How to clean cork flooring

How to clean cork flooring… The source of cork is the bark of the cork oak or cork tree from Spain or Portugal. Granulated cork bark is moulded into blocks under pressure at high temperatures.

Cork flooring is then cut into tiles of varying thickness with plain or tongue and groove edges. Cork flooring is extremely porous as 50% of the tile consists of air, cork flooring tends to fade when exposed to continuous sunlight. It must always be sealed with a semi-permanent finish.

An oil sealer will tend to darken the cork flooring tile considerable and is only applied by customer request. Normally found where sound-proofing is important. A minimum of water should be used in maintenance because if water gets between the tiles it can cause the cork to swell considerably.

The seals applied by manufacturers are usually acrylic (applied as a water base) which can be maintained with emulsion polishes and/or a water-based maintainer.

Alternatively, a wax seal may have been applied in which case any future maintenance must be carried out using a wax solvent cleaner and a reapplication of the wax.

If you have cork flooring in your home and wish for this to be professionally cleaned and sealed, please contact us to arrange your booking.

We cover the whole north west from our base and regularly work in the following towns:

Image credits: The Spruce