How do you care for your ATAB staircase?

An ATAB staircase is made to beautify your home for many, many years, but to retain its freshness it requires some maintenance.

Varnished surfaces:
Wash the treads with a cloth moistened with lukewarm water and synthetic non-alkaline detergent.
Spots that cannot be removed by washing are removed with a cloth dampened with white spirit. The liquid must not be poured onto the treads as this may damage the glue in the joints.
As the varnish constitutes the wearing surface, you should make sure to repair worn places on your staircase before the surface of the wood is damaged. Before repair, the surface has to be clean and dry. Shiny areas that are to be treated should be roughed up first by rubbing lightly with fine grit sandpaper.

Factory-oiled surfaces:
Factory-oiled surfaces are treated twice with Timberex Natural – Heavy Duty on delivery.
When the staircase has been installed additional oil should be added and worked in with a sander or similar. Use very fine sandpaper, and work only a small area (e.g. half a tread) at a time.
Apply and spread the oil twice more at intervals of an hour.
Before the surplus is removed after the three oilings, work in as much oil as possible with the sander.
Wipe inaccessible surfaces by hand with a soft cloth. Always work in the direction of the grain of the wood.
Avoid walking on the surface the first day.
When 12-18 hours have elapsed after the first basic treatment, the surface should be machine-polished.

Daily cleaning should be appropriate to how much the staircase is used. Dusting is usually sufficient.
Where there is heavy wear and dampness, daily cleaning may be supplemented by wet-wiping or mopping the surface. Use only a little water. Two decilitres of flooring soap is recommended with ten litres of lukewarm water.

Normal maintenance after cleaning consists in applying a thin layer of Satin Oil (approx. 1 litre/15 sq.m.)
Work the oil in mechanically in the direction of the grain, allow to dry for 20 minutes, remove any surplus, allow to dry again before dry-polishing with a machine. Finish by hand-polishing with a cloth in the direction of the grain.

Extremely dirty surfaces need to be inspected before treatment. Request special instructions from the head office of the oil manufacturer.

N.B. All cloths and sandpaper that have been in contact with oil should be soaked for at least 24 hours and then disposed of in a sealed package, to avoid risk of spontaneous combustion!!!

Stained / glazed surfaces:
Stain/glaze is a colouring of the superficial wood structure with a wearing surface of clear varnish on top. In the event of deep damage where the wood has also been damaged the surface has to be sanded and possibly filled to repair the damage. A new coat of stain/glaze can then be applied. Note that it is important also to put a new coat of varnish on top of the stained surface.

Surfaces with top coat:
Surfaces with a top coat of paint should be given extra protection from dirt and material which may leave serious marks (e.g. grit) on the finished surface. Mild damage that has not penetrated far enough to damage the wood may be dealt with by a light application of paint. Where there is more serious damage, such as deep scratches that have penetrated and marked the wood, the whole surface has to be sanded and if necessary repaired until no marks remain visible. The surface can then be treated with a new top coat.
Even normal everyday wear may develop into more serious wear with time, so all contact surfaces should be extra well protected.

Linoleum treads:
Clean with lukewarm water to which liquid synthetic detergent or soapflakes have been added. Make sure that the water does not run. Marks that cannot be removed by washing should be removed with white spirit/cleaners’ naphtha. The liquid must not be poured out onto the treads. It may damage the glue in the joints.
If necessary apply polish or wax cleaner to the linoleum. Use strong wax-removing agents with caution.

Carpeted treads:
Clean with a vacuum cleaner. Remove sand and grit as quickly as possible before it gets under the pile. If the carpet on the treads is very dirty, foam-wash it. Remove spots immediately making sure only to treat the area of the spot. Where the carpet is badly spotted obtain advice on appropriate methods of removal from the carpet manufacturer.