WHY IS HUMIDIFICATION IMPORTANT FOR PARQUET?

by | Nov 4, 2020

You have beautiful parquet in your apartment or house and are you thinking about its durability? Have you ever thought about the impact of humidity on the quality of wooden floors? This topic is often completely neglected and we do not take enough care of it. In this article, we bring you information on how you can improve the quality of wooden floors, but also the quality of the air in your home. 

 

What you need to know is that wood is a hygroscopic material, that is it absorbs moisture from the air. We wrote recently about the importance of proper cleaning and maintenance, paying special attention to just sufficient draining of the wiping cloth, as well as the bad effects of steam cleaners on wooden floors. But with the arrival of colder days, space heating also enters the “story”, so a new question arises – how to ensure enough humidity in the room at the same time.

If you are more often tired, irritable, sleepy or have less concentration during colder days, this may be due to a lack of moisture in the space in which you live and stay. It is the dry air that will cause your skin to dry out and itch, and with the drying of the airway mucosa, we are more susceptible to various infections that we have been trying to avoid lately.

If dry air can harm your skin, have you thought about it being an enemy to your parquet as well?

 

All wood materials, including floors, react to the amount of moisture in the air, behaving literally like a sponge. Any change in humidity will cause changes to the wooden floors, and too much and too little moisture in the air can also cause damage. When the air is dry and the wood dries out, it reduces its volume, just like a sponge, and the wood can also crack and burst. A sure sign that the air in the room is dry is the appearance of “joints” and / or cracks between the parquet slats. To preserve the integrity of wood floors in the months when you heat the room or the air is dry for some other reason, it is essential to ensure that the room is humidified. It should be noted here that low temperatures do not mean higher relative humidity, and in winter, low temperatures are often the culprit for the appearance of cracks and “joints” between individual parquet slats.

 

How to humidify the air in the rooms during the winter months?

The optimal humidity indoors throughout the year is between 45 and 60% relative humidity, at a temperature of 18-22 C. All MOPAR wooden floors are manufactured just for these conditions and will be optimal with them. During the winter, that is, even more so during the days and months when we heat the space, the relative humidity in it is very often too low and should be increased. You can do this in several ways and very easily with the help of handy tools. We bring you a few ways and tips to achieve this, thereby improving the comfort of your stay in the space and even contribute to your overall health.

 

  1. If you are not at all sure about the relative humidity in your rooms, be sure to look for a device that will show you this. Today, many such devices can be found in stores at very affordable prices, and most often these are temperature indicators that measure the relative humidity.

2. Indoor plants significantly contribute to the maintenance of relative humidity in the room and the air quality itself. In addition, we feel calmer with them, and they have a positive effect on our health. The selection of houseplants is really diverse and there are species that are not at all demanding to maintain, so it would be a shame not to have at least two in most rooms. In addition, they are also a good indicator of the air condition of your rooms – if you notice that the plants dry out quickly, the air is definitely too dry, and this will quickly be seen on wooden floors.    

3. Place a bowl of water on the radiator. With the presence of a high temperature radiator, the water will evaporate and humidify the space faster, and you can add a few drops of essential oil to the same container to improve air quality.

