It may seem like hardwood floors are way too pretentious when it comes to maintenance and cleaning and you just cannot be bothered dealing with all the requirements and recommendations. It only looks that way! In fact, hardwood floors do need some specific cleaning and maintenance routine and following the manufacturer and expert’s recommendations will help you understand better the needs of your floor. However, the required cleaning and maintenance routine is not that complex and pretentious at all!
At least not more pretentious than dealing with any other type of flooring really! On the other hand, by providing them with the proper maintenance (which, once again, is not time- and energy-consuming at all!), a hardwood floor will pay back with a flawless look and condition for the rest of your life. Well yes, it is really that simple! Overall, wood floors are great for those of you (all of you) that look at cleaning as a necessity that should be done, but that can also be procrastinated a few days more. It is all because wood remains looking and feeling great, even when not being cleaned on a daily basis!
Still, you have to clean your wood floor, and any other floor really, on a daily basis. Normally vacuuming is just enough for removing the daily traces of everyday life and a messy family, but do you really know how to vacuum properly? Oh, well, there is really a correct way to vacuum, let’s see:
Vacuum beater bars are bad, really bad. This is the rotating brush on the bottom of your vacuum machine. And it is bad because it has hard bristles that will most probably leave some scratches on the surface of the floor, especially if its finish is worn and aged. So, beater bars are great for carpets to fluff them up and remove all the hairs and debris, but please don’t use them for hardwood.
Ban the bar and choose a lightweight vacuuming machine that won’t leave scratches and dents on the surface of your hardwood floor. Otherwise, you can go further in your maintenance enthusiasm and choose a vacuum with a hardwood mode.
Choose a vacuuming machine with rubber wheels. Otherwise, you risk the heavy machine leaving scratches on the surface while moving around the room. Rubber wheels are gentler than hard plastic wheels. Forget about vacuums with no wheels, otherwise, you will scratch away the finish on the surface with every pass and turn.
Alternatively to vacuuming, a damp mop is always a good idea. Simply make sure that your mop is entirely clean and all the excess water is removed, because, as you know, moisture is among the biggest enemies of wood! A damp mop is very good at removing all the dust and dirt as well as accidental spills and stains. Consider drying the floor with a towel after mopping it. You can also use some of the exclusively designed for wood floor cleaning products. Simply make sure to choose products with neutral, or close to neutral pH.
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