One of the frequent questions people ask is how to clean hardwood floors. If you are also tied in this stalemate, worry not; you are in the right place. Everyone wants to take good care of their hardwood floors by using the best methods so that they do not ruin them.
It is always amazing to have a neat and uncluttered house, but that calls for your effort, commitment and time. Cleaning a hard floor requires a lot of time and attention. We walk over them, drop food remains, and still expect to see them glowing at the end of the day. I am going to take you through ten steps that will help you make your hardwood floors spotless, without damaging them.
Step 1: Determine the Type of Your Hardwood Floor
Plan how to execute the process. Start by determining the kind of hardwood floor in your house. Prefinished floors are the easiest to clean. Some hardwood floors are sealed with polyurethane, urethane or polyacrylic coating. This sealing makes stain-resistant; therefore, they are easy to clean.
Step 2: Clear the Room
Your dining room is probably furnished. The furniture will harden the cleaning exercise. To make it simple, push the furniture into one corner, or take them out. Be careful not to break them.
Make sure the legs of your furniture have pads. Non-padded legs tend to scratch the hardwood floor making it look old and dull. Also, pads make it easier for you to move the furniture around the room.
Step 3: Sweep the Hard Floor
Hardwood floors are prone to dust and tough stains. Use a broom with soft bristles and sweep the hardwood floor to remove the large particles like sand or grit that may scratch the floor. Alternatively, you can use a “vacuum cleaner” to remove all the dust and pet hair on the floor. Many vacuum cleaners have bristles that pick-up dust.
While sweeping the room, make sure the windows are wide open for fresh air circulation. Don’t clean with the windows closed; you contact respiratory infection like Asthma.
Step 4: Take off your Shoes on Hardwood Floors
Shoes dirty the floor as you clean it, so avoid zero work. Also, shoes can make you fall. Leave them outside for easy cleaning.
Step 5: Mop the Floor
Choose the best cleaning agent. For general cleaning, you can use PH-neutral, water-based cleaner. If the floor is polyurethaned, put lukewarm water in a basin then add washing detergent. Mix them to form a solution. Use a soft cloth to mop the hardwood floor. Be careful with the slippery floor to avoid breaking your neck.
Move the mop back and forth over the stains gently going with the grains of the wood. For areas with tough stains like lipstick, grease, and ink, use a steam vacuum cleaner to remove them.
If the floor is lacquered or shellacked, do not use water to clean the floor. Water will cause stains on the floor and buckling. To avoid over logging, dry mop the hard floor.
Step 6: Observe the Tough Stains on Hardwood Floors
Once you identify the tight areas on the floor, dip the soft cloth in the cleaning solution and scrub it over the tough stains with your hands applying direct pressure. Do not use a knife or sharp object to remove them.
Step 7: Soak Excess Liquid
Floors are not friendly to excess water. Water gets between the cracks on the hardwood floor and loosens the glue that keeps the woods intact. Use the mop to soak the excess liquid by squeezing it, so that is damp.
Step 8: Wipe the Soap on the Hard Floor
When mopping the hardwood floor, soap tends to remain between the cracks. If left unwiped, the soap makes the floor to look dull. Use a soft cloth to remove the soap, rub it gently in a circular motion.
Step 9: Rinse the Hardwood Floor
Replace the dirty water with fresh, clean water. Wash the mob to make sure it is as clean as hound’s tooth. Rinse the floor with the clean water to remove any streaky or dulling touches that might be left by the cleaning solution.
Step 10: Buff the Floor Dry
Buffing prevents streaking of the floor and protects its life. It makes your floor to glow as new. Buff the floor with a dry cloth.
Hardwood floors like any other floor need maintenance. Failure to take good care of the floor will lead to its fast wearing out. To take good care of your hardwood floor, make sure you are not wearing shoes at home. Dirt stuck on your shoe causes havoc on the hardwood floors finish.
Vacuum the hardwood floor frequently. Nothing removes the dirt and food remains from the hardwood cracks like “vacuum cleaners.” Do not wait too long to clean up the floor, clean it frequently. In case water splits on the floor when you are vacuuming the floor, wipe it dry.
I hope you found these tips on cleaning your hardwood floors helpful. I would love to hear some of your cleaning hacks.
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Great tips!
I’ll add one more nuance.
A hard floor a natural material that has the property of absorbing and accumulating substances.
So, the cleaners should be nature-friendly. And it is a good idea to test cleaners on the invisible part of the floor first.
Roman recently posted…How to Clean Black Rims: Secrets for Keeping your Gloss or Matte Black Wheels Clean
Great tip… thanks for sharing.
I always got anxious about cleaning facts. This post was helpful for that way!!! cOOL
Thanks fir stopping by.
This is such a great post for sharing these ideas of cleaning the hardwood floors. Thanks for sharing.
Very informative. Thank for sharing this information.
I’ve never imagined house cleaning will a lot easier by following the tips and tricks mentioned in this post. Whenever I go for a house cleaning it takes a long time to finish. So, feeling good to find some tips that save time while house cleaning.
These are great tips. Hardwood floors need to be looked after, but in my opinion they really are easier to keep clean than old fashioned carpets!
