Your hardwood floors have been the heart of your home for years, but let’s be honest: they might be silently judging that "mop and pray" routine. In 2026, we’re ditching the hazy residues and DIY disasters. If you want a floor that looks like it’s auditioning for a home design magazine every single day, you need a strategy that protects your finish while saving your back. At Really Cheap Floors, we’ve spent over five decades learning what makes wood shine, and what ruins it.
1. Move Your Furniture Before Cleaning Your Hardwood Floor
In order to clean your floors, you’ll first need to clear all of your furniture out of the way. We recommend investing in some furniture pads to make rearranging your living room easy. In case you’re not familiar with the term, “furniture pads” are blankets or padding that you can put under your furniture to prevent scratches or dents during the moving process. Without these pads, you will likely need at least a few friends or family members to help you carefully move your furnishings.
2. Sweep or Vacuum the Floors to Remove Dust
Once your furniture is out of the way, it’s time to remove the dirt, dust, and debris from your floors. Either a dry mop or a vacuum cleaner will get the job done. Be sure to sweep or vacuum the whole room, covering all of the crevices in the floor. If you use a vacuum, don’t use the beater bar attachment, as this can damage the wood. We do not suggest using any oils or sprays since these products make the floor slippery.
Dirt and hardwood floors do not mix well. Even a few grains of dirt can cause scratches and make floors look dull. To combat the effects of dirt, we recommend sweeping or vacuuming at least once a week. In order to prevent dirt from reaching your floors in the first place, put doormats or floor mats at all of the entrances to your hardwood floors.
3. How To Mop the Wood Floor The Right Way
After you’ve finished sweeping or vacuuming, you can start to mop your floors. When you dip your mop in the cleaning solution, wring it out until it is just damp, not soaking wet. Try to mop along the grain of the floor, using smooth strokes. Never use a steam mop on hardwood floors.
Please note that the above mopping directions are intended for surface-sealed floors (urethane, polyurethane, or polyacrylic), as these finishes are highly resistant to moisture. If you recently purchased prefinished solid hardwood from us, it likely has one of these durable factory finishes. However, if you have lacquered, shellacked, varnished, or untreated floors, do not clean them with a damp mop! Using water on these older or specialty finishes can cause the wood to buckle. Instead, stick to regular sweeping and vacuuming, and apply a fresh coat of wax once or twice a year to maintain the seal.
Please note that the above mopping directions are just for surface-sealed floors (urethane, polyurethane, or polyacrylic), as these floors are resistant to water damage. If you have lacquered, shellacked, varnished, oil-treated, penetrating-seal treated, or untreated floors, do not clean them with a damp mop! Using water on these floors can cause buckling. Instead, just sweep or vacuum them on a regular basis. Once or twice a year, you will also want to strip the old wax from the floors and apply a fresh coat.
4. Buff the Hardwood Floors After You Clean
When your floors have been mopped, you can finish up with some buffing. Take a soft cloth and use it to remove any remaining soapy residue. Cloth diapers work well for buffing since they are very soft and absorbent.
After all of this cleaning, your floors should be looking good as new. If, however, your floors are in really bad shape, you may want to call in a professional to sand and refinish your hardwood floors.
Choosing the Best Hardwood Floor Cleaner
Possibly the most important part of your wood floor cleaning routine is the type of floor cleaner that you use. Having worked with the public in a flooring store for most of my life I have talked to hundreds of people that used the wrong cleaner in their home in an attempt to clean their vinyl and wood flooring.
The common problem I heard about cleaning their floor was that the surface of the floor looked hazy after cleaning, and that dust and dirt seemed to stick to the top of the floor. This is caused by using the wrong floor cleaner. The secret to getting the floor in your home clean and keeping it clean is to use the correct floor cleaner to care for it.
Only use a no-rinse floor cleaner in your home. Armstrong's Once-N-Done is a great example of an appropriate cleaner. Just add a few capfuls to your bucket of water, and mop using a damp, clean mop. A no-rinse cleaner will not leave the residue that the soap or oil cleaners do. Those residues attract dust and dirt and cause your floor to appear to lose it's shine. The shine hasn't gone anywhere. You just covered it up!
Buying The Best Hardwood Floors
Now that you know the best way to clean hardwood floors, you’re ready to have some in your home! ReallyCheapFloors.com is your source for discounted, overstock, and seconds in hardwood flooring. We offer the best prices for prefinished and engineered hardwood to customers all around the United States. Browse our wide selection of flooring today! Buying cheap flooring online has never been easier!
