How to Clean and Maintain Hardwood Floors

Once upon a time, you gazed upon your floors with love and pride. Your investment in gorgeous hardwood flooring made your house gleam with warmth and rich color. Sadly, over time, the crowning achievement of your homeownership grew dull and worn. How did we get here? Is it possible to revive the vibrance of your hardwood floors? Fortunately, the answer is yes! Like a prized show car, hardwood flooring requires a regular cleaning and maintenance schedule to prolong its life and beauty. Read on to learn how to keep your hardwood floors looking as impressive as they did when they were brand new.

Cleaning Regularly

Regular use of your hardwood floors is commensurate to the need to clean them regularly too. You’ll want to wash your hardwood flooring with a wood floor cleaner every month. When it comes to choosing a wood floor cleaner, there are countless products on the market. Stay away from anything with vinegar, baking soda or dish detergent, as these short-term solutions may dull the polyurethane finish over time. Instead, check with flooring experts like this Nashville hardwood floors company for recommendations on cleaners made specifically for your floor’s finish.

Monthly cleaning isn’t enough, especially if you have messy kids and pets. To combat the accumulation of dirt, dandruff, fur and dust, sweep with a broom or microfiber dust mop every day. Vacuum once a week to pick up anything else that didn’t get swept up. First check your vacuum to make sure it does not have a beater bar attachment that will scratch the finish and attach a soft floor nozzle instead.

Combatting Moisture

Water is the most common culprit of damage to hardwood flooring. Prolonged water exposure can cause the wood to split, shrink, swell or gap. During your monthly mopping with wood floor cleaner, try to squeeze out as much water as possible until your mop is barely damp. Mop small sections at a time and immediately dry the area as you go to prevent sitting water.

Moisture may find its way onto your hardwood floors in a multitude of other ways too. Spills, for one, need to be wiped up without delay using a damp or dry cloth. The same applies to wet tracks made with wet shoes. Better yet, you can prevent puddles in the first place when you station doormats and shoe storage at every entrance to your home. Water damage can even come from moisture locked in the air. Keep the temperature in your home around 60 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit to minimize humidity.

Preventing Scratches

A little bit of preventative maintenance goes a long way to keep your hardwood floors looking sleek and smooth. Scratches are not only unsightly, but their removal involves a whole process of sanding and refinishing the wood. Even if some furniture pieces don’t move very often, apply furniture pads underneath the legs of all tables, chairs and sofas that live on your hardwood floors. Alternatively, you can place a rug underneath your furniture, as well as in areas of high foot traffic. The plastic wheels of your office chair have the highest likelihood of scuffing up the floor. A simple plastic chair mat should suffice to protect your hardwood flooring, as long as the chair does not typically roll outside of that square space.

Maintaining the Finish

Who knew that maintaining hardwood floors would be so much work? Even if you stick strictly to the cleaning regimen, you will still need to refinish the floors every 3 to 5 years. Hardwood floors must also be sanded and refinished every couple of decades, preferably with the help of qualified flooring professionals. In the grand scheme of homeownership, you will probably only need to sand your floors twice at the most.

The degree to which you clean and maintain your hardwood flooring is ultimately up to your particular lifestyle. How often are your floors used and abused by kids, pets, moisture and furniture? If you stay on top of your cleaning schedule and introduce some preventative measures, your hardwood floors will uphold your investment, last longer, and look stunning once again.