  1. Cooking on the stove in the winter months releases moisture into the air and thus increases the relative humidity of the air.
  2. By releasing the accumulated steam and moisture after showering by opening the bathroom door, the moisture will flow quickly through the nearby rooms in your home and very easily bring in the necessary moisture.
  3. Get a humidifier. The primary criterion by which you will choose this product should be the size of the room to be humidified. For smaller rooms, bedrooms, table humidifiers will be enough for you. But there are higher capacity humidifiers that require less frequent charging. Although you will think that larger humidifiers will solve the problem, you should be careful because they will produce too much moisture in smaller rooms, which is again the basis for the possible development of bacteria, and the wood in the room will have a bad effect. When choosing, you will come across different humidifiers with different tank capacities. The size of the device does not necessarily correlate with the size of the tank, so pay attention to this. You will also choose between a cool mist and a warm mist. Cool mist humidifiers consume less electricity and work on the principle of ultrasound (quieter and better quality) or a fan, while warm mist humidifiers heat the water in the tank with a hot mist and consume a lot of electricity.
  4. Get a diffuser with essential oils. In doing so, pay attention to the importance of the quality of your diffuser, as well as the high quality of the essential oils you will use. Essential oils should not be heated to the evaporation temperature as this will break down their compounds. Ultrasonic diffusers do not heat the essential oils, but spray them cold into the space in the form of tiny droplets and mists. Precisely such diffusers work on the principle of mixing water and essential oils.Water will have the effect of moisturizing your space, and a diffuser will help the well-being of your health. It is known that some essential oils have antimicrobial activity, as they contribute to strengthening the immune system, improve sleep quality and general psychophysical health. Although such diffusers consume a certain amount of water during their operation, they are not basically humidifiers. While humidifiers consume several liters of water, water diffusers measure water consumption in decilitres.

 

Finally, it should be mentioned that the relative humidity in the room is too high (in relation to the temperature) – although it is somewhat rarer in homes and workplaces, care should be taken that this condition does not last too long, because the wood will receive this moisture, and thereby swell or increas the volume like a sponge. As a consequence, damage can occur on the parquet, but also elsewhere.

 

With this we have given you only a brief description of the connection between wood, humidity and temperature and the most basic tips for solving the problem. If you are interested in more about this topic or have questions, write to us at a info@mopar.hr

HOW TO CORRECTLY CLEAN AND MAINTAIN VARNISHED PARQUET?

by | Aug 21, 2020

There is a lot of advice on maintaining and cleaning parquet, but few really know what is allowed and what is forbidden when it comes to lacquered wooden floors.

In order to enjoy your wooden floors for a long time, you need to know that each parquet requires a little attention and adherence to several rules. To solve the mystery and dismiss the wrong tips, we bring you a few basic ways to properly maintain lacquered wood floors.

First of all, every parquet manufacturer knows best and can give you advice on cleaning and maintaining the floors it produces. In addition, he is obliged to issue these instructions to each client, so pay attention to this – the instructions are usually inside the parquet packaging or will be delivered to you when you pick up the goods. In addition, information can often be obtained on the manufacturer’s website or on request.

SPECIAL CLEANERS

We will primarily recommend that you use special products intended for cleaning and maintenance of lacquered floors as we offer. Be careful when buying funds in consumer goods stores, because there are big differences in quality and actual performance.

For the first and occasional maintenance, we recommend Wax Care – a coating that “repels” water, and is used immediately after laying the parquet as a protective layer.

You do regular cleaning with a special varnish cleaner – Cleaner Star, and for occasional restoration and removal of damage, we recommend the use of a special varnish freshener – Revivo Lack.

 

In addition to lacquered wooden surfaces, Cleaner Star is also effective on PVC floors, linoleum, melamine, but also marble. It effectively removes dirt, traces of shoe soles and various stains without leaving streaks on the varnish, and gives the space a truly pleasant smell. Cleaner Star is a neutral detergent with the addition of special nanoparticles that have a long-lasting cleaning effect on the treated surface. The amount of 3 plugs, dissolve in 1 liter of water, then drain a soaked cloth to wipe well and pass over the wooden surfaces in your home. Before each cleaning of varnished parquets, remove larger impurities by vacuuming.
Revivo Lack should be applied to floors once a year or as needed after you have washed the floors with Cleaner Star. Apply it evenly over the entire floor surface using a microfiber cloth. For major damage, you can apply a second coat after the first has dried well.

In case of more aggressive dirt and damage, consult our sales representatives.

CLEANING PARQUET WITH WATER?

