Hardwood Floor Cleaning

Professional Hardwood Floor Cleaning

Professional Hardwood Floor CleaningMany people would prefer not to have to clean their own floors. They would prefer to hire someone to do that work for them whether it is the basement, the kitchen or all of the floors in their home.

Usually people will hire professional companies to come and clean all their floors and wash all of the rugs. It saves them a lot of time and they do not need to do the work that is involved in shampooing floors. It really is just that they do not want to make the effort to do some work and save themselves a bit of money.

What About Rugs?

As with rugs, special precautions should be taken to ensure that the detergent that is being used will not harm your rug or discolor the rug. Usually people remove all of the furniture to make sure that the rug is not stained in any way from the feet of the furniture sitting on a wet rug. Allow your right to dry before placing any furniture on it or using the rug or walking on it.

Professional Hardwood Floor Cleaning

When it comes to hardwood floors, special precautions should be taken to ensure that a mild soap detergent is used and that no water or liquid is left on the floor. Any excess liquid can harm your floor and cause the floor to buckle after it swells from absorbing the moisture. In addition, depending on the liquid, it may also stain the floor.

Immediately wipe up any liquid that spills on the floor. Don’t forget droplets that may be left over after washing the hardwood floor. Before washing the floor whether it is a hardwood floor or a rug, be sure to vacuum the floor. Remove all loose dirt and grit that maybe on the floor. This will ensure that your cleaning will do a much better job on both kinds of flooring. Your floors will last much longer than they would otherwise. In the end this saves a great deal of money.

If you really do not want to have to clean or refinish your flooring often, remove all shoes at the front door. Vacuum often to remove all grit that may be brought into the house. This grit can act like sand paper and remove the shine from your floor. Over time your floor will have a dull looking finish. It may require a complete re-sanding and refinishing to regain that shiny new look. Your floors will last much longer if you take care of them. They will look better and the cost of refinishing your floors will be deferred well into the future. Take care of your floors regardless of whether they are carpet,  linoleum or hardwood. This will reduce your annual maintenance costs.


Hardwood Floor Cleaning Service

Hardwood Floor Cleaning ServiceA clean shiny hardwood floor will make your home beautiful and stand out to friends and colleagues that come to visit. A clean hardwood floor adds value to your home when you are trying to sell your home. Buyers look at the floor and see how beautiful, clean, and immaculate it is and loves it. This floor can literally sell your home for you, even if there other negatives. Prospective homeowners will overlook these things if their first impression is a strongly positive one.

There are a number of steps that homeowners can consider to keep their floors looking fantastic. This is without the need for a hardwood floor cleaning service. There are companies that provide professional hardwood floor cleaning services. However, if homeowners can do this work themselves. They will save money and their home’s hardwood floor will always be glistening and looking great.

Hardwood Floor Cleaning Service

If you decide to hire a Hardwood Floor Cleaning Service, use the following steps as a guide to interviewing these companies regarding the process they use, the chemicals if any that they use, and the machines they use to ensure that they will deliver the results that you desire.

Preparing to Clean Your Hardwood Floor

There are several steps that homeowners can consider. Take a look at these and apply those that make sense for your flooring:

Step One – determine the type of finish that is on your floor. If there is a protective urethane or polyurethane finish to your floor, there is already a thin protective layer on the floor. Other floors may be natural wood with an oil-based finish, varnish, or even floors with no finish on them. Check with the original owners or with the store that the flooring was purchased from to determine what finish is on your floor.

Step Two – floors that are sealed need only vacuuming and mopping with a mild soap and water solution. Never leave water on the floor and usually, a damp mop is preferred rather than a wet mop.  Oil treat floors need to be vacuumed and then an application of paste wax to protect them from stains and water. For all other floors depending on the finish, there are several cleaners available on the market.

Step Three

Avoid water on your floors. Water causes the wood to expand and even crack in places. It may also leave watermarks. If you must use water on an unfinished floor, just use a damp mop and never leave water droplets on the floor or allow water to go between the cracks.

Step Four – even protective covers will wear down over time, especially in high traffic areas. This protective cover may need to be sanded at some point and the floor recoated with whatever protective cover you are using. For sanding tips, refer to several of our other posts on hardwood floor refinishing.

Step Five – keep your floors clean and free of grit that is tracked in from outside. Remove your shoes at the entry to your home and vacuum on a regular basis, even every day in high traffic areas if there is a lot of grit being tracked into the home.

Step Six – install area mats to protect entrance areas and other high traffic areas. Vacuum these mats regularly each time you vacuum the rest of the home. The rugs will add to your overall décor and also capture any grit that is attached to the bottom of your shoes. This is the main reason that the rug should be vacuumed often.

At some point, you may decide that a hardwood floor cleaning service might be a better choice. Consumers may want to hire a floor cleaning service once a month to keep their floors looking pristine and vacuuming every couple of days to avoid long-term damage. The cleaning service may also vacuum as well before they actually clean the floor.


