How to Clean Hardwood Floors
The warmth and richness of hardwood floors provide a perfect compliment to your furnishings. With the great variety of color and species of woods available, we can help you find just the right look for your home. Wood floors are easy to care for as long as you know how to clean them.
Not only does hardwood flooring add charm and beauty to your home, it can actually cost less than other types of flooring. Regardless of care, carpeting and resilient floors will, in time, become worn looking and will need to be replaced. Because of the renewability of hardwood, when eventually it shows signs of wear, you have three options: use a refresher to revive the shine, lightly screen and re-coat with urethane to bring back the original luster, or completely sand and refinish the surface to make your floor look brand new. Hardwood flooring adds to the value of your home and, with proper care, will last a lifetime.
Many allergists recommend wood floors as the perfect choice for a healthy home. With a few precautions and a minimum of care, your hardwood floors will continue looking beautiful and new, year after year.
A properly finished wood floor is the easiest of all floor surfaces to keep clean and new-looking. A durable urethane finish seals the open pores of the wood and protects it from most household spills. By following the suggestions below you can keep your wood floors looking beautiful.
We recommend periodically cleaning your hardwood floors with a professional non-toxic waterborne cleaner. We recommend Bona Floor Care Products, which can be purchased online or at various stores, such as Home Depot and Bed Bath & Beyond.
Our Checklist for How To Clean Hardwood Floors
- Use dirt-trapping mats at all exterior doors. We also recommend using throw rugs just inside entrances. It’s important to keep door mats clean. Dirt can scratch your floor surface or be ground in permanently.
- Put fabric glides on the feet of chairs and tables so that the furniture can be moved easily without scuffing the floor. Regularly clean these protectors since grit can become embedded in them. Certain types of furniture casters can dent or damage your hardwood floor. Avoid metal, hard plastic, and ball type casters. For the best protection use hard rubber barrel type casters or wide, flat glides on heavy furniture.
- Move heavy furniture and appliances by sliding them on a piece of thick carpet placed face down.
- Consider using area rugs or runners in high-traffic areas.
- Avoid walking on wood floors in high heels.
- Wipe up spills promptly. Use a soft dry cloth or paper towel. For sticky spills use a slightly moistened cloth, then wipe dry with another cloth.
- Never use a product which will leave a wax or oil residue on the wood as this may make refinishing more difficult.
- Vacuum and/or dust mop weekly or as needed. Don’t use a dust treatment product. A slightly dampened mop can be used for sticky spills or periodically for general cleanup on floors with a non-waxed polyurethane finish.
- Finishes and certain chemicals in wood oxidize and are affected by ultra violet light, causing the wood and finish to change color and develop a patina. To avoid uneven appearance, move area rugs occasionally and shade large windows.
- Seasonal cracking in wood is common because hardwood floors are sensitive to climate. To minimize cracking, a humidifier can be used to keep the relative humidity in your home between 30% – 50%.
When traffic areas of surface finish begin to show signs of significant wear, screening and re-coating an entire floor is the least involved choice for maintenance.
Be kind to your floors. Leave your shoes at the door and put on your socks.
What kind of rug pad to use on hardwood floors?
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“As I sit here writing this note, the sun is coming in the windows and the sheen on the floors is just beautiful. As always, working with your company was a pleasure. The guys showed up on time, were pleasant, knowledgeable, and accommodating. I wish every experience with workmen could be this easy.”
-Mary C, Denver
