Regular floor stripping & waxing provide a preservative layer that makes the floor last much longer. The reason for this is that all wear and tear is happening to the wax layer, not the flooring itself. This protective layer does not last forever, however, and thus needs to be redone on occasion. A good sign that it is time to do so is when routine cleaning doesn’t seem to be able to get the floor clean any longer because the dirt has been ground into the wax layer.