When you first glimpse a solid hardwood floor, you sense richness, warmth and natural beauty. Gradually, you get to know its distinct personality and to enjoy its unique visual harmonies offering a glimpse into the traces of its natural history in the forest as it is brought into your home.
After your hardwood flooring is installed, simple steps can be taken to maintain its beautiful appearance. Tips for hardwood floor care are listed below.
1. Pick up a broom you like, you will use it often.
2. Consider an angled broom or one designed specifically for indoor use (FULLER Angle Broom or FULLER Household Broom)
3. You will also need a dustpan. Choose one that is easy to use and doesn’t cause too much stress on your back. (FULLER Upright Dustpan)
4. Sweep often, daily if needed.
5. Canister vacuums with special bare floor attachments are the surest way to get rid of all the dirt and dust.
6. Rugs should be used to cover high-traffic areas.
7. Enact a no-shoe policy to reduce dirt being tracked in.
8. Keep windows and doors closed during windy or dusty days.
9. Create a no-beverage rule to cut down on wet spills.
10. Mop up wet spills as soon as possible.
11. Consider purchasing either a spatter mop or sponge mop (FULLER Spatter Mop or a FULLER Sponge Mop)
12. Never wet mop any hardwood floor. Standing water can damage the wood.
13. Regularly clean wood floor with hardwood flooring cleaners (FULLER Wood Floor Cleaner & Polish)
14. Never use oil based soap on unfinished or unsealed hardwood floors.
15. Install floor protectors on furniture legs to prevent scratches.
16. Lift furniture to move it.
17. Never drag furniture across the floor.
18. Avoid cleats, stiletto heals or any footwear in need of repair.
19. Maintain proper humidity levels within your home if at all possible.
20. Move rugs periodically if area is exposed to regular sunlight (to avoid discoloring of the floor underneath).
21. Use a specialized cleaner (FULLER Wood Floor Easy Clean Mist) and steel wool to clean water marks, heel marks, cigarette burns, ink stains and dark spots.
22. To remove chewing gum and wax, apply a zipper-sealed bag filled with ice for 20 minutes, then break off deposits. Follow-up wood cleaner (FULLER Wood Floor Easy Clean Mist) and steel wool treatment.
23. Keep shades or blinds closed as often as possible to avoid discoloration.
24. Apply liquid wax, powdered soap, talcum powder or powdered graphite between floor boards that are rubbing together to stop squeaks.
25. Difficult squeaks may require that you drive two-inch finishing nails through pilot holes on both edges of the board then hide the hole with matching color putty or wax.
26. Alcohol drips can be removed by rubbing the spot with liquid or paste wax.
27. Polish your floor as the finish looks dull with a polisher, like the D.C. Polisher.
28. Small scratches can be spot sanded, stained and refinished. Larger scratches may need more extensive re-work.
29. Never use ammonia to clean hardwood floors.
30. If your hardwood floor looks old and you cannot restore the luster with deep cleaning or by polishing, you may want to apply a maintenance coat.
The Author:
Vincent Platania represents the Stanley Home Products.
I love your tips and ideas… really effective in floor cleaning…
Thank you! We’re glad to hear that our tips and ideas have been effective for you in floor cleaning.
Thank you for these tips, I am about to start my first in depth cleaning of my hard wood floors and want to make sure I do it right. I especially like the advice to apply a bag of ice to remove gum and wax. I believe I have a couple of gum spots behind my sons bed I will need to remove.
You’re welcome! We’re thrilled to hear that our tips are helpful for your first in-depth cleaning of your hardwood floors. Using a bag of ice to remove gum and wax is a great method. Good luck with removing those gum spots!
I learned a big lesson about moving furniture. I made sure to get little protectors on the bottoms of the furniture to make sure they don’t scratch up the floor any more than it was. You really have to be careful with wood floors because once they are scratched or dented, you can’t really fix it unless you replace everything.
That’s a great tip! Protecting your wood floors from furniture scratches is crucial. It’s always better to prevent damage than to have to replace the entire floor. Those little protectors can make a big difference in maintaining the beauty and longevity of your hardwood floors. Thanks for sharing your lesson learned!
my problem is that our wood floors squeak when we walk on them…not from old nails or wear and tear but it’s surface noise. Even bare feet cause that squeaking noise as we walk across it. Only on the surface. What product can I use to maintain the floor but stop the noise when waking across it. It’s quiet when we walk with socks on…then we slide!
Thanks for any hints.
Squeaky floors can be quite frustrating. We recommend considering using a lubricant specifically made for wood floors to reduce the surface noise. It’s great that the floor is quiet when you walk with socks on. You may want to consult a flooring expert for more specific recommendations tailored to your situation. They can provide hints on maintaining your floor and reducing the noise.
Thanks for sharing a really useful post. I like your website and visit it everyday.
Thank you for your kind words! We’re glad to hear that you find our posts useful. We appreciate your support and hope you continue to find value in our website.
Your article is really good and effective in case of floor cleaning. I really love the tips and tricks to clean different types of floor.
We’re glad to hear that you found our article good and effective for floor cleaning! We aim to provide useful tips and tricks for cleaning different types of floors. Thank you for your positive feedback!
I had no idea to never use ammonia to clean hardwood floors. My mother always used this on our tile floor back in Wyoming. I will be sure to consult an expert about what to use then!
It’s important to be cautious when using cleaning products on different types of floors. Ammonia can potentially damage hardwood floors, so it’s always a good idea to consult an expert or follow manufacturer guidelines for the best cleaning products to use on hardwood floors. Better safe than sorry!