Preserve your wood floor’s natural appeal and durability with these care tips to keep dirt and stains away.
Wood floors bring a different element of beauty to your household, especially when they’re well cared for. And, with proper cleaning, you can help keep that natural aesthetic while also preserving them to last longer. Moreover, caring for your wood floor doesn’t require too many fancy tools or so much effort; it’s just finding the right ones to use.
Wood floors come in different types, finishes and species, but basic practices keep wood floors healthy in general. So to help you keep your wood floor shiny, clean and durable, we’ve gathered some helpful tips for you.
1. Clean with the right wood floor vacuum.
Daily sweeping and dust mopping keeps your wood floors clean to a level daily. However, you’ll still find that creases between floorboards and rough surfaces can keep dust, pet hair and dirt. Moreover, wax and floor finishes work like magnets to fine dust.
Sweeping and dust mopping just won’t be enough to clean through these creases and stuck dirt and pet hair. Considering that, having a good vacuum helps get rid of these effectively. However, it can’t just be any vacuum, you have to choose one that cleans without damaging your floor.
You’ll want to choose a vacuum with features that consider your floor’s surface, like rubber wheels and smooth attachments. This is because the wrong brush can scratch and graze your floor’s beautiful finish. This is especially true for most upright vacuums on the market, so be sure to check.
The right vacuum comes with dusting brushes with soft bristles, and attachments for creases and corners like a crevice tool. There are specific wood floor vacuums made just for your floor explained here. Meanwhile, you can check out the best vacuum for your wood floor with this review from TheHouseWire.
2. Keep Liquids off your floor.
Just as it would on your wooden furniture, water can penetrate and stain your floor (hence coasters for drinks). Moreover, it can cause your floor’s natural shine and finish to fade. Overall, water damages your floor. So to keep that shiny, clean finish, keep water away from your floor.
Though getting the floor wet inevitably happens, it simply means immediately cleaning up any liquid mess, spills and sprinkles. You may also want to keep windows shut during rainy days,
and take extra care when watering indoor plants. Moreover, keep away from using a wet mop or steam cleaners on your wood floor.
3. Place a walk-off doormat on entrances.
While common at your front door, consider placing a doormat on every entrance (like from your backyard or garden side). Having one means dirt, liquid and any other residues from anyone who enters each door stays outside. A good walk-off doormat not only scrapes of dirt from incoming shoes, it also absorbs and cleans of liquids and ice.
Also, consider a good-sized doormat, large enough to cover the area of your entrance so people “walk-off” the dirt. Moreover, consider how much traffic you get through your door and the weather in your area. See, some doormats come in specific patterns and designs that more effectively works with rain, snow and muddy areas.
4. Do not over-wax.
Too much of anything can be bad, and in this case, too much waxing. See, while waxing brings out your floor’s color and shine; too much of it actually makes it dull. That’s because wax builds up with overuse.
Ideally, do waxing only every 6months to a year. You may be tempted to re-apply wax sooner than that when you see it getting dull, use a buffer instead. The buffer can bring it back to life, and then your regular cleaner should keep it shiny regularly.
If you’ve already overused wax on your floor, making it dull, you can try stripping it off with specific products.
5. Properly and regularly, clean your wood floor.
Proper cleaning means knowing the right products to use for your type of wood floor finish and species. The wrong products can damage your floor or leave residues. It also means knowing the proper steps and tools for cleaning to avoid streaks, scratches
You have to make sure you dry-clean first before mopping with your chosen wood floor cleaner. This helps make sure that your mop doesn’t scrape any dirt or debris through your floor and cause damage.
You will also need to make sure to follow your cleaning solution’s instructions properly. Make sure you use enough solution but not too much to avoid damaging your floor’s surface. Even when you’re using the right cleaner, you’ll want to be cautious about making your floor too wet (Review #2).
So there you have it, and you’re all set to keeping great –looking, long lasting wood floors. You’ll find that it’s not too hard to preserve and care for your wood floors. With the right products, the proper steps and simple precautionary measures, your wood floor will surely stay in great shape.