Hardwood Floor Cleaning Services

Hardwood Flooring InstallersThere is nothing nicer than a gleaming shiny hardwood floor like the picture on the left. This floor obviously has been not only kept clean, the owners have taken really good care of the floor while they lived there. Consumers can hire hardwood floor cleaning services to help them keep their floors looking pristine, but it is also important to treat your floor with care and respect to keep it nice over the years. Refinishing a hardwood floor is expensive and messy, so the longer you can avoid having to refinish the floor the better. Take care of it and you will not have to worry about refinishing for many years. This is an investment in your home that maintains its value for many years.

What to Look for Regarding Hardwood Floor Cleaning Services

If you plan to use a service to clean your hardwood floors there are a few things to consider before you hire a company to clean your floors. Aside from the obvious checks that you would do regarding someone coming into your home to deliver services, you need to find out how they plan to clean your hardwood floor. Using the wrong chemicals can certainly do more damage than it cleans leaving you with a bigger problem than what you started with.

If you are unsure about what products to use or the cleaners should use, you may want to talk to a hardwood floor sales company. They are going to wan to know what kind of finish is in the floor before they can provide solid advise regarding what to use. Most newer floors come with a finish on the floors to protect them and to make them look great. you do not want to damage this finish in any way.

Always Vacuum First

First of all they should plan to vacuum the floor to remove all grit that may be on the floor and any dust particles that may have built up over time. If you try to clean the floor with a mop or a cloth, before vacuuming, there is a high risk that you will grind any grit into the floor and even scratch the finish. Over time this approach will leave your floor looking dull and scratched.

In fact it is a good idea to vacuum your floors at least once per week and more often if you feel that there is a lot of dirt and grit that is tracked into your home onto your hardwood floor. You may hire a hardwood floor cleaning service or do this yourself.

Wash Your Floor

This is a very important step and must be done properly to avoid any damage to your floors. Basically hardwood floors do not like water and to avoid any damage, always use a damp mop rather than a wet mop to wash your floors. If you do get a few drops or a small puddle of water on the floor, wipe it up immediately. Run the damp mop across the floor several times and then rinse it thoroughly in a pail or in the sink. Plain water is find or you can use a little bit of dish soap that is really diluted. We also suggest that you use a paper towel to dry the floor, however if your mop is only damp , any moisture will dry almost immediately as you are mopping the floor.

Do not use any chemical based cleaners, such as pledge and other sprays or chemicals. They can sometimes remove the coating on your floor or leave a dull finish to your floor which is very difficult to remove afterwords.

Washing your floor with a damp mop is by far the best approach. The frequency will depend on how much traffic the floor receives and whether you were your shoes in the house.  We really recommend that owners of hardwood floors do not walk inside with their shoes, especially if they have been warn outside. They track too much sand and grit into the house and over time this will wear the finish off of the floor.

Make Sure Your Hardwood Floor Cleaning Services Avoid These Cleaning Products

If you are going to hire a cleaner to clean you hardwood floors, make sure they do not plan to use the following products:

  • Oil based, wax, polish, or strong ammonia-ted or abrasive cleaners.
  • Steel wool or scouring powder.
  • Wet-mop the floor with soap, water, oil-soap detergent, or any other liquid cleaning material. This could cause swelling, warping, delamination, and joint-line separation, and void the warranty.
  • Buffing machine.

All of these products can harm your floor. When you interview your cleaner, you will quickly get to know which cleaners know what they are doing when it comes to hardwood floor cleaning and which ones do not. Remember it is your home and your floor. It is always a good idea to stay informed and take charge rather than let someone else make the decision on your behalf.

 

 


Removing Scratches and Dents in Hardwood Floors

Removing Scratches and Dents in Hardwood FloorsWe have not tried the process of removing scratches and dents from hardwood floors that we are going to describe in this post. If one of our readers has tried this we would really like to hear from you. We have a couple of scratches. Also some marks we want to get rid of but are hesitant to try this approach. We know that you should always experiment first. In an out of the way place on your floor in case you screw up so that it will not be seen. We just do not have that situation and are afraid to try it in a main floor area. Anyone with comments?

What we have is a scratch from moving a piece of furniture across the floor. It is about 3 inches long and maybe a 16th of an inch deep. We have a rug covering it now, but really would like to remove the dent in the floor so that it does not show. The rug is not in the ideal place for us. It happened before we even realized that the bottom of the piece of furniture had a leg that could do that. My husband was so mad, he could spit nails. The floor is only a year old and we would like to be able to remove this scratch or at lease minimize it so that it is not as noticeable.

The Recommended Process

Removing a scratch or dent sounds pretty simple. The steps are as follows:

  • Wet the scratch or dent with a little bit of water
  • Apply a wet cloth or paper towel over the dent, and then
  • Move the iron in a circular motion across the towel for 3-5 minutes
  • Make sure there is a lot of stem being generated and do not allow the iron to stay in one place for long to avoid over heating the floor.

