how to clean hardwood floors

Owning hardwood floors can be a joy, as they add beauty to the home, and with proper care, they can look amazing for years on end. Though it might seem simple to care for them, there are many things a homeowner has to know about how to clean hardwood floors in order to extend their life and keep them looking great. They need to be treated with care and they should always remain as dry as possible. This protects the integrity of the floor and cuts down on maintenance.

For the most part, hardwood floors should be dry cleaned. By this I mean that they should be swept with a soft brush broom or with a sweeper that will not dent or leave marks on the wood. Dragging heavy vacuums across them is not a good idea. When thinking about how to clean hardwood floors, it is also important to know the floors are unfinished or not. When they are unfinished, they should be treated with even more care. A vacuum could easily cause damage.

Though sweeping is always good, there are times when more needs to be done. A dry mop with a very light spritz of furniture polish might be a good idea. It is a good idea to use just enough to attract dust without using enough to put the polish on the floor. Finished hardwood will be okay with this, but use very light amounts when dealing with unfinished flooring. Even with this care, there are times when someone needs to know how to clean hardwood floors when it is obvious a more thorough cleaning is needed.

When it is apparently that there is a build up on the floor, or that there is stuff that only water can pick up, there are other things that can be done. If you ask anyone who deals in flooring how to clean hardwood floors, they will recommended a cleaner made just for this type of flooring. When using this, follow the instructions carefully so the floor is protected. It is quite often recommended that hardwoods only be wet mopped when absolutely necessary, and even when this is done, it is important to dry them immediately so the water does not have a chance to sink into the wood. When water seeps between the boards, they tend to swell and this an cause lasting damage that can only be fixed by replacing the floor.