How to Clean and Maintain Hardwood Floors

Wooden floors are the true essence of beauty. They exude sheer elegance and can continue to do so if maintained properly. Irrespective of the type of wooden flooring you are using in your home, they last for a prolonged period of time. You can maintain the shine and look of your hardwood floor by following the easy maintenance tips. So without further ado let us take a look at the maintenance and care tips for the wooden floors.

Maintenance and protection of hardwood floors

The first thing for durability of the hardwood floors is to protect the floor from any kind of unwanted damage. Not only will this extend the durability but it will also keep the hardwood floor as good as a newly installed one. Rest assured that if you spill any liquid on the hardwood floor you wipe away the spill quickly. Hardwood floors tend to absorb liquid and sunlight so if the liquid is stagnated on a hardwood floor, the floor would absorb the liquid and the result would be an unwanted swollen floor. This  will then further lead to an irreparable damage.

The next most susceptible danger to hardwood floors is stains and scratches. Stains are also caused by liquids. So even after you wipe away the liquid make sure that there is no residual liquid on the floor that may leave a stain on the floor. To prevent the floor from scratches you might use certain protective measures. 

Most of the people complain that even after taking extra care of the floor they cannot prevent dents and scratches. Small scratches are inevitable. However, they can be limited to a bare minimum if the floors are well protected. 

• Firstly, ensure that nobody wears footwear on a wooden floor. If you are germophobic and really need to use footwear while you are on the floor then make sure that you use a slipper with a soft base. 
• No hard shoes or sports shoes must be allowed on the hardwood floor. Most sport shoes have spikes beneath them which may leave the floor scratched.
• Keep a shoe rack at the entrance so that visitors may also get to know about your no-shoe rule and have a place to wear out their shoes properly.
• Furthermore, the floor is prone to scratches sustained by the movement and placing of heavy items like cupboard, almirah, dining table, etc.
• To prevent the floor from these types of scratches make sure that use protector pads beneath these furniture items. The protector pads act as the barrier between the floor and the items and bear all the load of these heavy items.

These were some of the steps that you must apply for the maintenance of your hardwood floor. Now we will give you some tips to clean the wooden floor.

Cleaning of hardwood floors

Hardwood floor cleaning is not rocket science, you just need to be careful with the types of chemicals you use in the cleaning process. To start off, you can dust the wooden floor using a soft and bristle brush.

This dusting and cleaning of the floor must be done everyday to avoid the dust from settling on the hardwood floor. Once the dust settles on the floor it becomes quite tough to get rid of it.

If you intend to use a vacuum cleaner for cleaning the dust and dirt off the wooden floor then you need to make it appropriate for the type of wooden floor you have at your home. The key is not to go harsh on the floor. Just clean it gently.

Now that you have dusted the floor, check for any kind of stains or dirt that is present on the floor. 

• To clean the stains and the marks off the floor use a mild detergent or a PH neutral cleaning spray and mop the floor using a microfiber mop. 
• You must avoid steam mop at all costs as steam contains moisture and the wooden floor will absorb the moisture from it.
• Another thing to be mindful of while cleaning the floor is to avoid furniture polish on the wooden floor. Furniture polish leaves a slippery residue on the floor.

These are some of the tips that you can follow to extend the life of your hardwood floor. For more information click here.