Cleaning and maintaining hardwood floors FAQs

The easiest and most common cleaning tip for hardwood flooring is to sweep, vacuum, and use a dry mop when cleaning your hardwood floors. Mopping your floor with a lot of water is not advisable because this can lead to water and moisture buildup.

The following products should not be used on your floor:

• Detergents, oils, waxes, polishes, bleach, scouring agents
• ‘All-in-one floor cleaners’
• Oil soaps.

Never use wax, oil soap or other household cleaners on your hardwood floor. They can dull the finish and make refinishing more difficult.

Most hardwood floors are factory finished with an advanced polyurethane finish that is both durable and easy to care for. Sweep or vacuum the floor frequently to remove loose dust and grit. Regular sweeping or vacuuming will help keep harmful particles off the floors. Day-to-day wear will dull the floor as dirt and oils get into the surface. To clean these away, use a cleaning solution specially formulated for hardwood floors.

To keep floors in good condition, it is recommended that they are cleaned and refreshed every 6 to 12 months or 3 to 5 years, depending on the traffic and the severity of any damage. Never walk on floors when it is being installed or cleaned. Allow a drying time of at least one to two hours before walking on it. It is best to allow 24 hours for drying to allow the floor to cure properly.

Sweep or dust and mop wood floors daily, especially in entryways and other areas prone to heavy traffic. And use vinegar and water, if necessary, to make the floors shine. The best solution for cleaning wood floors is one cup of vinegar mixed with one gallon of water.

Make a wet paste of baking soda and white vinegar, apply this liberally to the stain, and let it stand until it is completely dry. Wipe up and you will see the black stains disappear in time.

The best way to clean a hardwood surface is by sucking the dirt up using a vacuum cleaner. Some vacuum cleaners allow you to raise the floor cleaner attachment a few inches off the ground. When picking a vacuum cleaner, one should consider its versatility, rubber heels and suction power for hardwood floors. The Miele Complete C2 Hardfloor and Bissell Hard Floor Expert Multi-Cyclonic 1547 are perfect in this regard.

Sweep away loose dirt, dust, and other debris, and mop the floor with warm water to remove any grime or residues from the wood’s surface. Pour a small amount of mineral spirits and wipe off the wax.

Use a dull butter knife or credit card to gently scrape dried paint off your wood floor and apply a small dab of denatured alcohol for paint stains.

Get a bottle of enzyme-based floor cleaner from your pet store and mop off any stain. Protect the wood to prevent this from reoccurring.

• Sanding your hardwood floors takes three sessions with progressively lighter grit sandpaper.
• The first step is to completely clean the surface of the floor. It should be swept or vacuumed to thoroughly remove any dust or debris that may be present.
• Once you have completed using the power tools to sand the floor, you can work on any areas that remain using medium grade sandpaper.
• In some cases, you may choose to paint your refinished hardwood flooring. This will completely remove the look of the wood, replacing it with whatever color you choose.
• You need to apply a treatment that can help to protect it from further damage so that you can maintain the brand-new look of the surface for as long as possible.
• Polyurethane is a toxic substance and should only be applied in well-ventilated areas with the proper eye, hand, and breathing equipment.
• Vanish is needed as it is less thick, and so that spot repairs can be more easily made when future damage occurs.
• Sealer is then needed and provides the least protection – it may need to be reapplied every 6-12 months depending on traffic use.
• Make sure that whatever you use is applied in a thin even coat, with no puddles or drips to affect the finished look.

These finishes can be sanded down and then reapplied in areas to create a matched appearance.

For light scratches, rub fine steel over the scratch. Be sure to rub the steel wool along the grain of the wood or you will have more scratches to repair. For deeper scratches, use lightweight sandpaper. Be sure to sand along the grain of the wood.

To buff a wood floor successfully, you will need to rent or purchase a stand-up floor-buffing machine. Refinishing hardwood floors helps to preserve the wood and make the boards shine again.

Repair minor scratches in the floor’s protective coating with floor cleaner and protective finish. Simply clean the scratch with a damp cloth dipped in hardwood floor cleaner. Rub the cleaner over the scratched area.

You will need to stop that friction that causes squeaks by driving short screws from the underside of the subfloor into the bottom of the finished flooring.

This can be done by a:

• Wooden strip knocked down between the floorboards
• Caulk or filler used to build up layers until the gap is filled
• Pushing Draught Ex down into the gaps in the floor
• Stop the gap with floorboard gap filler

Usually, engineered hardwood flooring is ¾ inches thick or sometimes more. With this thickness, it is safe to refinish them up to 4-6 times.