How to Clean your Hardwood Floors
Hardwood floors are some of the most classic, yet stylish choices that you can use for your homes. However, they require extra special care and maintenance to keep them in top shape! Making sure that it is cleaned properly will affect how it looks and durability.
What to use on hardwood floors?
There are tons products and alternatives that can easily damage hardwood floors! Making sure that you choose safe, yet strong in cleaning options, is very essential in keeping your floors at its best! These are some of the choices that we have tried and tested:
- Castile Soap – These are oil-based soaps that can be used for almost anything! From hardwood floors to windows, its liquid counterpart can perfectly clean most surfaces.
- Tea – Surprised? ☺ Tealeaves contain gentle acids that can be used for cleaning. Boil your tea in its bags and add the solution to water. Voila, you may now use it to clean your hardwood floors!
- Wood Cleaners – These are readily available in most supermarkets and are made to be safe and strong to clean your floors. However, keep in mind that different wood types require different care.
Always make it a point to do a spot test first before applying these solutions to your hardwood floors. Find a small spot that is hidden away and check if the mixture does not damage it.
What NOT to use on hardwood floors?
Hardwood floors are really nice to look at, but once it’s damaged, there’s not much you can do but to have certain parts replaced. And those can be costly and time-consuming. These are some cleaners you should definitely avoid to use:
- Generic Floor Cleaners – As we have stated above, even Wood Cleaners have to match the specific type of wood that you used for your floors. Most generic floor cleaners are intended for use on tiles and are definitely not for wood.
- Spray Cleaners – These sprays are super awesome in freshening up some of your furniture and fixtures. It’s perfect for non-wood surfaces too, but unfortunately, not for the delicate hardwood floors.
- Sharp and Textured Tools – Never ever use products with sharp edges and bristles on your wooden floors! These will definitely scratch the surfaces and will leave marks, permanently!
How to maintain your hardwood floors?
- Soft dust mops or brooms without sharp bristles can be used to sweep your floor up to clean dust.
- Whenever liquid and food spills on your floor, clean them as up as soon as you can to prevent stains.
- Minor scratches in the surfaces can be touched up by scratch filling items that are commercially available. Though a DIY is less costly, it should be done with utmost care to make sure that your effort does not bring in more damage to the floors.
- Have a professional sand your floors every decade or so to preserve its natural look.
- The most effective way of cleaning your hardwood floors is prevention. Use rugs and carpets on heavy furniture. Avoid dragging heavy items that could leave scratches on your floor.
At the end of the day, careful maintenance and prevention are the keys in preserving your hardwood floors. When in doubt, call a professional to clean them properly.