Cleaning Hardwood Floors

Hardwood flooring is stunning–and expensive.  If you have hardwood floors in your home, you will want to follow these simple tips to protect your investment and keep it looking good for as long as possible.

When cleaning hardwood floors, sometimes prevention is the best policy.  Placing door mats at entryways and in high-traffic areas like kitchens can help protect your floor from scratches and water damage.  There are rubber-backed floor mats that are made just for hardwood — they are nonskid and come in designs and colors to match any home decorating style.

In addition, make sure you have window treatments to protect your floors from fade-out over time.  Also, remember to use skid pads or a blanket underneath any furniture that you are moving to avoid scratches and gouges in the wood.  In fact, it is a good idea to use protectors on furniture legs to avoid marks from day to day wear as well.

Cleaning your hardwood floors often will minimize damage and help maintain the floor’s beauty longer.  First, purchase a good quality broom and sweep often to remove debris and dirt that can scratch your floor’s finish.  Alternately, you can use a vacuum without a beater bar to finish more quickly or to get hard-to-reach places with the hose attachments.

Most hardwood floors are easy to care for, which means all you have to do next is to mop using a 8″ x 14″ terrycloth mop.  Get one with a rotating head to make cleaning along baseboards and in corners a breeze.  If you have tough spills or stains, be sure to use whatever professional cleaning products were recommended for use with your floor.  This will help remove stubborn stains without dulling your floor.

One cautionary note: when cleaning hardwood floors, don’t use ammonia cleaners or oil soaps — they will dull the finish and make it difficult to reseal the floor later, if it becomes necessary.