We were told that this does not work on all hardwood floors especially those with finishes. You definitely want to try this in an area that is out of the way before trying it on the floor in a high visibility area.  Older hardwood floors were the finish has worn off are probably the best to try this process on.

Applying heat over a damp cloth may in fact lift the finish off or at least remove the shiny look that your floor may have. Sanding with a very fine sandpaper or steel wool may buff it back to the shiny look, but not always. Try it first somewhere out of the way. I know we keep saying this, but we cannot emphasize it enough.

Removing Scratches and Dents in Hardwood Floors

Dents that have been around for a while may also have dirt lodged in the crease or depression. Even with the treatment above you may find that light sanding is going to be needed in order to remove this dirt. Before you start sanding, ensure that you have a plan for dealing with the floor area to be sanded after you remove some or all of the finish.  Sometimes you can match the existing finish and do a patch job. Which will be almost invisible. However again experimentation is encouraged before trying it on the main floor.

You definitely do not want to end up with a floor that has several colors or tones to it which stand out even more than the dent or scratch did.  If it does not work in your experiment you definitely do not want to try it in the main spot.

If you have tried this or have comments on removing dents or scratches from hardwood floors, leave a comment. Both of us will benefit and we will help our readers at the same time.

 


Tackling Simple Wood Floor Problems

Tackling Simple Wood Floor ProblemsThere are lots of suggestions available on the web about what to do with various problems you may have with your hardwood floor. One piece of advice that we always give to readers is that before you try something on a hardwood floor, always experiment first. If you have a left over piece of hardwood floor use this piece to try your solution on first. If you do not have an extra piece of flooring, then select a location that is out of the way and try it on that area first.  This is the best way to avoid making a small mark even worse on your floor and having everyone notice it. This is one of the cardinal rules of Tackling Simple Wood Floor Problems.

Tackling Simple Wood Floor Problems

The following are a few suggestions, that are untried by the writer, however they have been picked up over the years as potential solutions to hardwood floor problems.

When white water spots mar your floor’s finish? Add a small amount of mineral spirits to an extra-fine (0000) steel wool pad and gently rub the area in a circular motion. Keep the area well ventilated as you work. Do not overwork the area or you will remove the finish that is on your hardwood floor. If your steel wool is not fine enough, you could damage your floor and you may see scratches across the wood. Take extra care when performing this activity.

Heel marks that won’t wipe off? Adding a small amount of wax to an extra-fine (0000) steel wool pad and gently rubbing the area in a circular motion will often remove the heel mark. However once again, if you over do it, you can remove the finish and leave a dull area on your hardwood floor.

Food stains leaving a mark on the floor? Wipe the surface with a damp cloth, rub dry and wax. When removing any stain (from wood or carpet), always work from the outside edge in toward the center.

Secrets to Preserving Hardwood Floors: 3 Must-Follow Rules

To extend the life of your hardwood floor regardless of what the finish is, use  these three simple rules:

  • Sweep or vacuum often. Ground-in dirt destroys wood floors. To prevent buildup, clean floors once or twice a day in high-traffic areas, like the kitchen and dining room. In fact avoid placing hardwood flooring in the kitchen. It is a very high traffic area and pron to food spills.
  • No time? Cut down on sweeping time by placing a doormat at each entrance to your home. Take your shoes off and leave them at the doormat. Vacuum this area often. (Some estimates suggest that doormats eliminate 80 percent of the dirt tracked inside!)
  • Wipe up mud and spills immediately. Make sure that you clean all spills, including food that can leave marks. Wood is easily damaged by water.
  • Choose carpeting wisely. While carpets will protect the floor there are a couple of issues. The floor surrounding the throw rug or carpet will bleach over time from the sun.  If you aim to protect your wood floor with a rug, remember that rug dyes have been known to stain floors, and plastic backings may affect the wood finish.  Plastic or rubber backings may stick to the floor and be very difficult to remove without damaging the floor. Ask an expert from the  carpet store to recommend an appropriate  underpad as a safeguard.

Our next post will be about removing dents and marks in your hardwood floors. If you found this post helpful and wish to leave a comment please do so. We also appreciate any suggestions that will also help our readers as well. If you are an expert please feel free to comment.

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Cleaning Surface Sealed and non Surface Sealed Floors

Cleaning Surface Sealed and non Surface Sealed FloorsOur last post, ” cleaning hardwood floors”, discussed the different types of floors in terms of the type of protection each floor may have. Also how to tell the difference between the major types such as Surface-sealed floors and non Surface-sealed floors.  This post will discuss specific cleaning instructions for each type of floor sealant. The major types were:

  • Surface-sealed floors
  • Penetrating-seal-treated and oil-treated floors
  • Lacquered, varnished, shellacked and
  • Untreated floors

Cleaning Surface Sealed and non Surface-Sealed Floors

Surface-sealed floors

First of all you should use a floor cleaner that is recommended by the floor finisher or the company that installed your floor. You can check with a flooring company that sells the type of hardwood floor that you have for specific recommendations. Since the floor is sealed, you can also just use a very mild soap and water to clean your floors. Be careful to not leave any access amounts of water on your floor.

