’ve got some tips on how to care for and maintain your parquet flooring.

What is the best flooring for a Victorian house?

Using hardwood is the most typical flooring you can get for your Victorian house, and it’s also arguably the most beautiful. Use a parquet flooring herringbone pattern and you can add real elegance to your home. Note that you don’t have to use parquet flooring everywhere; it could be used in select rooms and then hardwood could be used in the rest of the home.

Of course, what’s best for you also depends on your budget and your patience for upkeeping hardwood. But if you’d like to keep the traditional appeal of your Victorian home, hardwood is the way to go.

Protect your Victorian parquet flooring

Parquet flooring is easy to maintain, but if it is badly damaged it can be very expensive to replace, just like many other features in your authentic Victorian home. Adrian Flux is a leader in the Victorian home insurance field and can find you a policy that offers protection for your house, its contents and all the special features that make it your perfect home. Call 0800 369 8590 for a free, no-obligation quote.

Our home insurance customers saved an average of 31% in 2021 when taking out a policy with us. See how much you could save by giving us a call.

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