Floors are among the first things we notice when entering a certain house, building, or structure. It can make a property look elegant, inviting, or otherwise plain and dull. It is also among the most used and abused parts of any structure it can be hard to clean and maintain.
What is The Best Way to Clean Hardwood Floors?
The best way to clean wood floors is really just to regularly sweep and vacuum them to rid them of dust and dirt that may stick on their surface. You can mop the floor once or twice a month but remember not to soak it with water. Avoid splashing water on the floor when cleaning it as it is the easiest way to destroy wood.
When using a mop or rag, make sure that it is just damp and not soaking wet. Start with one area and then let it dry before moving on to another. You can use a mixture of warm water and dish soap to mop or scrub your floor.
If you are cleaning the entire house, start from the top areas before working your way down to the floor. This way, you do not have to clean the floor all over again if dust from the ceiling, windows, or other high areas settles on the floor. Cleaning the floor all over again may entail mopping it again, which may potentially ruin the floor.
If you are not comfortable with using soap and water, you can also use a cleaning product that the manufacturer of your floor recommends. Contrary to what most people believe, it is not advisable to use furniture spray, oil, or even wax on your wooden floor to give it a shiny surface. The oil leaves a residue on the floor, using furniture spray will only make the floor slippery, and applying wax on the floor takes a lot of time and it may even be difficult to recoat it when needed.
What are Natural Ways to Clean Hardwood Floors?
You may also want to know how to clean hardwood floors naturally. Of course, sweeping and vacuuming it are among the most natural methods. However, you may want to deep clean it once and a while with the use of natural products.
Using vinegar is among the most suggested products to use on wooden floors. Make sure to use white vinegar and not just any vinegar. It has been identified as the most ideal for wooden floors.
You may also opt to use cleaning vinegar, which possesses a higher concentration of acid compared to regular vinegar. Alternatively, you can use apple cider vinegar but absolutely avoid balsamic and red wine vinegar.
The smell of vinegar may bother you, especially if your house or property has poor ventilation. You can mask the strong smell of vinegar by adding a few drops of essential oil into your vinegar and water mixture. Lemon-scented essential oil is ideal as it helps in cutting grease, which is especially useful when cleaning such areas as the kitchen.
Vinegar is not only effective in cleaning the floor and most areas of the house but is also an effective disinfectant. Since it is natural, it is also safe to use around pets and children.
How can you avoid damaging hardwood floors when cleaning them?
Over-enthusiastic cleaning may damage your floor. There are important things you should keep in mind when cleaning hardwood floors, which include the following:
Keep your floor dry.
As soon as you spill liquid on your floor, make sure to immediately clean it with a mop or a dry rag. If you ignore it, the wood may soak it up and that liquid may cause damage to the floor.
Do not drag heavy objects across it.
Make sure to use materials that are meant for wooden floors. Do not use equipment that is made for tough flooring materials. Avoid using brooms that are meant for other areas such as the garage as the bristles may scratch the surface of the floor.
Be sure to use the proper cleaning product.
Do not use anything that may cause damage to the floor or may endanger people walking on the floor. For instance, paste wax only makes the floor slippery and dangerous. Also, using acrylic polishes only causes the floor to look dull. You can maintain the shiny surface of the floor by simply removing the grime that may have stuck onto it.
Make sure to take note of areas in your house where flooding may occur.
Water that is left standing because you fail to notice that minor flooding occurred in that area of your property may soak into the floorboards. It can cause moisture in the wood and damage it over time.
Do not steam clean your floor.
It is highly advisable not to steam clean wooden floors. While tile, vinyl, and linoleum may benefit from steam cleaning, wood will not. Again, the steam may create droplets of water that can soak into the spaces between the floor planks or tiny tears in the finish that may appear due to the wood shrinking and expanding with the weather. If these droplets of water collect, it may damage the wood over time.
What are the top brands of wood floor cleaners?
You can also use products that are specially manufacture for wooden floors. This year, the following products have been ranked as the top five brands of wood floor cleaners:
Bona
Floors that are often left with oil spills and shoe marks can easily be clean using this product. It comes with its own cleaning pad but you can also use any plain microfiber mop or purchase a Bona Spray Mop with a pre-filled cartridge that snaps onto the mop.
Murphy Oil Soap
This is among the most affordable among the top brands of wood floor cleaners. It is concentrate and will, thus, last for a long time. It easily erases scuff marks and it is effective in cleaning sticky soil.
Pledge
This product is among the most common brands of wood floor cleaners. It is effective in dissolving soil and using it requires less scrubbing. It comes in a very sensible bottle that can squeez onto the floor, making it very useful when cleaning big areas.
Black Diamond
This is very easy to apply with its trigger-style bottle.
Versatile enough that it can use on both hardwood and laminate flooring material.
Easily removes scuff marks with only a few passes.
Handy when spot cleaning as you can simply spray it on a scuff mark and then wipe it off.
Swiffer
This product is also known as a Wet Jet Mop Wood Floor Starter Kit. It dispenses cleaning products on the floor using a battery-operated mop. It then uses textured pads that have a scrubby strip in order to dissolve soil. You can discard the pads after use so you will not need to store a dirty mop that can collect germs. This cleaning equipment has lights on the mop head that helps greatly in cleaning under the furniture.