Never use ammonia or alkaline products or abrasive cleaners. They will remove some of the surface sealer and leave your floor looking dull and they may even scratch the finish.

If you just use water to clean your floors, you will not be able to remove all of the dirt and your floors will still end  up looking dull and the dirt will just build up over time.

High traffic areas collect a lot of dust and grit. It is really important to sweep this grit up and or vacuum it up to avoid scratching your hardwood floor finish. You may even want to mop every week as well if your floor collects a lot of dirt and dust. other areas can be swept and mopped less often.

When you mop on any floor, it is important to remember that water is the worst enemy of all wood floors. never leave puddles of water on the floor. Only use a damp mop to wipe the floor leaving no excess water at all. Always go back over the floor with clean water and a mop to wipe up any remaining soap and dirt that might not have been caught on the first mopping.

Penetrating-seal-treated and oil-treated floors

If you need to remove the old wax,  use a stripper design for that purpose and always use a product that has been recommended by the floor manufacturer. Use liquid wax or paste wax to protect your floors. Acrylic and water based waxes can turn floors white, while furniture wax can make floors slippery. One step waxes can also trapped dirt so only use those products that are recommended by the floor manufacturer and speak to someone who has experience in the business.

These types of floors should never be damp mopped. Instead just sweep them or vacuum them every week. You may have to strip the old wax and re-wax the floor once a year or more often depending on the amount of traffic on the floor.

When it comes time to wax the floor, follow these steps:

  • Vacuum the floor to remove all dust and grit
  • Strip the old wax with a stripper (following the manufacturer’s instructions)
  • Always keep the area well ventilated as you work and as the floor dries.
  • Once the floor has dried, apply a thin coat of wax. Use an applicator (if you’re using liquid wax) or a cloth (if you’re using paste wax).
  • Let the wax dry.
  • For added protection particularly on high traffic areas, apply a second coat of wax.
  • Finally, buff. Use a cloth or, to make the job easier, rent a buffing machine.
  • Remember to always buff in the direction of the wood grain.

Comments are welcome that will help our readers. We even accept links if your comments are constructive and helpful to our readers. Our next post will be about how you can protect your floors and tackling simple wood floor problems.

Lacquered, varnished, shellacked and

Untreated floors


Cleaning Hardwood floors

Cleaning Hardwood floorsYou invested thousands into your new hardwood floors and now it is time to clean them. Or perhaps you purchased an older home with existing hardwood floors. Now you are wondering what is the best way to clean them.  In fact, it is very important that you use the right materials on your floors. You want to ensure a long life for your floors as well as continuing to make them look great. So before you begin cleaning hardwood floors, stop for a second. Look at the wood finish on your floors to assess what kind it is. Depending on the finish you may need to choose a different style of cleaner to clean them. The following are the general types of hardwood floors:

  • Surface-sealed floors
  • Penetrating-seal-treated and oil-treated floors
  • Lacquered, varnished, shellacked and
  • Untreated floors

Cleaning Hardwood floors

Surface-sealed floors :

this is the most common type of floor covering for hardwood floors. These floors are sealed with urethane, polyurethane, or polycyclic materials and are stain and water damage resistant. They are the easiest to care for since the floor is sealed. All you need to do is sweep the floor to remove all grit and dust etc and then mop the floor. Be careful to avoid leaving excess amounts of water on any floor including this one even though it is water-resistant.

Penetrating-seal-treated and oil-treated floors:

Some floors have a penetrating oil finish to them to bring out the grain in the wood. This penetrating oil really does not provide any protection. All it does is penetrate the wood and enhance the grain of the wood to provide an aesthetically pleasing look to it. Many people will protect this type of floor with liquid or paste wax.

Lacquered, varnished, shellacked  floors:

Varnishes and shellacked finishes are really surface finishes, however, they are unable to protect the floor from water and other liquids in the same manner as urethane, etc.  As a result, they must be treated with care and in the same way, you would treat a floor that has been treated with penetrating oil floors.

Untreated floors:

Floors that are still bare wood have no protection in them at all and will absorb water and other liquids very quickly. It is important to avoid spilling any water on these floors let alone cleaning them with soap and water.

Many people find it difficult to tell what kind of floor they have unless they purchased it themselves.  Older homes that people move into may have hardwood floors but unless the original owners are available to tell you what type of floor it is, you will have to discover the type of floor finish yourself. One way to tell what type of hardwood floor you have is to rub your finger across the floor. If no surface smudge appears then it is surface sealed. If there is a smudge, then it has been treated with  an oil finish or shellac type of finish. Of course, floors that are just bare wood will also not show a smudge since there is no finish on these floors at all.

