Many homeowners choose hardwood floors because of their beauty and don’t necessarily know the proper ways to clean and maintain the finish and materials of the floor.  As opposed to carpet, cleaning wood floors or even laminate flooring is much simpler and less time consuming.  However, proper tools, solutions, and techniques need to be followed in order to protect the floors and to keep them looking good.  Wood floors require frequent dusting and sweeping to make sure debris does not have an opportunity to scratch or stain the floors.  Special wood floor cleaning products are not that expensive to purchase and they are specifically blended with mild detergents that will not harm the finish on the floors.  Mops, brooms, and dusters are tools typically needed for the cleaning and maintaining of any type of flooring.

There is not exact schedule for cleaning hardwood surfaces.  You should however, create a schedule that works for your and your family.  Wood flooring appears clean even when they really aren’t so it is highly important to clean them periodically even if you feel they don’t need it.  White vinegar can be used in replacement for cleaning solutions but it needs to be diluted in water.  One half cup of vinegar is sufficient for every one gallon of warm.  Warm water works best for hardwoods because it dries faster.  You do not want puddles of water sitting on your floors for a long period of time because it could cause stains.  Make sure your mop is fairly dry to begin with and never mop unless you have already dusted the floors because the mop will move the debris around resulting in a better change of damaging the finish and wood.

Drying the floors can be done with a dry mop or towel depending on your preference.  Depending on the specific finish of your floors, drying may not be needed especially if they weren’t very wet to begin with.  Vacuuming is not recommended for wood finished floors because there is change that it could also push debris around and cause damage.  If maintenance is needed, replacing a piece of wood floor is fairly simple but should be done by a professional or someone who is familiar with installation of wood flooring.  Refinishing of wood floors should also be done by a professional because it requires specific techniques and solutions.  The internet is a great place to look up information about cleaning and maintenance of flooring.  Each type of finish has its own procedures that should be followed fully in order to lengthen the life of your wood floors.  Floors that are kept clean have fewer problems and should last your family a long time.

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