Here’s Exactly How To Maintain Wood Floors
They’ll guarantee a “wow” moment every single time you walk in the door.
Every season brings new problems for your hardwood floors. Winter comes with snow, ice, and salt, spring brings rain and dirt, summer adds on chlorine and salt water, and fall brings more dirt and leaves. Despite all the upkeep, though, wood floors are simply too stunning to skip. This is exactly what your hardwood floor maintenance routine should look like, according to the National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA). Yes, they exist, and you had better listen to their advice if you want to maintain your floors for years to come.
Clean Spills Immediately
Use a dry or slightly damp cloth to immediately wipe up anything you spill, avoiding wet or steam mops, which the NWFA says will cause more damage over time. Because wood swells and shrinks depending on moisture, both on it and in the air, it is important to keep humidity levels down to avoid cupping, splitting, and gapping of the wood. The best way to prevent these issues are to clean up spills as soon as they occur, to keep your home’s temperature between 60 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit (also between 30 to 50 percent humidity), and ban wet shoes from the house. They’re kinda gross, anyway.
Use Furniture Pads
Scratches are some of the toughest problems to solve in wood floors. While some scratches are inevitable, others are definitely preventable. One of the best ways to prevent them is to add furniture pads to the legs of your chairs, sofas, tables, etc.
How to Remove Stains on Hardwood Floors
Consider your flooring’s finish before trying to remove a stain from wood floors. If the stain is on the surface, your floor probably has a hard finish, such as urethane. If the finish stain has penetrated through to the wood, the floor probably has a soft oiled finish, common in older homes whose floors have not been refinished and resealed. For floors with a hard finish, wipe surface stains with a soft, clean cloth. Never use sandpaper, steel wool, or harsh chemicals because they can permanently damage the finish.
The following remedies are for hardwood floors with soft oiled finishes. If needed, end each treatment by staining the wood, then waxing and buffing the spot to match the rest of the floor.
- Remove dark spots and pet stains: Rub the spot with No. 000 steel wool and floor wax. If the area is still dark, apply bleach or vinegar and allow it to soak into the wood for about an hour. Rinse with a damp cloth.
- Remove heel marks: Use fine steel wool to rub in floor wax.
- Remove oil-based stains: Rub the area with a soft cloth and dish detergent to break down the grease. Rinse with clear water. If one application doesn’t work, repeat the procedure. Keep children and pets out of the room until you’re done. Let the spot dry, then smooth the raised grain with fine sandpaper.
- Remove watermarks or white stains: Rub the spot with No. 000 steel wool and floor wax. If the stain goes deeper, lightly sand the floor and clean with fine steel wool and odorless mineral spirits.
Hardwood Flooring Care and Maintenance
Let your floor’s natural beauty shine through. Shaw’s ScufResist™ hardwood floor finish provides superior resistance to everyday wear and easy, no-wax maintenance. To keep your floor looking like new, follow these simple care steps.
Routine Hardwood Cleaning
Dos
- Use a soft cloth to blot spills and spots as soon as they happen. Always avoid allowing liquids to stand on your hardwood floor.
- Sweep, dust or vacuum the floor regularly. If vacuuming, use a hard floor attachment to avoid scratching or dulling your floor’s finish
- Clean the floor with Shaw Floors Hard Surface Cleaner, specially formulated to wipe away dirt and soil without damaging your floor’s finish.
Don’ts
- Don’t use oil-based, wax, polish or strong ammoniated products, which can dull your floor’s finish.
- Don’t use steel wool, scouring powders or other abrasive cleaners, which can scratch or damage your floor’s finish.
- Don’t wash or wet-mop the floor with soap, water, oil-soap detergent, or any other liquid cleaning material. This could cause swelling, warping, delamination and joint-line separation, and void the warranty.
- Don’t use any type of buffing machine.
How to Clean Hardwood Floors
Love good-looking floors and want to refresh yourself on the best way to clean hardwood floors? Trust the Bona floor care experts to help you care for wood floors.
Daily Schedule – Dust/Sweep
Giving your floors a good dusting with a microfiber mop or cloth will be your best daily defense against scratches and surface damage. Microfiber cleaning pads often use static electricity to trap dirt, particles, and other household allergens. Using a broom is okay, but it only pushes the dirt around. When you want to best clean hardwood floors without damaging them, avoid lifting your microfiber mop up off the floor when you clean—this way you keep the dirt trapped on the pad.
Weekly Schedule – Vacuum/Mop
Weekly maintenance will deal with hard to reach areas. Vacuums and wet mops are ideal for getting dirt out of trouble areas like corners and the spaces between hardwood. However, using vacuums and mops come with extra caution. If your vacuum has a beater bar, make sure it doesn’t hit the floor. Also, the wheels on a vacuum might damage the floor. If you’re using a mop, remember that water and wood don’t mix! Avoid excess liquid on your floor. Lightly misting your floor with a natural hardwood floor cleaner is the best way to clean hardwood floors.
Monthly Schedule – Polish
Adding a polish routine is another best practice for cleaning wood floors. Polishing floors renews and refreshes the finish that protects hardwood. Polishing your hardwood floor fills in microscopic scratches and evens out a floor’s protective surface. Polishing hardwood floors is an easy way to add life, beauty and extra protection to your floors. Depending on the amount of traffic in your home, we recommend polishing the floors every 2-3 months with our Bona Hardwood Floor Polish.
Yearly Schedule – Sand and Finish
Consider refinishing your floors every 3-5 years. Refinishing your floors removes the old protective finish and replaces it. If your floor has some deep scratches or gouges, sanding and refinishing can repair this damage, leaving you with immaculately clean hardwood flooring.
Prevent and protect.
Our homes are full of people, pets and things that could potentially cause damage to hardwood floors. But don’t fret! These simple steps will help protect your floors and enjoy living with them at the same time.
- Don’t let spills sit. Wipe ’em up immediately. Though, if you want a little leeway, check out our Hydropel 36-hour water-resistant hardwood!
- Mats and rugs are a floor’s best friend. Stop dirt and moisture in its tracks, with a natural or colorfast mat at your exterior doors. Throw down breathable area rugs at the kitchen sink and other high-traffic areas. Avoid the ones with rubber or vinyl backings if possible—they can trap moisture.
- Trim your pet’s nails. The truth about cats and dogs is that their sharp nails can scratch floor finish. Keep them cut short.
- Use protectors on furniture legs. This will help reduce indentation. Choose wider ones for super heavy items. And please, never drag furniture!
- Leave your shoes at the door. Especially ones with spiky heels or treads that collect sharp pebbles and other debris.
- Minimize direct sunlight. Too much can fade all kinds of floors, including hardwood. Curtains help filter bright light.