Hardwood maintenance

 
 
 
 
 
 

Request an estimate

 

Estimate

* *
*
*
 
 
 
 

How to care for your hardwood floor

 
Hardwood floors can be a great investment and is one of the most stylish, easy-to-care-for flooring for a home or commercial place. Below we’ve laid out some tips to keep in mind when it comes to cleaning hardwood floors.

Maintain your floors free from dust and dirt by doing a once-a-week sweeping or vacuuming. Professional cleaners often recommend sweeping hardwoods with dust mops or micro-fiber mops instead of other traditional brooms, which could scratch the floor surface. Be careful not to scratch floors with any gravel or other debris if you decide to dust mop without vacuuming. If you opt to vacuum your hardwood floors, be certain to turn off the revolving beaters meant for carpets rather than hardwood floors or you risk scratches.

Wax carefully! Waxing a hardwood floor is best done if it doesn’t have a sealer, such as a varnish or polyurethane. Waxing a sealed hardwood floor makes it dangerously slippery. However, there are some waxes made especially for sealed finishes, so you’ll want to use one of those if you decide to wax a sealed hardwood floor.
 
 
 
 
 
Standing water can be a hardwood floor’s enemy number one! While you can use a damp mop after removing any surface dirt, standing water left on a hardwood floor from a spill or leak could stain or ruin your hardwood floors. This is one reason you don’t often see hardwoods in bathrooms. If you do spill something, be certain to wipe it up immediately. When cleaning a hardwood floor, it is recommended that you use quality floor cleaners made for hardwoods, and use water sparingly on the floors in order to protect the floor’s finish. Always mop in the direction of the grain.

Area rugs can help maintain high traffic areas safe from scratches and scuffs as well as dirt. Placing area rugs at high-traffic doors or hallways will help keep hardwoods in those areas well protected. Keep in mind that vinyl or rubber-backed rugs have the potential to also affect the quality of your finish. Floors should be completely dry before a rug or underlay with rubber or vinyl is placed on the floor otherwise you risk trapping the humidity between the floor and the rug causing damage. Do not forget to put floor protectors under the legs of your furniture. It will add another element of protection against scuffs and scratches.

Hardwood floors are not just beautiful and timeless, then can be fairly easy to maintain and enjoy for decades.