There’s a certain charm about wood floors — they add warmth a unique look to any home. However, foot traffic brings in grime and dirt, which ultimately makes the floor look old and worn. So, how should you clean your wood floor to bring back its original gleam?
To clean your wood floors, sweep regularly with a soft-bristled broom and vacuum on the hard floor setting to remove the dirt, debris, grime, grit, and pet hair. For a deeper clean, mop using a specialized hardwood floor cleaner. Avoid using harsh chemicals such as undiluted vinegar and bleach.
If you’re new to wood flooring, the good news is that it’s pretty easy to care for if you use the right tips and techniques. Let’s take a look at the best products you can use to clean wood floors and how you can properly prep the floor for cleaning before going through the process.
What Are the Best Products for Cleaning Wood Floors?
The products and tools you need for cleaning can vary quite a lot and even depend on the kind of wood floor you have (solid hardwood, engineered hardwood, laminate wood-look). But generally, you’ll need a soft-bristled broom to remove grit and crumbs from hardwood floors since it won’t scratch the floor.
Both rubber and nylon bristles work fine since they’re static-charged, which means they can easily grab the particles. When you’re done cleaning, you can use a hand vacuum or dustpan to collect the accumulated dirt.
For mopping, you can use a microfiber mop head (on Amazon) since it attracts dust better than sponge or cotton maps. Plus, it’s easy to wash and clean.
You can also use a vacuum to clean hardwood floors, but make sure you choose one with a retractable beater bar and soft-bristle rollers to avoid scratching. And to get rid of the dust in corners, use the upholstery attachment.
In addition to these products, you also need either a homemade or commercial wood floor cleaner (on Amazon), paper towels, and water.
How to Prep Your Floors for Cleaning
Before you go ahead with cleaning, you first need to determine the kind of flooring you have. Solid hardwood, engineered hardwood, and laminate flooring look quite similar, but how you care for laminate wood-look floors differs from how you care for engineered or solid hardwood.
While you can use the same cleaning regimen for both engineered and solid hardwood flooring, you should never use hardwood cleaners on laminate since the waxes and oil present in them can dull the surface.
The second thing you need to do is make a hardwood floor cleaning solution or get a commercial one. Wood floors are usually sealed with polyacrylic urethane or polyurethane, which means you should choose a floor cleaner that’ll brighten the sealant and won’t cause any streaks.
Remember that you should never use harsh chemicals such as undiluted vinegar, pine oil, ammonia, or chlorine bleach. Instead, choose a product specially made for sealed wood floors. Make sure you don’t apply paste or liquid wax over wood floors sealed with polyurethane.
What Are the Most Effective Cleaning Methods?
You can sweep, vacuum, and mop your hardwood floors to clean them. Whether you have floors made of bamboo, pine, oak, or some other wood, the methods to clean them all are quite similar. Just make sure that you check if there are any specific manufacturer-provided instructions for your floor.
Vacuuming and Sweeping
The very first thing you need to do is remove the debris, dirt, dust, or pet hair that can scratch the floor and dull its surface. Both vacuuming and sweeping work well for hardwood floors, regardless of the kind of wood. Plus, it’s important that you adopt a daily routine to keep the floors clean.
Use a hardwood floor mop or a broom to clean the floors. You can use a dusting agent with a microfiber dust mop to get rid of the dirt and dust while preventing scratches. Also, remember to vacuum the floor at least once a week.
Put the vacuum on the hard floor setting, which raises the cleaner and deactivates the brush roll. As a result, it only uses suction to clean the dust. Avoid using the beater bar attachment since it can damage the surface.
Keep in mind that you should switch off the brush roll when vacuuming hardwood floors since it can scratch the floors. Also, try to go for models with rubber wheels instead of hard plastic wheels since they’re less likely to cause scratches.
Mopping
Since heavily used areas will accumulate more dust, it’s important that you clean them more often. Plus, a simple sweeping won’t get rid of the grime and dirt built up over time.
That’s why you’ll need to use a liquid cleaner periodically. You can use a hardwood floor cleaner and a flat mop to clean wood floors or make your own cleaner, but make sure you go through the manufacturer’s instructions first.
When mopping, make sure you squeeze as much water out of the mop as possible so that it’s not sopping wet; it should just be damp. Rinse out the mop when you feel that it’s necessary. Try not to leave any standing water on the wood floor since it can cause damage, especially on pre-finished hardwood floors. Wipe the excess water (if any) using a clean, dry towel.
You can also use disposable wet pads and spray-and-mop products that are safe to use on hardwood floors. And unless you have a steam mop specially designed for hardwood floors, avoid steam cleaning. This is because steam can not only dull the finish, but also cause damage.
When mopping, never use DIY floor cleaners that contain vinegar since it can damage the finish. Similarly, avoid using any harsh detergent that can dull the surface, as well as tile cleaners or vinyl floor cleaners on hardwood floors.
Additional Tips to Keep in Mind
- You can use two teabags and boiling water to clean the floors. The tannic acid in the tea results in a beautiful shine. Simply soak a soft cloth in the tea, wring it out so that it’s just damp, and wipe the floor with it to get a nice sheen.
- Make sure you deal with wet spills that can cause water rings or dry messes as quickly as possible. This is particularly important for dark-colored liquids, foods, and mud.
- If your home is supplied with hard water, make sure you use distilled water to dampen the mop. The extra minerals present in the hard water can cause the wood’s finish to become dull.
- Always wipe in the direction of the grain to avoid streaking.
- Let the wood dry out completely before walking on it to prevent spotting.
- When using a commercial floor cleaner, try to use one with a spray applicator. An excessive amount can cause the floors to become sticky and attract dirt.
How Do You Remove Stains From Wood Floors?
To remove stains from wood floors, you can use a commercial hardwood spot cleaner (on Amazon). You can also use hydrogen peroxide, which has bleaching properties. Soak a cloth in it and put it over the stain for 6-8 hours. Once the time is up, the stain should be gone.