When walking around your house you may realize that you don’t clean your hardwood floors with more than a cursory sweep. Although this is alright to help maintain your floors, the floor still needs more. So what should you do?
Prep
- Sweep- make sure that all the dust and dirt is swept up
- Vacuum- Most vacuums have a “hard floor” setting. Using this will prevent the vacuum’s brush from scratching the wood
- This step should be done daily to weekly depending on how much the floors get used
Mop
- Make sure that when mopping, the mop is damp but not spilling water all over
- You can use a sponge or damp cloth if the area of wood isn’t too large
- Make sure that any cleaners used are specifically for wooden floors
- Mopping only really needs to be done every couple weeks or after an event
Restoring
- There are many products that can help conceal scratches or divots in the wood
- Apply any wax with the grain of the wood for the best results
- When looking at restoring, make sure you know what products you are using, how to apply them, and maintain them
- Restoring only needs to be done when something seriously damages the floor or around every 3 years
Maintaining
- Putting felt pads under furniture can help the floors from getting scratched
- Laying down a rug can not only add to the room but also protect the wood
- Wood can still stain, cleaning up spills quickly can help prevent this
- Using doormats can help remove rocks and dirt from shoes that could potentially scratch your hardwood floors
