Adopting the right approach to cleaning your hardwood floors isn’t maybe something you think about too much, but it’s an all-important part of preserving your flooring investment and keeping it looking its best.
In many ways, cleaning hardwood floors couldn’t be easier, but there are a few simple steps which are important to follow. Following these steps will mean that your hardwood floor not only stays looking better for longer, it’ll last longer too. So, by sticking to the best cleaning method for your hardwood floor right from the beginning, you’ll not just be doing “the necessary”, you’ll be preserving your investment at the same time.
Before you start cleaning your hardwood floor, make sure you vacuum the floor or go over it with a soft brush to lift up any dust particles, which are sitting on the surface. Dust particles can act as an abrasive on your wooden floor and will effectively dull the surface as well as risking damage if left hanging around too long. Ideally, you should aim to make it part of your routine to vacuum or sweep your hardwood floor at least once a week.
When it comes to cleaning itself, the best tool to do the job is a damp (not wet) mop. One of the Top Tips we’d recommend here is to use a diffuser spray to apply a mist of water to the mop rather than submerging it in a bucket of water. Applying water to your mop this way means that you’re certain never to add so much water that your floor will become over-soaked during the mopping process.
In the ideal world, you’ll use a specialist wood flooring cleaning product to clean your floor, because the end result will be so much better. Specialist wood flooring cleaners, because they’ve been designed to do the job to the very best standard, mean that you won’t get streaking and you don’t risk damaging your floor due to inadvertently choosing the wrong product. However, if you prefer to stick to a household detergent to clean your hardwood floor, it’s really important that you make sure it’s a non-bleach, non-abrasive detergent and always be certain to mix it with a generous amount of water.
Once you’ve gathered together your cleaning agent, your mop and your mist spray, set to work along the boards, always going with the grain as you clean. Working this way will not only make your job easier, it’ll also reduce the risk of streaking once the floor has dried.