Heavily worn floors also have to be given careful consideration. Floor areas in high traffic paths may be worn to the extent that the bare wood is showing through the surface seal. Treat these areas in the same manner as you wood with a bare floor with no finish at all.

Next Post

Our next post will discuss specifics about how to clean each type of floor mentioned in this post. The title will be “Cleaning Surface Sealed and non-Surface Sealed Floors”. If you found this post helpful or would like to contribute a comment, please do so. any comments that are constructive and helpful to our readers will be posted. We will even approve your link if it is a good comment that our readers will find helpful.


Hardwood floor Vacuums – Ergorapido Ultra

Hardwood floor VacuumWe recently purchased a Hardwood floor Vacuum Electrolux Ergorapido Ultra cordless 2 in 1 stick and hand vacuum from Costco. The price was right and the lowest we had found in any of the shops that sell these types of hardwood floor vacuums. We paid $69 US for this vacuum which comes with a removable hand vacuum to get at small locations or if you just need to clean up a small spill of some kind. What a great little machine!

This particular vacuum appealed to us specifically because of the two in one package. You can use it as a stick or wand style vacuum or you can remove the had vacuum portion to get at small harder to get at locations. It also appealed to us because you can use it on hardwood floors as well which is what we have throughout our home. This was an important criterion since we are very concerned about the floors being scratched. For anyone with hardwood flooring, this requirement is critical since the last thing you want to do when you are vacuuming is to scratch your floor.

Hardwood floor Vacuums – Rechargeable

It is rechargeable and so you do not need to drag around a chord and find a place to plug it in every time you want to use it. This is a big advantage for many people who want to do a quick cleaning before the guests show up or to clean up a small mess without having to drag out the big vacuum.

We have read reports that some consumers find that the battery does not retain a charge very long and over time the battery lasts for a shorter and shorter time. This is a problem for any rechargeable tool. Following the manufacturer’s recommendations for initial charging and ongoing charging cycles will ensure that you get maximum use out of the battery.  Most recommend that you fully charge the battery before using it for the first time. Secondly, always drain the battery completely before recharging it. This way you will avoid the battery taking on what many people call the memory effect.

Consumer Reviews

After reading a number of customer reviews on a few web sites, we can summarize the following as their general comments:

  • Lightweight vacuum
  • Slim, lightweight, and QUIET.
  • The vac functions very well on all the floors and rugs in the kitchen and hallway.
  • The charge lasts for about 20 minutes at full power,
  • It takes @ 14 hours to fully recharge, which is rather long,
  • It is very maneuverable,
  • The powerhead swivels almost like a Dyson ball vac.
  • It is a hand vac as well.
  • The vacuum comes with a little brush and a crevice tool for use with the hand vac.
  • The charging stand is small and very easy to use. Emptying the cup is easy.
  • It is slim and elegant

The biggest complaint is that the battery does not last long enough. However, it really is not meant for covering a large area. This is for quick mess cleanup on rugs as well as hardwood floors and small rooms. We have found you can vacuum several rooms before it needs to be recharged.

If you have this particular vacuum please leave us your comments. Also if you have another model let us know what you think regarding its application on hardwood floors.

 


The Best Vacuum for Hardwood Floors

There are literally hundreds of vacuums available on the market. They have claims that they can deal with carpets, hardwood floors, tile and more.  They range in price from $70 to many hundreds of dollars. Many people are wondering what the best vacuum for hardwood floors is. Also how to about picking a vacuum. Especially when you have hardwood floors and are worried about scratching your brand new hardwood floor.

Best Vacuum for Hardwood Floors

So how do you go about selecting the best vacuum of your home and for your hardwood floors? Like anything else it means establishing a set of criteria and evaluating each one based on those criteria. Even with all of that it is a good idea to also talk to your friends and family. Get their input on what works for them, what they like and do not like about their vacuum.

This will help you to form your own opinion on what works for you and what will satisfy you. The vacuum that your friends have may not be the right one for you based on your home and your personal likes and dislikes. So what criteria should you consider ? Here is our list with some thoughts behind each item. Decide for yourself what is important for you.

Criteria for Picking a Vacuum

Price – There are expensive and cheap vacuums. Your budget can only afford so much. It is good idea to establish your limit first and then work with this guideline as you are reviewing various vacuums.

Central or Non Central – This also is a major decision point and will take you between two major families of vacuums. They each have their advantages. Central vacuums can be vented outside which is important for anyone with allergies. They have a long hose which is easy to maneuver around furniture and rooms. Non central vacuums or traditional vacuums can be moved around easily in the home, outside and can move with you should you decide to change homes.

Attachments – Assess what attachments are included with the vacuum and make sure that there is a non scratch attachment for hardwood floors.

