Make your Hardwood Flooring Gleam Forever!

Hardwood floors are believed to demand high maintenance tools and techniques that make them a cumbersome proposition for your interiors. This is the view that’s wrongly nurtured by many. However, by following these handy tips, you can easily keep your floor scratch-free and glossy.

Apart from laminate, tile, and carpeted floors, one of the most popular options for a fine underfoot feel is obviously high-quality hardwood flooring – possibly the most revered of all. If you are a lover of exquisite floors and require nothing but the very best in your immediate personal or work environment, then hardwood flooring is what you should opt for to gain a traditional yet contemporary look.

As an avid proponent of good interiors, you would also want to preserve your splendid floors as a treasured family heirloom for the next couple of generations. Somehow, this is your way of paying respect to the rows of oaks or maples that now beautify your home, albeit in the form of wooden floors. Or maybe, just maybe, you love shiny, glossy wooden floors and cannot bear to see them any different. Here are a few handy tips on how to maintain your floors for a long time.

1. Vacuum Clean your Floors Every Week

Under your naked feet, fine gritty dust particles are right like sandpaper, which will slowly but definitely scratch and wear out the wood finish. A thorough vacuuming protects the expensive finish of any hardwood flooring and keeps up its smooth appearance. The recommend vacuum cleaner attachment is a brush or one with a felt surface that glides along the floor. The ones with rotating brushes or a beater bar leave scratches running through the finish. Separate the beater bar from the upright position. And even if you don’t feel like vacuuming, using a dust mop or one of the more advanced microfiber sweepers works well too. Just go for these easy cleaning processes and see a marked difference in the ways in which your floors shine below your feet.

1. Avoid Substances like Hairspray and Furniture Polish.

Both these volatile substances can cloud and leave white stains on your hardwood floor. If somehow, you manage to spill any of them, mop them up at once with a damp towel. You can clean more thoroughly by using a window cleaner ( make sure it doesn’t contain any ammonia) later on.

1. Ward off the Rain.

Water destroys the hardwood finish, as well as seeps right into the wood and leaves unsightly stains under the finish. Prevention is better than cure, so, shut all windows and other sources of letting in excess moisture whenever you expect rain. Keep potted plants in sturdy trays and swiftly wipe away any stray drops of water that may have fallen in error. A little bit of care would go a long way in keeping your floors as good as new.

1. Use a No-wax Wood Floor Cleaner for Wiping Residue

Any spills like oil, gravy, and /or dirt should be dabbed and wiped right away. After doing that, use the cleaner to get rid of the spill. Use a dry microfiber mop or a cloth and clean gently in the direction of the wood grain. This way, you can be assured of getting the best look for your floors, without putting in too much effort.

1. Waxing

Sometimes your floor might be squeaky-clean but it fails to mirror the objects placed on it; in other words, it lacks that much-needed shine. This might just mean that the wood finish has lost its sheen and needs to be re-finished by professionals. However, you must always avoid waxing with a polyurethane finish, as it will spoil the natural look of your hardwood floor and leave it less glossy than before.

1. Adopt a No-Shoes-on-the-Floor Policy

If your space welcomes dirty, grimy shoes, it is taken for granted that there’ll be plenty of sand, dirt, and mud to clean up afterwards. With a wooden floor, these coarse particles are especially harsh and it’ll take hardly any time for the finish to be spoilt and become dull. To prevent dirt from settling in, clean the floors once or twice a day in high-traffic home areas, such as the kitchen or the dining hall.

1. Safe Carpeting Choices

If you want to go the extra mile of caution and cover your floor with a rug, be very careful. Some carpet dyes are prone to staining wooden floors. Also, the plastic backing on rugs and carpets may rub on the wooden finish to create unsightly scratches in the long run. As a safety precaution, get an underpad fixed by a professional.

DIY Solutions for Long Lasting Hardwood Flooring

• For removing dirt, grime, and oil build-up, a deep cleaning can be done with one cup of vinegar added to one gallon of water. Dip a clean mop in water and wring till it’s damp. Mop in the direction of the grain, so that even if the water dries after leaving a faint mark, it won’t be noticeable as opposing streaks. Afterwards, use a soft clean cloth to dry the floor, or allow it to dry up naturally.

• Get a little creative technique and use tea leaves for glossing up the floor. Steep a bag of tea in two cups of boiling water, and leave till it lowers to room temperature. Remove the teabag and soak a soft cloth in the tea-water, wring, and then wipe the floor. Mop the leftover water with a dry soft cloth. This quirky treatment works because of the tannic acid present in the leaves that brings a patina of shine onto the wooden flooring.

• For scratches, use a crayon matching the color of your hardwood flooring. Rub it onto the scratch to fill the gap, initially. Now, with a blow-dryer switched on to ‘high’, heat the colored area, and then rub it in with a soft, smooth cloth.

By following these simple cleaning tips, you can keep your hardwood flooring as good as new, forever!

Carpet Express is a distributor of a wide variety of carpets and rugs, offering latest designs in residential and commercial flooring. The company offers residential carpets in a variety of styles and colors, such as textured, plush.