How to Care for and Clean Hardwood Flooring

Properly cared for, hardwood flooring will last a lifetime and beyond; I say that a lot but today I am actually going to explain the first part of that statement.

Protecting Your Hardwood Floors

Place mats at all entrances:

These are to trap dirt and dust which scrape and damage hardwood flooring.

Mop Up Water and Spillages Immediately

Any spillage on hardwood floors must be cleaned up immediately. On carpets spillages of water are not such a big deal, but on hardwood water can cause warping and damage to the finish.

Felt Contacts Under Furniture Legs

It is often tempting to drag furniture when looking for something that may have gone under it, and in households with children it is almost impossible to avoid furniture being scraped along the floor. The damage this can do to hardwood floors is obvious and heartbreaking. That is why we always recommend adding felt contact sheets to the bottom of all furniture legs.

Sheer Drapes and Protection from Direct Sunlight

Direct sunlight can cause awful discoloration of hardwood flooring. Obviously this can be avoided by closing blinds and curtains, but if you want to let the light in, and keep your floors beautiful then sheer drapes are your best bet.

Cleaning Your Hardwood Floors (Regular Care):

Brushing:

Use a soft brush, preferably one with exploded-end bristles.

Vacuuming:

We recommend using bare floor attachments with brushes to avoid damaging the floor. Vacuuming in the traditional sense is very rarely a good idea on hardwood floors.

Dust Mopping:

Dust mopping is a specialist way of cleaning hardwood floors. We recommend a large dust mop with a head of around 12-18 inches. This should be used with a specialist dust-mopping solution, which is applied to the mop 12-24 hours before mopping is carried out.

Cleaning Hardwood Floors (Deep Cleaning):

Damp Mopping:

Though some people will tell you that hardwood floors should never be mopped wet or damp, it is the easiest and most efficient way to deep clean hardwood floors. Damp mopping should only be done if the floors are properly and completely sealed; put another way it should not be done if there is any doubt about or damage to the floors finish.

Then you should use a ph neutral wood cleaning product, diluted with water as per the guidelines. The mop should be dipped in the solution and then wrung out so that it is half dry before mopping. I was in two minds as to whether to put this in the regular care section, because some households will need to damp-mop their floors up to once a week, which is perfectly fine, as I said, provided the floor is completely sealed.

Heavy Duty Mopping:

Again this sounds a disastrously bad idea, but again if the floors are properly sealed, the little extra water and solution will do them absolutely no harm. Done properly heavy duty mopping can really bring back the shine.

Waxing:

Also known as a maintenance coat, waxing is a sure-fire, quick and easy way to make damaged or worn floors beautiful once again, and it is something that a layman can do. A coat of wax provides a layer of protection on the wood, and it is the wax that you will be cleaning from then forward, it can also be reapplied as and when needed, keeping floors beautiful.

However, if you are having your floor professionally refinished, waxing should be avoided as a stop-gap measure, as it can lead to problems with adhesion and can limit your refinishing options.