Varnished parquet can be cleaned with water – BUT the cloth you use must be well drained or only slightly damp to the touch. For the maintenance of parquet, it is very important that you never use very damp cloths, large amounts of water and especially that water does not remain on the surface of the parquet. Namely, it can cause micro-cracks on the varnish layer, and in contact with the wood itself, it can also cause ugly stains (usually gray to black) that cannot be removed. Standing water on the parquet greatly accelerates this process and irreversibly damages the parquet.

Special mention should be made here of steam cleaning, ie steam cleaners, which is completely wrong and inadmissible. Namely, high temperature (water vapor) and lacquered surfaces do not go together at all. This will damage the varnish layer during the first cleaning, and your parquet will deteriorate rapidly.

 

PROTECT PARQUET FROM POTENTIAL SCRATCHES

When using parquet, you should not forget about the scratches that can occur on it, and most often it is from the legs of chairs and tables and similar furniture. To avoid this, stick felt on the underside of the legs.

Parquet is also worn unevenly, so you can notice damage in places where you walk the most, around tables, and in hallways and entrances to rooms. Therefore, in addition to the entrance, be sure to use a mat so that the parquet does not get wet and exposed to moisture, and under the work chairs special pads intended to protect the parquet.

 

It is normal for the parquet to lose its shine after a while and for certain damage and scratches to appear on it, but it is good to know that it is possible to renovate them. Leave it to a professional, a parquet worker, who will sand the parquet again and apply the protective varnish again.

Find out all about our specialized parquet cleaning and maintenance products at this LINK or consult our sales representatives.

 

THE LATEST TRENDS IN THE WORLD OF MODERN WOODEN FLOORS

by | Jul 2, 2020

Find out why Nataša Janjić and Andrea Andrassy chose MOPAR floors for their homes…

 

Despite the development of technology and the new building materials we have available today, there is actually no material that can bring as much warmth and texture to our home as wood! Natural patterns and shades of wood can enliven cool spaces, make them comfortable and attractive, and it is also a beautiful, adaptable and durable element of decoration that you can’t go wrong with. If you follow the current trends, you have certainly noticed that more and more often in the interiors there are walls covered with wood, while wooden floors have never really gone out of fashion, and what trends currently prevail in the world of wooden floors, we reveal below.

 

Andrea Andrassy choosing Mopar parquet

Trend no. 1: Geometric shapes

Geometric shapes have long inspired the world of interiors, so there is no doubt that such a pattern is in demand in the domain of modern wooden floors. The Shape collection hides an element of trapezoids and rhomboids, the combination of which provides inexhaustible possibilities for stacking patterns.
By combining two trapezoids, you will get a hexagon pattern, and in a combination of hexagons and a few rhomboids – you will get a unique parquet pattern, a decor with which you will truly impress others. When you add the ability to combine different colors, there is no end to the creative game. The decor that you will not go wrong with even if you implement it on the floor, as well as on the wall, has recently really found its popularity both in homes and business premises. In the Mopar showroom in Zagreb that you can arrange a completely individual approach to your story that you want to tell in your interior.

Trend no. 2: Chevron

You will find a chevron pattern in the Castle collection, which delights at first sight, inspired by history and filled with charm. Although it resembles a fishbone at first, the main difference is that the shorter side is at an angle of 45, 52 or 60 degrees and is symmetrically arranged in the shape of the letter “V”. This interesting pattern is proof that it can traditionally fit perfectly into modern interiors.

Trend no. 3: Oil coatings

Another variant of parquet protection that is used today is – oil coating. This option offers a lot of freedom in creating new ways of processing and colors. Today we have completely new generations of oiled parquets in which the oil allows the wood to breathe, and the parquet has its own resistance. Also, the time has passed for parquets to be chosen according to “class”. For some time now, it is desirable that the parquet comes with all its small irregularities and has more pronounced natural characteristics of wood, so it looks natural, not monotonous and completely uniform.
Hardwood flooring in oak
Brushing wooden floors has become most popular with the increasing use of oil as a finish. The oil itself leaves the warmth and texture of the wood to the touch, and brushing expresses that texture even more. It only takes a little courage, listening to your own intuition and faith in your creativity, and the parquet will turn out fantastic in any space.