That’s so true – a neat and uncluttered house takes a lot of time but who doesn’t want to live in a clean house, right?
I love the tips you gave as these are very important. By the way, about that step 3, if you want to clean the floor even faster, I’d suggest buying a really nice vacuum cleaner. I have a one with a steamer. It does two jobs at once, so it will save some time for you too. Just read reviews before buying a vacuum as they all are different, and not all brands are good.
Jason recently posted…Roomba Red Light Flashing while Charging
A very informative list, while cleaning the hardwood floor, you have to be very careful to protect the hardwood floor from scratches. For that, you can use the carpet or furniture pads will be helpful too.
Thanks for the tips! It’s so important to determine the type of hardwood floor before commencing any type of cleaning or activities.
Great tips! I hadn’t thought about the effect of dark/light palettes depending on the size of the room – that’s especially helpful, thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing a wonderful post about hardwood floors. I really like your points.
Thanks for sharing these great tips on how to clean hardwood floors. My wife is hoping to buy a floor sander so that we can refinish our floors. We’d love to make them look new again.
I liked that you mentioned you need to determine what kind of hardwood floor you have on your home to choose the right cleaning materials. My husband is thinking about installing a hardwood floor in our living room, and we are looking for advice about how to take care of it. I will let him know about your recommendations on how to clean hardwood floors to help with his decision.
Wonderful Tips totally loved it. They are very useful, there are few points i haven’t thought about them. Surely i am gonna try these tips. Keep Posting.
I like that you talked about how it is a good idea to take your shoes off when walking on hardwood floors because they can dirty the floor. My wife and I want to remodel our kitchen next month, and she wants to get a hardwood floor. It seems like it would be best to have a professional company come and clean it when it gets dirty.
I am guilty of walking all over my beautiful hardwood floors with my shoes, as are my parents and my siblings! Thanks Nakeya for these amazing tips. Of course, it’s important to find the right products that don’t streak the beautiful floors too, right?
Filip recently posted…Best Robot Vacuum for Dark Floors – Buyers Guide
I agree that clearing the room is an integral part of cleaning the room. My wife and I would want to clean our house as well. It would be nice if our house is properly cleaned by flooring services as well.
Thanks for sharing a wonderful post about hardwood floors. I really like your points.
Very useful tips, Nakeya! I completely agree that when hardwood floors are well-maintained, no other surface can compare to them. Would like to add that I have found cordless vacuums to be great and far superior to the traditional mop/broom for keeping my hardwood floors clean . Cheers!
Sarah recently posted…Find Me The Best Vacuum Cleaner – Buying Guide + Top Rated Brands for Pets, Hardwood, Carpets and Cars
Hey Nakeya,
Thanks for sharing this. Proper floor care is very important, and many people underestimate it. The result can be disastrous, and the restoration of the floors can be quite expensive. Thanks again for your advice.
Regards,
Joseph
Most informative tips. I think that hardwood floor need extra care. I use hardwood floor and this information give me to maintain the floor. Want to see moor post like this.
Really informative content. The presentation are pretty awesome. I hope you will write this kind of content more.
Sophie Turner recently posted…How to Prevent Footprints on Laminate Floors
thanks for sharing the post. Keep up the good work . I really like the post.
These are some great tips! And you’ve got it right; it makes a massive difference. Choosing the right technic can be pretty tricky, but this guide made it a lot simpler! Thank you so much for writing; this was helpful!
Urmi recently posted…How to Clean Garage Floor
Amazing tips for cleaning hardwood floors.
I use my vacuum and a microfiber dust mop for all the maintenance.
But. these days I am worried about deep cleaning and sanitizing my floors.
Is it advisable to use a steam mop on sealed hardwood? Or is there any other way to sanitize them without steam?
I would appreciate your advice here.
Thanks,
Alex
Alex recently posted…21 Best Ways To Clean Up Pet Hair From Everywhere!
I like your post, thanks for share this . waiting for next blog.
bandjcleaning recently posted…Hello world!
I really love my hardwood floor for so many reasons. One is that it’s easy to clean. I have two dogs though and they really keep me on my toes when it comes to scratching the floors and leaving hair strands all over the place. Thank you for these tips. Really educative.
Lawrence Trence recently posted…How to Move a Fridge Without Scratching the Floor?
Its super satisfying to see your floors squeaky clean.
These are some great tips! And you’ve got it right; it makes a massive difference. Choosing the right mattress can be pretty tricky, but this guide made it a lot simpler! Thank you so much for writing; this was helpful!
Hey, thanks a lot! How do you clean the outside of your house windows?
Thanks for telling me that prefinished hardwood flooring is the easiest type to clean among other types. Having old and outdated flooring must be the reason why I find it hard to clean no matter how much I try. It might be a good idea to look for floor contractors and see if they offer refinishing services to make cleaning chores easier for me.
Wood floors need good maintenance and care as they can be easily damage. You will need good quality of wood material for this.
This is really nice blog about making your floors beautiful and clean. Thanks for sharing, keep it up
Steam mops are so easy to use – we’ve used one for years. They work great on tile floors too!
I use Bona on my floors. I think that’s the best product out there. Every other week, just plain water. Dont want product build up on my floors. That can also dull the wood.