TIPS IN MAINTAINING YOUR TIMBER STAIRCASES

29 January 2016

Staircases aren’t quite as popular as they used to be many years ago, but for those homeowners today, who are fortunate enough to have a house with an intact staircase, or for those who’ve taken the time to outfit their home with the finest staircase, it is an investment that will last them lifetime.

However, ensuring that your home staircase is kept in the best shape possible, both visually and structurally, you may have to do a significant bit of maintenance. Thankfully, most old-fashioned timber staircases and a number of well-constructed modern ones are made from top-grade timber, and as such don’t require much in the way of protecting them against rot, mould, or termites.

Quality timber staircases are typically immune from the ravages of moisture or termites, but only if they are properly ‘sealed’, to guarantee that none of wood’s typical enemies manage to get a foothold. That’s why maintaining them is important.

Maintaining your timber staircase need not be a complicated task, since nowadays, there is a vast array of wood care, conditioning, and priming products that not only protect the surface of the wood, but also helps to condition it to maintain a highly desired reflective lustre. A well-maintained and well-polished staircase doesn’t only resist scratches, it also repels water and dust, which will not only eventually eat through the wood, but also opens it up to damage and marring.

To ensure that the mirror polish of your staircase is kept in pristine condition, you may also want to invest in buffers of some sort. There are manual buffers and electrical ones, choose one that is best suited for your temperament, budget, and cleaning methods. To buff and prep an old timber staircase that has not been polished ‘in a while’, begin with a thorough buffing, and then apply your choice of wax, oil, or other polishing product.

If you allow the timber to set prior to a secondary buffing, which also counts as extra polishing, it will ensure that the nourishing oils seep into the pores of the wood. To keep the best shine possible, a weekly or bi-weekly maintenance consisting of a thin application of wax, oil or your choice of wood cleaning products should be more than enough to guarantee that your staircase will look as good as new for many decades to come.

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