Trend no. 4: Parquet even in the kitchen

With the modern way of life, kitchens are often associated with the living room or become truly part of that space. Wood tended to be practical in application, easier to maintain and leave the impression of an open space. It so happened that the parquet slowly pushed the ceramics out of the kitchens and hallways, and this was facilitated by the fact that today wood veneers are produced that have a stronger resistance to wear and moisture.

 

Whichever of the trends you choose when decorating your new project, an interior that you plan to truly enjoy, we believe you will not go wrong. Especially when we know that Mopar floors are chosen by people who want their interior to tell a story. Tell your wishes to our sales consultants in the showroom in Strojarska Street, Zagreb, and we will do our best to turn your wishes into a beautiful reality.

MODERN & STYLISHLY DECORATED APARTEMENT IN ZAGREB

by | Jun 10, 2020

Last week we had the opportunity to visit a luxury apartment on Sveti Duh in Zagreb. Already when arranging the shooting, we were sensing that this is a truly special apartment from the conversation with owners who are very proud of it. The cordiality and smile of this young married couple await us upon entering, but we look forward to look at the apartment, which already leaves a strong impression on us. At the end of the entrance hall, our view reaches towards the “walk-in” closet, and the photographer Sanja Bistričić and I are already thinking about the angle of the shooting and admiring the overall impression.
The hallway is divided in this place and while one part leads to the sleeping / working part of the apartment, the other leads us to the living room connected to the dining room and surrounded by a glass wall and terrace with one of the most beautiful views of the city we had the opportunity to see. They immediately tell us enthusiastically how they were introduced to the Mopar brand through the architect and admit that they chose the parquet before the apartment itself. They knew exactly what they wanted. Already during the tour of the apartment, we notice that the owners are looking for a modern, simple design and clean lines. The parquet they chose is from the Trend collection and in a lacquered finish in the shade Intuition, gray-brown colour. They are extremely satisfied with the maintenance of this lacquered parquet, indicating its durability and wear resistance.
Pale-gray, simple and comfortable corner sofa has taken a central place in the apartment, and the striking large glass surfaces give the apartment a lot of light. Precisely because it comes from various sources, from the west and the north, creating a perfect play of light in the center of the apartment. Carefully selected pieces of design furniture, a combination of Scandinavian and Dutch style, striking and unique details and decorations, and various works of art, have ennobled this space and given it a special modern expression.

 

Apartment Sv. Duh Zagreb - hallway
At that moment, we notice the kitchen, connected to the dining room, which, with a roof window and cashmere-colored decor, leaves an impression of beauty and warmth. This is where we notice how the owners followed the trends when it comes to parquets even in the kitchen, thus creating the impression of large areas, open space and stylistic uniqueness.
The real pearl of this apartment is the bedroom with a designer bed, an art reading corner and another panoramic view that extends across the terrace.

 

Enjoy in photos…

 

Photo: Sanja Bistričić

NATAŠA JANJIĆ – ADAPTATION LOG / PART 2

by | May 28, 2020

It has been some time since Nataša Janjić, then still pregnant for the first time, was decorating her apartment. In the first part of the adaptation blog, we brought you a story about the choice of parquet and all the dilemmas and wishes of the apartment owner that needed to be satisfied. This time we bring her apartment in its entirety, from the perspective of the famous actress, the owner of this beautiful old-town apartment in the center of Zagreb.
Writing: Nataša Janjić

The living room is the central room in the apartment through which all the others branch. It is 18 square meters in size and is separated from the kitchen by a load-bearing wall with beautiful cassette stock and a door for intimacy as needed, located to the south. Although not the largest room in the apartment, connected to the kitchen in this way, it forms over 35 square meters of the main living space with 3 seating points. Enough for one fair party, right?