Wheels – If you select the personal vacuum or shall we say the non central vacuum type, check out the wheels. Ensure that they are non scratch so that you will not damage your floors as you move it around the floor.

Hose – central vacuums have a long hose which allows you to reach all of the locations in your home from several plugin hose bibs. You will want to cover your vacuum hose with a cloth covering. This will help to avoid damaging furniture and corners of walls as you drag it around the house.

Storage – This can be a big issue for many people with limited storage area in an apartment for example. Stand up vacuums or wand type vacuums are great since they can easily be stored in a closet with other items.

Power Supply

These wand style vacuums also come with battery powered fans. So you do not have to be concerned about plugging in a power chord. They do have a rechargeable battery which does need to be charged and has a limited life span. This can be an issue for many consumers.

Features – there are probably 10 or 20 other features that you may feel that are important to you. These are really personal likes and dislikes that we all have. We suggest that you list and prioritize them based on your own set of priorities. The main one of course is the floor tool for hardwood floors. Make sure that there is no opportunity for your floor to be scratched in any way.

In our next post we are going to review the wand style vacuum which is portrayed above. We feel that it can be a really good vacuum for people living in apartments. They need a small vacuum to clean up small messes quickly and easily.


How Do I Protect my Hardwood Floor

How Do I Protect my Hardwood FloorYou have just installed your brand new hardwood floor and it looks beautiful. You painted the walls, the trim and even replaced the window coverings. It is perfect, no scratches or blemishes. There is no fading from the sun or marks from cleaners or imprints from furniture and on. You might be thinking that you should just not use them, keep them pristine.You are wondering How Do I Protect my Hardwood Floor?

Well they are going to get some marks and scratches, it cannot be helped. But you can limit the damage and get many years to of your floor before re-sanding is required. There are simple things you can do without finding it difficult or cramping your lifestyle and enjoyment of your home. It is relatively easy to do and becomes habit forming which will keep your floors looking great for many years.

How Do I Protect my Hardwood Floor – Tips

First remember that you have invested a lot of money and hardwood floors are a lifetime investment if looked after properly and they add a lot of value to your home as well. Most buyers are now looking for hardwood floor upgrades in their homes when they purchase them. Buyers are just not interested in doing their own upgrades preferring to purchase homes that are already with hardwood flooring that compliments the home. Buyers also want this floor to look pristine, shiny and great looking so that it will complement their furniture.

Hardwood floors are also better for people with allergies. You may need to vacuum more often, but at least the dust is picked up instead of sitting in the carpet to be spread into the air each time you walk across it. If you do have allergies purchase a central vacuum with the exhaust of the vacuum exiting outside into your garage area or outside the home. This will reduce the dust significantly.

If you want to keep your floors looking great for a life time,  then its very important that you keep them clean and scratch free.
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Hardwood Floor Upkeep

Protecting Your Hardwood FloorsRegardless of whether you purchase a new home with hardwood floors or you have just installed new hardwood floors in your home, you have a valuable and considerable investment in your home in hardwood. Most buyers are looking for hardwood flooring to be already installed when they buy a new home. They really do not consider hardwood floor upkeep requirements.

Keeping the hardwood floor clean and avoiding marks on the floor will go along way to maintaining your hardwood investment. Cleaning a hardwood floor is an important task with lots of benefits. It will help to maintain the natural beauty of your flooring and also extend the life of the floor, which saves you money in the long run. It will also help you avoid many headaches in the future. Here is a helpful guide to show you how to clean hardwood floor and make the most of your investment.

Why You Want to focus on Hardwood Floor Upkeep

Hardwood flooring is sensitive to heat and moisture but it is also sensitive to the harmful effects of dirt and grit. As dirt and particles work their way into hardwood surfaces they have a grinding effect as you walk on the floor, which is detrimental to the lifespan of the wood.The floor changes color, scratches and gradually the finish will be removed.

Who wants to have to sand a hardwood floor by hand?

Dirt and grime can scratch away at the surface of the wood, dulling it and taking away from the look of the surface. For these reasons it is important to know how to clean hardwood floor.

Cleaning the Hardwood Floor

But before you begin you will need a few tools. A soft fine-bristled broom, a vacuum with a hardwood safe attachment, along with a mop of your choice are essential.

Once you have everything you need we can get into how to clean your hardwood floor. You should have a routine in place for caring for your floors. This routine must include sweeping often with the fine-bristled broom in order to keep everyday dirt and dust from accumulating. Also, time should be taken to vacuum the floors at least once or twice a week. This will help to lift any sand or other abrasive particles that may want to settle in the floor cracks where they will do their damage.

When mopping your hardwood floors you should use a very dry-damp mop. This is because of the floor’s intolerance to excess water. Any extra water may seep down into the floor which is very harmful. This is practically everything you need to know on how to clean hardwood floor.

