How Do You Clean a Hardwood Floor?
Hardwood floors contribute greatly to the aesthetic and the value of your home, and routine cleaning protects your investment by removing dust and dirt before it scratches and dulls the finish. The right care can mean beautiful hardwood floors that last a lifetime.
First, What You Shouldn’t Do.
Water and vinegar is a popular and economical cleaner and quite effective for many surfaces in your home – but emphatically not for your hardwood ?oors. Because vinegar is an acid, it will actually break down the ?nish on the surface of your ?oor (remember that you’re not actually cleaning the wood, but the ?nish on top of the wood), and over time will reduce the shine and leave a dull appearance.
Also, when this homespun cleaning formula is in use, a mop and bucket are likely not far away. This almost always means an excessive amount of water on the ?oor, which leads to long-term damage.
What TV Commercials Won’t Tell You.
Vinegar and water dull the ?oor’s ?nish over time. Soap-based cleaners and commercial ?oor wax leave visible residue. Steam cleaners produce too much heat and leave too much water on your ?oor.
So What Should You Do?
First, use the proper tools – a mop for cleaning, with a machine washable micro?ber pad for dusting. For cleaning, use a ?ne spray mist of a product made speci?cally for hardwood ?oors. This will protect your ?oor’s ?nish – and again, the ?nish is really what you’re cleaning, not the wood itself.
Clean as often as possible – really, as often as you can stand to. Naturally there’s a limit to how often any of us wants to mop the ?oor, but keeping your ?oor free of dirt and dust goes a long way to prevent scuffs and scratches, and a clean ?oor will de?nitely be a longer-lasting ?oor.
What Are the Best Products to Use?
The Floor Store has evaluated many hardwood care products, and we recommend the Bona line of cleaners, polishes, and refreshers. All are specially formulated for hardwood, have low VOCs and no toxic fumes, and are environmentally safe.
Of course there are others on the market, which we encourage you to investigate. Just read the labels carefully, and be sure that anything you put on your ?oor – cleaner, polish, refresher, or whatever – is speci?cally formulated for hardwood ?oors.
Is There Life Beyond Cleaning?
Regular dusting and cleaning will keep your hardwood ?oors looking new, but protective mats will go farther and actually extend the ?oor’s life. Use natural rubber rug underlayments with a waf?e pattern (to avoid trapping moisture underneath) in entryways and other high traf?c areas, and use felt protectors on furniture feet – not metal caps.
Then there’s polish. This will vary with the amount of traf?c in your home, but generally we recommend polishing the ?oors every two to three months.
Occasional Deep Cleaning will remove imbedded dirt and grime that ordinary cleaning can never reach – customers are amazed at how much dirt is below the surface of their “clean” ?oors. This is one of the most popular of The Floor Store's Hardwood Restoration services, and the process is quite non-invasive – there’s no need to vacate your home or even move furniture – so it’s no great inconvenience (or expense) to do it two to four times a year.
The Bottom Line
• Regular dusting and cleaning as often as possible
• No vinegar or standing water. Use a ?ne spray mist of a product speci?cally formulated for hardwood ?oors
• Polish every two or three months, again with a product formulated for hardwood
• Rubber mats where water is present; area rugs in high-traffic areas
• Felt protectors on furniture feet instead of metal caps
• A power Deep Cleaning two to four times a year
• Ideally, a Scrub and Recoat every three to ?ve years
For more information about The Floor Store's Hardwood Restoration Services,
visit www.floorstores.com – or call general manager Dave DeLima directly at 925 207 1684.
