Cleaning and Maintaining Hardwood Floors

Cleaning and maintaining your floor is crucial to ensuring your floor remains as beautiful as the day it was installed. There are several tips to ensuring your wood floor is properly maintained.

Never use a damp mop - Damp mopping or using something like a wet swiffer damages wood floors. Remember, wood and water do not mix. Excessive moisture can get into your floor and will cause your floor to warp, buckle, mold or rot.

Use recommended cleaners - Oil based cleaners like Murphy's leave residue on your floor which will cause the floor to become slick or will dull the finish. Cleaners like Orange Glo, which have a built in polish, tend to leave similar residue as oil based cleaners. We suggest using BonaKemi's line of hard surface cleaners, but ensure you get one specifically intended for your type of floor. Keep in mind that knowing the type of finish on your floor is crucial. Different cleaners are used for wax based finishes versus urethane finishes. Always consult your floor's manufacturer for suggested cleaners and cleaning practices

1. Use a dry microfiber mop to sweep away dust, dirt, pet hair and small particles.
2. Mix cleaning solution, if necessary, and then moisten the microfiber mop head. Remember to wring out excess moisture so it is not too damp. In the case of having a spray bottle of cleaner, lightly mist area of floor to be cleaned.
3. Mop an area of your floor, and repeat as necessary to clean entire floor. It is suggested to use a “figure eight” motion when mopping and to follow the direction of your baseboards.
4. Allow your floor to dry or mop with dry microfiber mop head to dry. As long as you are using minimal amounts of moisture on your floor, it should not be necessary to actively dry your floor.

Tips to Protect Your Floor

Use felt pads on furniture - Place felt pads on the bottom of all furniture and furniture legs to ensure your furniture does not damage your floor. It is also important to ensure grit does not get between your floor and the felt pads on your furniture. After sweeping, check under furniture and furniture legs to ensure no grit has been trapped. Even small amounts of grit can cause damage to your floor if something heavy like a chair or couch.

Use bristle type mats at all exterior door entrances - Bristle type mats will collect dirt, grit and small stones. This can prevent such items from entering your home and heavily reduce the chance of scratches or gouges to your floor.

Use area rugs near wet areas - In kitchens and bathrooms where sinks, refrigerators, dish washers and other water based appliances are located it is helpful to place area rugs in front of such appliances to prevent water from getting on your floor.

Clean spills or messes ASAP - Wet messes, especially pet urine, should be cleaned ASAP to ensure your floor is not stained. After cleaning messes it is advised to mop the area to ensure everything has been cleaned up.

Keep pet nails trimmed - As much as we love them, our pets can cause havoc on wood floors. Keeping your pet's nails trimmed will help to ensure no scratches or gouges are cause by your pet.

Move appliances carefully - Make sure to use some form of protection when moving appliances. Appliance delivery guys tend to over look using such items and even appliances with wheel can dent, scratch and gouge your floor. When moving appliances, first ensure your floor surface is very clean, as even the smallest amount of dirt and grit can damage your floor under such weight. Then use a protective item, such as 1/8” masonite boards to protect the area your appliances will be moving over.

Also, read over this guide from our friends at FlorStor.com for additional help with Floor Care