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People all love the look and feel of wood floors. One of the more beautiful looking wooden floors that you can have in your home is that of hardwood. However, they would be surprised to see how using the correct cleaning supplies makes cleaning wood floors a quick and simple chore.There are various ways that you can ensure that your hardwood floor care is completely covered.
Before starting to clean, you should gather all the equipment you will need. This may include a broom or dust mop, a dustpan, floor wax, a cloth, and a buffer machine with pads.
Clear the floor of movable furniture or other items. Sweep or dust-mop the area. By removing all loose dirt before waxing, you are preventing dirty wax buildup. Do not use water to clean the floors. Water on wood floors can damage the wood and cause wax to turn milky white. If you have a white spot caused by water, you can remove it by rubbing a small amount of mineral spirits into the spot with a fine (#000) steel wool.
You should also be careful not to over-treat mops because the chemical on the mop head will transfer to the floor. This can create a haze or dulling effect and may even destroy the finish. Mop heads come in a variety of natural or synthetic fibers. If you think there is too much chemical on the mop head, soak it in water for 30 minutes before using it. It also helps to soak new mop heads to get rid of any sizing chemicals they have.
It’s important to educate yourself about the type of wood used for you hardwood floors. Different types of wood have different properties and can stand up to different levels of abuse. Softer woods like cherry wood more prone to dents and scratches than harder woods like oak. If you have a soft wood in your house, be sure to take extra caution to protect it.
If you are not accustom to hardwood floors, you may unknowingly do things which will damage and scratch your floors. Simple things such as moving pieces of furniture by scooting them across the floor can leave deep scratches. Most pieces of furniture do not come with felt or plastic end protectors on their legs. You may attach these to your furniture easily yourself, by purchasing plastic cabs from your local home improvement store or felt from a craft shop. If you do not place protectors on your furniture legs, be sure to lift your furniture as opposed to sliding it. If you have hardwood floors in your dining room, do not forget to put protectors on the bottom of your chair legs.
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