In it we kept an old tiled stove, the only one of the three from the remaining rooms that was connected to the chimney. I dismantled the others and kept them in the woodshed. Somehow I even had the idea that one day, in case of a change of interior, I could put a fireplace in its place. But the tiled stove fit in wonderfully with the style, and around it I decided to form a small reading nook, with a comfortable dark green armchair and a coffee table. The main element of the living room is a large gold-colored corner sofa, which, despite its large dimensions, did not visually endanger the squares, and which we warmed with green pillows and connected to the armchair of the reading corner.
When removing the old paint in this room during the renovation, we were reminded of one fantastic salmon shade of the walls that had opened up in the background, which we then decided to replicate anew. Fearing that we would not be able to hit it faithfully, and with the certainty that we definitely do not want white walls after it, we turned to the ‘safe’ variant and painted them gray. We didn’t regret it because the gray warmed the room, accentuated the white stucco, and soothed all the other color games. Gray curtains also fit into it. Three-meter-high windows provide so much light, and given the old protected construction and the requirements of the existing facade, blinds were out of the question.

Libraries are my true fetish in apartments and although I have always dreamed of walls full of books, we opted for breathable glass shelves in metal construction, not at all expensive, but high to the ceiling and very functional. All the memories, books, gramophone and records took place there.

I brought in a large tree and a small double metal-gold coffee table, complete for enjoying movie nights.

We renovated and refreshed all the doors in the apartment with paint, and we did the same with the beautiful cassette stocks that everyone is in love with when they enter the apartment. We even kept the antique brass door handles we found upon moving in, polishing them to their former beauty.

We have come to the most important part of my apartment, the one I call my empire. Although I do not present myself as a great housewife, what brings me closer to that title is a beautiful and well-organized kitchen. You know for yourself that in small and dilapidated kitchens you don’t have much inspiration or will to cook. Well, I decided to prevent that. It’s no secret that the best parties, as well as all house gatherings, always end up in that part of the apartment, and I had that in mind when furnishing.
The 17-square-foot room to the north with access to a 4.5-square-foot balcony, overlooking a quiet courtyard and garden, was a dilapidated but functional warm kitchen with a dining area and I decided to keep it that way.

I mentioned to you that an important factor in my purchase was that I didn’t have to move it. I knocked down only a small pantry, which I decided to turn into a third kitchen row, and use a pull-out element to replace that pantry. I also envisioned a place for an oven and a refrigerator there. In the middle is a dry island, intended as a work surface, but also as a bar with two bar stools for gathering or morning coffee.

At the very beginning, I was in favor of new trends: all pastel, lavender and mint colors. I admired all those open kitchens without the top elements from Pinterest, and then I tried to think longer term and regularly went back to basic colors and non-colors and a classic proven design.

I decided to bring a plant into every space, thus gaining warmth and life. Impressive lighting, as well as paintings on the wall, which, they say, are the last to be placed, so it won’t be any different here.

 

Finally, I take you to the bedroom, to the room where I tried to fulfill all those desires that had accumulated and shaped in my 18 years of living in rented apartments. In it, I sublimated all those unfulfilled needs of us who are prone to collecting and accumulating things, which in my case was conditioned by the fast (and public!) rhythm of life…

I therefore intended for bedroom the largest room in the apartment, 30m2 in size, and although many tried to persuade me to place a representative living room, and some even a dining room and living room, I did not give up the picture that in an intimate room such as a bedroom, I have everything that is intended for personal use and routine, and it turned out that it will serve comfortably for the baby while she is still quite small to sleep with her parents.

Undoubtedly, the Mopar parquet fit perfectly in this interior. The charming French style pattern leaves no one indifferent, and more about the Castle collection, you can find out at link.
Photo: Sanja Bistričić