Avoid Women’s High Heels with Narrow Heel Points

We have had this situation and before we knew what happened there were little heel marks all over our floor. The women even asked us if it was ok to wear her shoes indoors. foolishly we said yes. What a mistake. We have not corrected the situation yet, but it will take some serious sanding and refinishing to fix this.

Do not allow people to wear their shoes inside your home on hardwood floors if you want to maintain the luster of your floors and avoid marking the hardwood on your floors.

As you can see, when finding out how to clean hardwood floor, there are only a few simple yet important steps. Cleaning hardwood is best done with regular care and attention. Once you have all of this in place, your floors will be long lasting and great looking.


Hardwood Floor Cleaners

Hardwood Floor CleanersA hardwood floor is one of the most enduring floor surfaces and provides many benefits compared to all other surfaces. These benefits can be enhanced even more if you keep your floors clean by vacuuming regularly and cleaning weekly.

For example if you never wear your shoes inside your home on your hardwood floors you will avoid tracking a lot of dirt into the home and you will avoid scuffing the floor with your shoes. Any dirt or grit on your floor can be ground into the floor and acting like sand paper on the floor. Avoid wearing shoes any time inside the home on the hardwood floors. Here are a few of the reasons why you would want to make sure that your floors are always clean in addition to the obvious.

  • Longevity
  • Reduces dust accumulation
  • Improves the decor of many homes.
  • Can be easily repaired
  • Can be refinished

By providing a little care and maintenance to your hardwood floors you can expect your flooring to last a lifetime. If you are new to hardwood flooring, here is some information about hardwood floor cleaners and other maintenance tips that will help you get the most from your investment.

Maintenance Tips

  • Never wear outdoor shoes on your floor
  • Never go barefoot on your hardwood floor
  • Wear soft soled slippers or just wear socks while walking on your floor
  • Clean up spills, especially fluids, immediately
  • An option is to add throw rugs in heavy traffic areas
  • Clean with proper tools regularly

Hardwood Floor Cleaner Tips

For almost every kind of spill, smudge, stain or any other type of mess, you will find a hardwood floor cleaner for the job. If all of these chemicals and solutions are confusing to you then perhaps an all-in-one hardwood floor cleaner kit is right for you.

You can find many of these kits for both laminate flooring and hardwood. They usually come with an all purpose cleaner along with a specially designed mop.

Some general purpose hardwood floor cleaners can  remove some of the shine from the floor or even leave a residue. To avoid this, make sure you choose a cleaner that is specially designed to clean finished hardwood flooring. Other hardwood floor cleaners that you should avoid are oil soaps that can build up over time.

General Suggestions

Maintain proper levels of moisture in your home with a humidifier in the winter time. Winter air tends to dry everything out and will cause gaps to appear between the floor strips, unless you maintain the humidity level in your home between 30% to 50% at all times. Clean your humidifier at least once a month as well to avoid any chance of mold buildup in the humidifier.

Along with a proper hardwood floor cleaner you should practice regular care and maintenance of the floor. Dirt and grit tracked onto hardwood floor acts like sandpaper and will cause problems over time. Clean your floors at least once per week and immediately  after you have had a party or guests in your home.

This means it is important to either sweep away this dirt with a fine bristles broom or vacuum with a specially designed hardwood attachment. Using the incorrect tool could scratch the surface of your floor causing more damage. This is especially true in high traffic areas. Another important thing to remember is that you should never allow water to remain on any hardwood surface. Wipe up any spills as soon as you notice them.

With only the most common sense cleaning and proper hardwood floor cleaner you will have great looking floors that will last your whole life. Over time you will gain more appreciation of the subtle details and warmth of the wood.  Hardwood floors can be re-sanded and refinished, however if you look after them this may be avoided for many years. The more you give to your hardwood floors the more you will receive in return.


Hardwood Floor Cleaner

Hardwood Floor CleanerWith only a small amount of care, a hardwood floor will provide many years of service and look good in your home. Cleaning hardwood is an important aspect of the care and maintenance necessary to protect your investment. Placing throw carpets in high traffic areas is another way of protecting your floor as well. In this post we will discuss some of the ways to protect your hardwood floor. As well as keep it clean. Using a hardwood floor cleaner makes taking care of your hardwood flooring even easier. There are products that  cover a variety of cleansing areas.

Protecting Your Hardwood Floor

Actually the best way to keep a hardwood floor clean is to protect it from dirt and traffic. For example, in the winter time we place salt and sand in a mixture on the driveway to prevent ice from forming and people slipping. Of course some of this material is tracked into the house on our boots and if we are not careful it ends up on our floors as well. This material will ruin your floors over time and rob them of that shiny new look that we all love to see. Keep them clean and vacuum often.

Sand is like a sandpaper to wood. Every time you step on it, small particles of the wood wear away and over a couple of years you will notice a difference. Always keep your boots on a mat and never wear your boots or shoes inside. Vacuum your floors regularly, at least once a week and more often in high traffic areas. We are not supporting one vacuum over another by using the above picture, just make sure that you use one that does not scratch your floor.

