After virtually every hardwood flooring installation or refinishing, we’re asked the question, “What’s the best way to clean my hardwood floors?” Our most common answer is, “Less is more.” Of course we do want to help you keep your hardwood flooring beautiful for as long as possible so here are our recommendations.
Step 1:
Before using any cleaning product, you want to remove any dust or debris on your flooring. The best method is to use a very soft bristle brush or your vacuum attachment with the soft bristle. Using your vacuum like you would on a rug isn’t recommended as the beater bar may scratch your newly finished flooring. Old fashion dust mops and Swiffer dry clothes are another good option to remove the dust from your wood floors.
Step 2:
Damp mop your floors to remove dirt. The word damp is key here. Water is bad for wood flooring and no matter how new or well finished your hardwood flooring is you don’t want to use more water than necessary. Whatever mop you choose, make sure that you can thoroughly ring it out before using it on the floors.
Your cleaning solution should be water based. Never use any oil based cleaning product for your hardwood floors. Oil based products can leave a residue on your flooring and like furniture sprays and wax based products it can cause your flooring to become slippery. Those should be avoided as well. Also don’t use straight ammonia or other highly alkaline products as they will dull the finish. It should go without saying that things like Comet and Ajax can scratch the floors so avoid those as well.
Two good options are regular dish washing liquid and Murphy’s Oil Soap (no it isn’t oil based). You want to use something to cut the dirt and grease from your flooring. Both plain water or water with vinegar can dull your flooring because the dirt is simply moved around.
Step 3:
Immediately after fishing, look around for standing water and wipe it up with a soft dry cloth. Again, standing water is not good for your hardwood floors. Also turn on ceiling fans or air conditioning if it’s humid out to aid in the drying of the floors.
We hope that this has helped you with your hardwood floor cleaning dilemma. If you have wood floor damage and need a professional flooring company to repair water damage, Seer Flooring can help. Give us a call at 727-785-1930.