Hardwood Floor Sanding, Refinishing and Installation – Custom Wall and Floor Tile Installations – Serving Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island
How To Clean Your Wood Floors
Wood floors are so easy to maintain! Where do you begin, so that your floors continue to keep their beauty?
To start with, first we need to identify the enemies of hardwood floors. Sand, dirt and grit on your floor can cause damage if not removed. When walked on, these act as sandpaper and over time, can wear away at the finish. Keeping floors vacuumed is the best protection! You may also use a dry mop or swiffer type mop to remove above said culprits. Many use felt on the bottom of their chairs or other furniture legs. These can be valuable for preventing scratches or gouges on your floors. One word of caution, occasionally clean the felt or replace as needed. It can collect grit over time and cause damage. Obviously, rooms that aren’t used as much won’t need as much attention as floors that are heavily used such as a kitchen or foyer floor.
Your four year old drips Popsicle all over your floor, what do you do? This is where a cleaner specifically designed for hardwood floors will do the trick. You can get one with a spray bottle and separate mop with a removable, washable micro fiber pad. You may ask, why not just save money and use a solution of vinegar and water or a little dish soap and water? Number one, water and wood are not a great combination. Even if you wring out the mop really good, some water can get in the cracks and can warp the floors over time. Also, water that gets on scratches where there is little or no finish causes the wood to turn a gray or black color. Don’t even think about waxing your floors! Your Grandparents may have done that, but that was before the invent of modern polyurethanes. Yes, avoid waxes or Murphy’s oil soap or anything that leave a residue on the floor. Remember, you are cleaning the polyurethane not the wood.
We highly recommend Swedish hardwood floor cleaner by Bona. By using a cleaner such as this, you avoid a residue on the floors, which can make future maintenance easier and less expensive. You can buff your floor and add a coat of oil-based polyurethane to the floor. This can be done by a flooring specialist or even the do- it yourself-er. With no mess and very little cost, this is a great option for keeping a truly beautiful floor as well as protecting your investment. This process will be elaborated on in another article. Keep your wood floors clean, it’s not too hard as you have seen!
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