Some people will place throw rugs on the floors were there is a lot of foot traffic. This is an excellent way to protect your floors. Just remember to vacuum under the rug each time. If there is a lot of sun from a window in that area you may notice some discoloration over the years as well from fading due to the sun.

Cleaning your Hardwood Floors

Whether you have laminate flooring, or any kind of hardwood floor there are hardwood floor cleaners for the job. From basic floor cleaning solutions to all in one floor cleaning kits, there are  products that  will help keep your floors looking their best.

Avoid products that leave residue or are harmful on your floors with  hardwood floor cleaner products like basic coating squeaky cleaner, intensive floor treatment or Swedish formula laminate floor cleaner. A hardwood floor cleaning kit is also ideal as everything you need comes in one package including specially designed cleaning mops.

Taking Care of Your Floors

Along with the helpful cleaning power of  hardwood floor cleaner, here are some other steps you can take to care for your floors.

  • You should sweep your floors with a broom that has fine bristles that are soft so they won’t damage or scratch the surface.
  • It is also recommended to vacuum at least once or twice a week to keep dirt and sand from causing damage.
  • Water should always be removed from hardwood surfaces right away. Always wipe up and dry any spills as soon as possible.
  • For high traffic areas, rugs or mats can be used to avoid wear but these must also be kept clean and free from dirt or grit that may eventually harm your flooring.
  • Vacuum once a week or twice a week if there is a lot of people and pets in your family
  • Avoid dragging dirt and grit into your home as much as possible. Remove your boots and shoes prior to entering your home.

As long as you take some time and use a common sense approach to cleaning your hardwood flooring you can expect it to look as good as new for a long time. Using a  hardwood floor cleaner will help to make this cleaning even easier and will help protect your investment.

Obviously we cannot support one hardwood floor cleaner over another, so talk to your flooring representative to find out what they recommend to maintain your floor in optimum condition.


Hardwood Floor Cleaning Tips

Five Steps To Protecting Your Hardwood Floor From Disaster
Common knowledge states that hardwood floors are a great investment for a Hardwood Floor Cleanershomeowner, both for personal enjoyment as well as adding value to your home when you decide to sell your home. They add a certain charm and character to a home that can’t be replicated by laminates, carpeting, or any other type of flooring.

However, the investment does not stop with the decision to purchase hardwood for your flooring. To retain the value, the hardwood must be properly cared for and maintained just like any other flooring. Fortunately, with a few simple, easy, inexpensive steps, your hardwood flooring will always remain in perfect shape. In the longer term you may have to sand your flooring and apply stain, however this really depends on how well you care for your floor as well as how much foot traffic it receives.

Hardwood Floor Cleaning Tips

Do not use Murphy’s Oil Soap.

Murphy’s works great on wooden furniture, but don’t make the mistake of using it on your hardwood floors. You won’t notice anything wrong after applying it once, but if used consistently, residue will build up and leave your floor with a dull appearance.

Do not use a Wet Swiffer.

A Dry Swiffer is great for collecting dust, dirt, and pet hair from your floors, and it is also less abrasive than a vacuum cleaner. However, a Wet Swiffer can cause major long-term damage. The chemicals in the cleaning solution can break down the urethane finish on your floor and leave it dull, faded, and lifeless.

Area Rugs.

Place area rugs anywhere that might collect water or receive lots of traffic. Prime areas are in front of the refrigerator, by the dishwasher, and near any sinks. If you do spill liquid on the floor clean it up quickly. If the rug is wet or even damp, take the rug outside or place it somewhere. Place it were it can dry before placing it back on the floor.  Make sure that the floor is protected in any spot that is susceptible to minor leaks and water collection. A pool of water is the quickest way to destroy your floor.

Floor Mats.

Use floor mats in spots where people step on the hardwood directly after being outside. Do not allow people to walk around your home with shoes on. In particular, high heeled women’s shoes are really bad for leaving marks on the floor. In addition to protecting against wet or muddy footprints, floor mats will help collect any sharp or abrasive materials stuck in the treads of shoes. This step will help prevent accidental scraping or scratching.

Use felt pads when moving furniture.

Or better yet, lift the furniture off the ground instead of sliding it across your hardwood floor. If felt pads must be used, please make sure that they are free of any debris. Place pads under all furniture feet to avoid leaving a permanent mark on the floor from the contact of the furniture with the floor. Even if a tiny little object like a staple is under that pad when heavy furniture is set upon it,your floor could receive some serious gouges.

These steps will help ensure that your home retains its value by protecting your hardwood floors against major damage. A gleaming clean and unmarked hardwood floor will add thousands of dollars to the value of your home.

Accidents do happen, however, no matter how careful you are. Clean up immediately to avoid any long term damage to the floor.  If your floor becomes damaged, and requires repairs,  contact the manufacturer or the installer for advice.


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