If you've decided that hardwood flooring is ideal for your home, then it's time to learn how to clean it effectively. Hardwood floors are often thought of as the superior flooring choice for many reasons, with the most common being its perceived aesthetic superiority. Hardwood floors will look nicer than wall-to-wall carpeting and other modern flooring options if properly cleaned and maintained.
Looking good isn't the only thing that hardwood floors do well. They're relatively easy to clean and take care of, provided you know what you're doing. Plus, when they are properly cared for, hardwood floors are just as durable as any other flooring option. To ensure that they will last a lifetime, it's necessary to learn how to clean hardwood floors, as well as maintain them thoroughly. This will help reduce the likelihood of them becoming scratched, stained, or damaged. Our team at Southern Luxe is composed of experts in the flooring industry, and we can give you professional tips on how to clean and maintain your floors.
When you've been working professionally with hardwood flooring for decades, you start to learn the ins and outs of the industry. Hardwood floors might seem simple enough — just buy cleaning products for wooden surfaces and use them accordingly, right? Unfortunately, wrong. The truth is that maintaining your floors can be a different experience depending on what type of wood they're made of, the climate you live in, the finish you have, and many other factors.
In this article, it's our goal to walk you through the steps of how to care for your wooden floors and ensure they last their intended lifespan. We're confident that if you follow our tips for preventing damage and proper cleaning/maintenance methods, your hardwood floors will thank you by keeping their shine and remaining scuff-free.
Completely avoiding scratches and stains on your hardwood floors is virtually impossible, especially if you live in a household with children or pets. However, there are a few ways to prevent damage to your hardwood floors. We recommend following the strategy of damage minimization. While no one wants to cover up their hardwood floors, putting a rug or mat down in heavily trafficked areas of the home is a good way to avoid the wear-and-tear that foyers and main hallways undergo on a daily basis.
Another tip we have to mention involves furniture, namely how you should go about moving it. Basically, be careful! Never drag furniture around the floor, as scraping legs means scratches, which are the exact opposite of what you want in your home. Furniture pads are a worthwhile investment to look into to avoid scratching your floor, especially with how cheap they are. They do quite a good job and will allow you to push and shove your couches and cabinets without having to worry too much about damage. However, it's still recommended that when re-arranging your room's feng shui, you should carry furniture pieces to avoid any scuff marks, indentations, or any kind of permanent marks. Also, take care of your back while you're at it, and make sure to lift with your legs!
Another thing to look out for is direct sunlight. While it might sound like an impossibility, sunlight can stain floors over time, causing your finish to fade and look dull or grey. While we're not advocating you keep your blinds shut all day long, it might not be a bad idea to invest in some UV-blocking curtains, which can reduce the negative effects that sunlight can have on your floor.
Another idea to keep in mind is shoes — encouraging a strict no-shoe or shoe-wiping policy is a guaranteed way to reduce damage to your hardwood flooring. Even tiny amounts of moisture will affect your hardwood floors, so ensuring that no one treks in rainwater or snow onto your floors will help extend their lifespan substantially.
The number one rule to follow when deep cleaning your hardwood floors is to follow manufacturer instructions. Whoever produced your hardwood floors will know exactly what kind of cleaning methods they need to stay in quality shape. So unless you're an expert in maintaining hardwood floors yourself, we recommend adhering to those instructions. Not only is this the safer option, but it will also ensure you don't violate any conditions of your warranty, which might specify not to use certain types of cleaning products.
While hardwood floors might seem resilient to physical damage, the truth is that over time, seemingly insignificant damage can really add up. Beater bar attachments on vacuums can scuff up floors, and built-up dust and hair can scratch floors when carelessly swept up or scrubbed. Always remember that when performing a deep cleaning of your floors, you want to remain as gentle as possible. This means soft broom heads and dust mopping for simple clean-up jobs and liquid cleaners for serious stains.
One important thing to keep in mind when using liquid cleaners is to use as little moisture as possible, as overloading your floors with liquids is a surefire way to create stains, or at the very least, begin stripping away at your floor's finish. When you're doing any sort of mopping, you want to wring out the mop head thoroughly so that it's damp — not soaking wet. Don't worry about not cleaning effectively. A damp mop will still do a stellar job of getting rid of dust, dirt, and stray hairs.
Not all hardwood cleaners are alike. In fact, some cleaners may stain your floors. If you're using one of our hardwood floors, we recommend using hardwood cleaning products from BONA and Squeaky Cleaner from Basic Coatings, both of which you can buy online from American Products. These cleaners are gentle on your floors and non-toxic so that they are safe for kids and pets, yet they are tough on dirt and grime.
Hardwood floors are a worthwhile investment when you know how to take care of them. We hope this piece was able to inform you about the dos and don'ts of taking care of your flooring! Key things to remember include:
It's always better to err on the safe side when doing any sort of cleaning. If you're not sure about the strength of a product, then hold off on using it. You don't want to use a product that's too strong or a vacuum that's too rough only to find out you've damaged your floors after you're done.
Always go by what the manufacturer recommends. If they made the flooring, there's a pretty good chance that they know what's best for it. Not only will this help you keep your warranty, but it's the best way to ensure you never need to use it!
Consistently clean and maintain your hardwood floors for the best possible results. It's easy to neglect flooring maintenance, especially because damage can take years to become noticeable. Ensuring you're regularly taking care of your floors is the only way to make certain that they'll last the decades you want them to be around.
We also recommend sweeping or vacuuming your floors on a weekly basis to prevent dust from settling into the cracks or woodgrain itself, as this can lead to a dull appearance and cause other problems down the line. Finally, clean up any spills on wood floors immediately. We're sure you don't need to hear that combining moisture with wooden surfaces can lead to stains, so even if you only spill a glass of water, make sure you wipe up the mess right away with a microfiber or cotton towel. The less abrasive the cloth you're using, the better. Typically, if you're doing any sort of rough scrubbing to your wood floors, you're cleaning too aggressively.
Now that you know how to take care of them, don't hardwood floors sound like something worth your while? If you're interested in buying new flooring for your home, we can help. At Southern Luxe, we make your dreams of warm, earth-toned, homey hardwood floors a reality. If you're curious to see how different options might look in your home, you can request a sample of our individual flooring options.
This will allow you to see how different options look in your home and provide you with a full picture of what to expect the finished product to look like. Some of our most popular product styles include both Prefinished Hardwood Options and Unfinished Hardwood Options. Our team of experts will also be able to walk you through the process of purchasing and installing these options, as well as the benefits of both. The simple explanation is that unfinished hardwood flooring options are usually cheaper but will need to be refinished more often.
No matter what your specific home flooring project looks like, we're confident that our team of experts will be able to help. We'd be happy to answer any questions you might have about different flooring options, including the type of wood we'd recommend, how long an installation might take, and more. You can start your project today by clicking this link to our website and filling out the following contact form. We hope to hear from you!