Cleaning and Maintenance of Hardwood Floors

Cleaning and maintaining a hardwood floor is very important.

When properly maintained, a hardwood floor can look as beautiful as the day it was installed. While the hardness of the species does play a role in how well it will hold up to the hustle and bustle of daily life, it really all comes down to how well the floor is maintained.

Cleaning and caring for a hardwood floor depends on how it is finished. Stay with us, read the following and learn how to take care of your hardwood floor.

How is Your Floor Finished?

The approach on cleaning your hardwood floor first depends on how your floor has been finished.

There are two broad categories of finish types:

• Surface-sealed finishes (the predominant type of finish)
  • Urethane, polyurethane & polyacrylic
  • Lacquered, varnished & shellacked
    • Though technically surface-sealed finishes, lacquer, varnish and shellac are not as spill-resistant as urethane, polyurethane and polyacrylic.
    • They need to be cleaned as if they were penetrating-seal-treated or oil-treated floors.
• Penetrating-seal-treated & oil-treated finishes
  • wax finish (not so common anymore)
  • oil-based finish

Try putting a small amount of water on the floor if you are not sure of the exact finish type on your hardwood floor. Now leave it sitting for about 10 minutes.

If there is a spot on the floor where the water was, chances are the finish is a wax or oil base. If not, the floor was likely finished using a surface sealer (for example urethane, polyurethane, or polyacrylic).

If you don’t want to use water, try running a finger across the floor. If there is a smudge, the floor was finished with a penetrating sealer rather than a surface sealer.

A surface finish such as lacquer, varnish, or shellac, should be treated as though it was finished with a penetrating finish.

The Basics: Common to All Floor Finishes

We recommend you placing door mats. You should also requiring everyone who enters the home to wipe their feet or remove their shoes.

Dirt particles can scratch the surface of the finish, making the floor appear aged. Place non-staining rugs on the floor to protect its surface if you own a surface in a high traffic area.

Don’t forget to place mats around areas where water may be an issue (for example in front of the kitchen sink and dishwasher).

We also recommend you using furniture protectors under all furniture legs to prevent the floor from getting scratched.

Furthermore, for minimizing the damage to the floor, sweep them regularly, or use a vacuum without a beater bar to clean the dust, dirt, and other debris from the surface of the floor.

Wipe spills immediately to avoid letting any excess moisture seep into the flooring.

Cleaning Surface Sealed Floors

Step One

After it has been determined the floor is surface sealed, sweep the floor using a broom or Swiffer to remove all dirt.

Step Two

Fill a bucket with water and mix in a little dish soap, or other solution specifically manufactured for surface sealed hardwood floors.

Now mop the floor, by being careful to avoid standing water anywhere.

Step Three

You now have to dry and buff the floor using clean, soft towels.

Cleaning Other Finish Types

Step One

Sweep and vacuum the floor to remove all dirt once it has been determined that the floor is either not sealed at all or has a penetrating sealer. It is very important to get rid of all the dirt by using dry methods.

Step Two

Use a dry, soft, cloth to buff away scuffs and any stains on the floor surface.

Step Three

Follow the directions on the product labeling for using a liquid wax stripper designed for the floors.

Step Four

Using a wax formula specifically for the floor finish at hand, apply a thin layer of wax according to the manufacturer’s directions.

Step Five

You now have to use a buffing machine rented from a local hardware store or clean, dry, soft towels, polish the floor to its beautiful sheen.

Stain Removal

There are specific ways to protect your floors:

• Water Stains: use steel wool or sand paper and then refinish the floor.
• Cigarette Burns: use a dampened piece of steel wool.
• Heel Marks: use steel wool and floor cleaning.
• Ink: use a floor cleaner and steel wool to thoroughly wash the area and attempt to remove the stain and refinish.
• Chewing Gum: use ice to harden the gum until it is brittle enough to break off.

Squeaks

Wood floors will contract and expand as a result to changes in humidity conditions. Extended periods of time where floors are contracting and expanding will lead to squeaking.

Use a liquid wax, powdered soap, talcum powder, or powdered graphite between any floor boards to get rid of squeaks. If the problem doesn’t correct, use a two inch finishing nail on both edges of the board and hide it by using color matched putty.