How to Clean Hardwood Floors (and Make them Shine) | Real Estate

Regardless of whether your property arrived with hardwood flooring or you upgraded to them right after transferring in, hardwood is an financial investment well worth safeguarding. And to that finish, it is important to know how to properly thoroughly clean and retain hardwood flooring. Here’s how to hold your hardwood floors in top rated form for decades to occur.

Just before you implement any form of cleaning alternative to your hardwood flooring, it’s a great thought to very first run a vacuum about them to eliminate grime and debris. If your vacuum has a “hardwood floor” environment, that is the a single you are going to want to use. You can also sweep your flooring prior to cleaning them if you’re not at ease utilizing a vacuum, but many vacuum cleaners are rated for hardwood flooring and are developed not to bring about problems.

Hardwood flooring want to be dealt with thoroughly so they manage their framework and finish, so it is critical to use the right cleansing products and solutions. Stefan Bucur, founder and proprietor at home design organization Rhythm of the Home in Lewisville, Texas, states, “1 big slip-up house owners make is utilizing vinegar or acidic dependent answers. The acid in the vinegar can consume away at the floor complete, creating it deteriorate more quickly.”

Jeremy Henley, founder and CEO of serious estate know-how corporation TheQwikFix in Carlsbad, California, agrees. “Choose for a gentle, pH-neutral cleaner precisely built for hardwood flooring,” he suggests. “These cleaners are formulated to clear away grime and grime without the need of harming the wood.”

There are wood-cleansing solutions you can purchase that never incorporate harsh chemical compounds or acidic alternatives, and you can come across them at your area home improvement shop. But if you’d instead make your possess remedy, you can use a mixture of biodegradable cleaning soap or castile cleaning soap and water. Frequently, you can want to use a tiny amount of cleaning soap – as minimal as a single teaspoon – combined with quite a few cups of h2o.

No make any difference what remedy you use, if you’re putting a new solution to work (possibly 1 you have acquired or built yourself), it is a excellent concept to take a look at it out on a tiny patch of flooring that isn’t very seen. You can, for example, exam an spot of hardwood under a piece of household furniture and make certain you like the success ahead of using that item all over your household.

In addition to using the correct solution, it’s vital to use the proper equipment when cleansing your flooring. The most effective possibility for cleaning hardwood is a microfiber mop or cloth, suggests Bucur.

At the time you’ve located the suitable cleaning remedy to use on your hardwood floors, you’ll want to be mindful not to utilize as well significantly of it. As a normal rule, if your flooring are comprehensively soaked, you have gone overboard.

“(Oversaturating) can cause undesirable h2o destruction to prefinished hardwood flooring, and can lead to the infamous wooden warping and enlargement outcome wherever your picket planks extend and bend out of their place,” claims Bucur.

You don’t have to use a sealant every time you cleanse your hardwood floors. In actuality, you especially should not do that. But you really should aim to seal floors each and every few decades to enable them avoid damage and look their best.

“A sealant coupled with a hardwood finish can make your picket floors shine and seem brand new, and it is the default alternative for most householders who want to deliver their hardwood flooring back to lifetime without the need of paying as well a lot money,” claims Bucur.

You may make a decision to clean up your hardwood flooring as soon as a 7 days or at the time just about every other week. But really, sweeping and dusting each other day or so will make them a lot easier to clean up and maintain.

“One particular of the easiest and most efficient ways to continue to keep your hardwood floors looking clean up and shiny is to dust and sweep them consistently. This will support to take away dirt, dust and other particles that can scratch and uninteresting the area of your flooring,” says Henley. “Use a comfortable, dry fabric or a dust mop to carefully sweep the ground, and make sure to get into corners and crevices.”

It is critical to use the suitable cleaning answer for your hardwood flooring so they don’t sustain harm. But there are other techniques you can get together these lines.

Henley advises to prevent walking on hardwood flooring with higher heels that have the potential to bring about chips or dents. He also suggests applying felt pads under furniture legs to reduce holes and scratching.

Positioning rugs in substantial-targeted traffic areas of your property could also assist your hardwood floors last more time by stopping wear and tear. Additionally, rugs are a wonderful way to increase some texture to your inside and spruce it up.

“With a minimal little bit of regular treatment and consideration, your hardwood floors will continue to be a beautiful and timeless function of your home,” suggests Henley.