Hardwood floors have such beauty, style and add such elegance to a room that it is important to know how to take care of them. The investment is worth the time and knowledge for what it takes to keep them looking the best. Direction for the best way to clean hardwood floors will be shown here.
General Tips to Clean Hardwood Floors
Although many manufacturers recommend vinegar to clean hardwood floors, this is not the product to use. This will ruin your warranty as well as your floors. The first thing that will help you is to be gentle. The dust and traffic can be intimidating but harsh care will ruin the quality of your wood. Just water can be used to get a clean wood floor with the right tool.
The right tool may be determined by what kind of finish is on your wood floor, especially if your floor is new. Begin with right tools and cleaning products, and the beauty and elegance of your wood floor will last a lifetime.
Two significant tips for cleaning your hardwood floors are not to flood them with water and use products specifically developed for the care of hardwood floors. Also, regular cleaning can make the difference how much serious maintenance is needed to keep them looking the best. A bi-weekly vacuuming or sweeping can keep the dust and dirt from piling up and requiring more extensive cleaning. Hardwood floor care using a microfiber cloth to remove dust is one valuable tip, especially for long-term care.
Cleaning Products
Retail home stores have a section for floors and here is where you can find different products for different types of flooring. There are special products for wood floors. Murphy Oil has been a brand named product for many years as a solid floor cleaner. However, whether it is the best or not depends on the consumers because some like it and others do not. Armstrong is also a company that has a hardwood floor cleaning system. Bona Pro is another hardwood floor cleaner. Hardwood floor spray by several brand name companies including Bona, are products that are available to use.
Natural products are also listed as a method to clean wood floors; and, that includes olive oil. Using these products with a microfiber cleaning pad and a hardwood floor spray mop can provide a method that makes cleaning a breeze. Vinegar and water has been a home method for many years, but this combination gets mixed reviews.
In order to clean a nasty hardwood floor, you may need to use a combination of products. Obviously, clearing the dust would be the way to begin before using products and water on the surface. Sweeping or vacuuming to get all the loose dirt and debris from the floor is the first step. One solution is to use Apple Cider vinegar and water as a mixture if the floor is covered with polyurethane. If the floor is varnished or shellacked, Murphy’s Oil soap can be used. After the cleaning process is complete, you may need to get a professional floor waxer in to return the shine to the floor.
How to Restore Hardwood Floor
Pro Shot Industrial Renewing Floor Restorer is a product that can be used to restore hardwood floor. This is a product used by professionals. Restore hardwood floor can be done step-by-step with products of your choosing or you can purchase a kit that some manufacturers make specifically for the process. First, if you should decide to do it yourself, you need to investigate the proper procedure for your wood. Sanding may be necessary first and that means using a sander and purchasing sandpaper in a range of grits to get the proper condition for staining and polyurethane. There is also the alternative of using a floor restorer like the one mentioned above, Bona. It is easier to use and much less expensive. If you are uncomfortable with the sanding process, this alternative may be a better course of action so that you do not ruin your floors.
There are several ways to clean a hardwood floor:
- Water and a mop
- Murphy’s Oil Soap
- Natural methods such as vinegar and water mixture
- Products developed specifically for wood floors.
It is unfeasible to determine one best method for all floors for several reasons. One reason is that there are different types of wood flooring and one product may not be the best for every floor type. Also, it depends on what type of finish your hardwood floor has. The best way to clean a hardwood floor has several elements that must be taken into account and the type of wood and the finish are to very important elements.
Also, if your floor is new or old can determine a specific way to clean. A new floor has greater promise for the best maintenance process because it is new. Begin the care of your floor correctly from the onset and it will reward you with a lifetime of beauty and elegance. However, if you have older hardwood floors in your home, it may be necessary to use a different method. That begins with finding out what type of wood flooring it has, establish whether it has a finish or not and move forward from there.
There may be stains on the floor that require specific handling to remove. However, there are certainly ways to get this done. The best way to clean hardwood floors depends on the factors listed above.
