The Right Ways To Clean Hardwood Floors
If you have hardwood floors in your home then you want them to stay looking as good as the day when they were installed. Although you could use expensive specialist-cleaning products these often contain chemicals, which in fact can prove to be harmful for your wooden floors. Below we look at some ways in which you can clean hardwood floors so that they retain the look and remain in a good condition.
When it comes to the best way of caring for the wooden floors you have in your home you first need to determine what finish has been applied to them. Many of the newer kinds of wooden floors that one can have installed will have been finished using a polyurethane sealant and all you need to do with these is sweep and then wipe with a damp mop. However, those wooden floors that have been treated using oils or a penetrating seal will need to be cleaned using a paste or liquid wax. This is also the same for floors, which are left untreated or have a shellacked, lacquered or varnished finish to them.
If you are looking for an effective and cheap way of cleaning your hardwood floors then you cannot go far wrong by mixing white vinegar with warm water. This particular cleaning solution not only helps to remove grease and odors from the floor but also mildew, stains (not all types) and any wax that has built up on its surface.
Although vinegar is proving to be effective for cleaning many types of hardwood floors some people who have oak floors or bamboo floors prefer to use other cleaning methods in order to care for theirs. Of all the kinds of wooden floors that one can get for the home today, oak ones are not only beautiful looking, but also very easy to maintain.
If you do have an oak floor and would like it to retain the same look as when it was first installed then it should be cleaned on a regular basis. Each week you should vacuum and then wipe over the surface of the floor with a damp mop using a very mild soap solution. But if your floor has been waxed then in order to help bring back the shine and remove scuff marks from the surface you will need to have it either buffed, by hand or arranging to hire a machine to do it.
However, if you happen to have had bamboo floors installed in your home then this needs to be cared for in a different way to other types of hardwood floors. Just as with oak ones, bamboo need to be regularly vacuumed and then wiped over with a damp mop. However, with this kind of floor you should not use any kind of cleaning products that contain either acids, caustic ingredients or oil in them, so it is advisable not to use a vinegar solution.
As mentioned, there are cleaning products, which you can purchase to care for your hardwood floors, and one of these is Murphy’s oil soap. Of all the cleaning products available for such floors, this one will not only help to care for your floor properly, but is effective at bringing back the shine on its surface.
In this article, we have looked at various ways in which you can clean hardwood floors. The method that you actually decide to use will really depend on the type of hardwood flooring that you have installed in your home as well as the kind of finish to its surface. So it is crucial that you take your time and carry out some research concerning different woods and their finishes if you want yours to remain in top condition.
