Cleaning Tips For A Real Hardwood Floor

Posted on: 7 August 2020

A real hardwood floor looks so lovely in your home, but only if you take good care of it. You cannot simply wet-mop your hardwood floor like you would a tile floor. And even when vacuuming, you need to be careful not to scratch the surface. So how do you go about keeping that hardwood floor so nice and clean? Well, these tips will get you off to a good start.

1. Dry mop daily

A dry mop is basically like a flat pad that you can push back and forth over the floor, and it gathers dust as it goes. Most of today's dry mops come with removable, disposable pads. You use a pad once and then throw it away. Dry mopping ensures your hardwood floor remains as dust-free as possible, which is important to prevent scratches and wear on the surface. Make it a part of your morning or night routine. It should only take a couple of minutes.

2. Vacuum the edges

If you are dry mopping daily, there's not usually a huge need to vacuum. Vacuuming is harder on the floor, so dry mopping is preferable. You will, however, want to vacuum along the edges of your hardwood floor where it meets the trim. Dust tends to accumulate here, and if you don't remove it, then it can absorb moisture and become stuck. Use your vacuum's wand attachment to clean up this area. Try not to touch the vacuum wand itself to the floor as you do not want it to scrape the surface.

3. Wash with a hardwood floor cleaner

You may have heard you should never actually wash a hardwood floor. This used to be true, but in recent years, companies have made very good hardwood floor cleaners that can remove buildup from the floor without causing any moisture damage. Use one of these cleaners about once a month. Read the instructions on the bottle and make sure you dilute the product appropriately.

4. Wipe up spills immediately

If anyone spills anything on the hardwood floor, make sure you clean up that spill immediately. You may want to keep a really absorbent cloth on hand and use it for this purpose. It only takes a colored liquid like wine a minute or two to stain some hardwood floors, but if you act quickly, you can soak the liquid up before it has a chance to penetrate the finish.

The guidelines above are the primary advice you should need on hardwood floor cleaning. To learn more about hardwood floors, contact a company like Leo's Holland Floor Maintenance.

Share