Caring for hardwood flooring after cleaning

Tips maintaining hardwood flooring

So you’ve properly cleaned your decadent hardwood flooring, but how do you keep it clean and well-preserved over time? It’s inevitable that overtime, your hardwood floors will begin to fade – luckily not as fast as carpet, but still. The one good thing about wooden flooring is that keeping it looking good can be maintained with minimal effort, it’s all just reliant on proper care.

LET’S START OFF WITH THE BASICS:

Your hardwood floors should be cleaned on a regular basis so there isn’t any dirt or dust that will begin to build up in between the floorboards.
Never use a wet mop – water is woods worst enemy because it will dull the finish. Instead, make sure you use a duster, or a vacuum.
Don’t let any spills sit. Wipe them up as soon as they happen.
Don’t let your kids disrespect the wood by walking on it with their cleats or high heel shoes.
Use rugs in the high traffic areas to help save the wood flooring from taking a harsh beating.

General Wooden Floor Maintenance

The first thing you should know in terms of hardwood floor maintenance is to determine what kind of finish was used on the wood. If you had the flooring installed and provided by custom flooring professionals, they should provide you with this information to guarantee the longevity of your investment. It’s not like there are millions of different types of finishes to choose from – the three most used are: Wax – Surface Finishes – Acrylic.

If you have a surface finish, you want to use cleaning products that are suggested by those who manufactured the flooring. In the event that they don’t recall your account, invest in a generic wooden floor cleaner, but never use wax. Wax only damages wood flooring with a surface finish.

For those whose wooden flooring has a wax finish, there are cleaning products available for this specific type of finish – all it takes is a little bit of time and reading to find the best one.

In the event that you have an acrylic finish on your floors, all you’ll need to do is a little bit of buffing. Acrylic impregnated finishes on wooden flooring are extremely durable and give the wood a protective shell. Just make sure to clean it regularly.