The 175 rooms in the house have a variety of flooring that must be maintained, with the vast majority made up of wood boards. Their width varies greatly, from two or three inches to those in the Maple-Port Royal Hall that measure 24½ inches wide! Some boards have changed over time, warping or loosening slightly, squeaking with every footfall. Several parquet floors remain, including in the Empire Parlor, which you can see on the self-guided Introductory Tour.
Visitors might assume that, at some point, the floors must have been coated with some special material to take the beating of hundreds of footsteps traveling across them—perhaps a low-maintenance substance like polyurethane. In reality, the floors are cleaned by a method that has remained almost unchanged since the museum’s first visitors walked the halls and, quite possibly, even before. It is the simple process of applying a paste wax, then using a buffing machine and brush, to what seems like miles of wood flooring.
At least twice a year, the floors of the main tour route, receive a fresh coat of wax. The smell is pungent and distinct, and the wax leaves the floor extremely slippery prior to drying. After being applied across the grain, it is left to dry with the aid of fans for several hours before being “taken up” with the buffing machine and a clean brush. The result is a glossy yet soft shine and a protective, water-resistant layer.
As people walk along the tour, they sometimes leave scuffs and dirt behind and may even take a tiny amount of the wax with them on their shoes. The wax is gradually worn away and the shine dulls. To maintain the polish and keep the floors clean of soil and debris, the same electric floor buffers, again with a stiff-bristle brush attachment, are run across the boards, this time with the grain. We do this daily in higher-traffic areas and monthly or yearly in areas that are seldom toured.
Eventually it’s time to start the process all over again, continuing the tradition of rejuvenating Winterthur’s floors. Wax on, wax off, buff as needed.
Post by Matthew A. Mickletz, manager, preventive conservation.