Hardwood Floor Cleaning 101

Hardwood floors can bring warmth and beauty to a home, but they do require regular cleaning and maintenance. Learning how to clean hardwood floors is essential for protecting and maintaining your beautiful investment. Since dirt and grime can’t hide on hardwood floors like they can on carpet, cleaning your floors may seem “high maintenance.” However, once you establish your own routine, the best way to clean hardwood flooring won’t seem so difficult. Today, Handyman Connection is passing along some simple hardwood cleaning tips, courtesy of the experts at Bona.

Daily Schedule – Dust/Sweep

Giving your floors a good dusting with a microfiber mop or cloth will be your best daily defense against scratches and surface damage. Microfiber cleaning pads often use static electricity to trap dirt, particles, and other household allergens. Using a broom to can be effective as well, but using a broom only pushes the dirt around. When you want to clean your floors without damaging them, avoid lifting your microfiber mop up off the floor when you clean—this way you keep the dirt trapped on the pad.

Weekly Schedule – Vacuum/Mop

Weekly maintenance will deal with the harder to reach areas that a daily dusting can’t reach. Vacuums and wet mops are ideal for getting dirt out of trouble areas like corners and the spaces between each piece of hardwood. However, using vacuums and mops come with extra caution when you want to clean floors without damaging them. If your vacuum has a beater bar, make sure it doesn’t hit the bar floor. Also, the wheels on a vacuum might damage the floor. When you’re using a mop, remember that water and wood don’t mix! Avoid putting excess liquid on your floor. Lightly misting your floor with a hardwood floor cleaner will be enough to give it a great clean. A gentle touch is one of the best ways to clean hardwood flooring.

Monthly Schedule – Polish

Polishing your floor every few months is a great way to clean hardwood flooring. Polishing renews and refreshes the finish that protects your hardwood floor. With floors that have some kind of protective sealant, it is the finish that is getting the most attention when we clean—not the actual hardwood. Polishing your floor fills in microscopic scratches and evens out a floor’s protective surface. Polishing a hardwood floor is not a difficult task and can be done with a minimal amount of effort.

Yearly Schedule – Deep Clean

With all the abuse we put on our hardwood floors, consider giving your floor a deep clean or a sand and refinish every 3-5 years. Sanding and refinishing your floor completely removes the old protective finish and replaces it. If your floor has some deep scratches or gouges, sanding and refinishing can repair this damage, leaving you with immaculately clean hardwood flooring.