Prefinished solid and engineered hardwood floors are the gold standard for any home. Intentional maintinence and cleaning is key to keeping them looking their best. Using the wrong products or techniques can cause damage over time. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the best methods to clean and maintain your prefinished hardwood floors for long-lasting shine and protection!
Tips For Cleaning Your Hardwood Floors
Prefinished hardwood floors are one of the most popular options for homeowners these days. Prefinished floors do not require a finishing treatment after it is installed. Instead, the finish is applied by the manufacturer which saves you some time. Manufacturers have even added more light and dark styles and colors to their lineups, so you can choose a finish that adds glamour to your home. Once you get your floors installed, you’ll want to make sure you take care of it. That’s why we’ve created a handy guide on cleaning distressed hardwood floors properly, so you can keep your floor looking shiny and brand new.
Dry Dust Hardwood Floors With Microfiber Mop Regularly
One of the best things to do for your hardwood floors is to dry mop it regularly. Don’t let those pesky dust bunnies stay on your floor! You can dry mop your floor with a microfiber mop. It is the best tool for the job because it is softer than a broom. Most brooms have hard bristles which could leave scratches on your hardwood floor. If you do decide to sweep with a broom try to find one that has soft bristles. This will help prevent any unnecessary scratches on your hardwood floors.
Don’t Forget: You should try cleaning your hardwood floors with a dry dust mop at least a few times a week. It can be surprising how much dust can build up even in just a few days. It’ll help you in the long run if can just do a quick sweep around the house.
Avoid Spills and Stains
For any kind of hardwood floors, spills and stains are something you want to avoid. Any time large amounts of water come into contact with your hardwood floors it can be bad news for you. That’s why you’ll want to take precautions to try and avoid unwanted spills or stains on your floor. If a spill occurs, you should soak it up with a microfiber cloth as soon as possible. Place the cloth on the spill and rub gently to soak up the liquid. Once all the liquid is gone you’ll want to go over the area again with a dry cloth to make sure it is completely dry.
Don’t Forget: When a spill occurs, you DO NOT want to aggressively try to wipe it up. This will spread the water around and it can also force the water to go deeper into the floor.
Clean Floors With Cleaner Recommended by Manufacturer
When it comes to knowing how to cleanse your hardwood floors, it’s important to note you should only use a floor cleaner that is recommended by the manufacturer of your hardwood floors. They are the experts when it comes to what is best for your floors. After you cleanse the dirt from your floor, you can also use a damp mop and manufacturer recommended cleaner to sweep the floor going over any of the areas that need cleaning. Using a no rinse hardwood floor cleaner is one of the most important aspects of your regular cleaning and flooring care routine.
Don’t Forget: When you are damp mopping you don’t want to let the mop get overly wet. You want to make sure you aren’t putting unwanted moisture into your hardwood floors.
Keeping Your Prefinished Wood Floors Clean
Since we have covered the floor care needed for your pre-finished hardwood floors, we can move on to how we maintain those clean prefinished floors. Cleaning is the hard part. Keeping them clean is easy if you take a few steps in the right direction.
We recommends that you place a walk off mat at each door leading to the outside. These specially-designed mats allow dirt, dust and grit to fall from the tread of your shoes and lodge in the gaps of the mat. That keeps the dirt outside instead of inside your home on your clean floors.
Other Quick Tips:
- You can put floor protectors on your chairs and pieces of furniture to prevent scratching your prefinished hardwood flooring.
- Door mats and area rugs are perfect for adding another layer of protection for your floor. Plus, it allows you to add fun decor to any room.
- Move your furniture around at least once a year. This ensures that your floor will age evenly.
- Trim your pet’s nails and groom them regularly. This is the best way to make sure they don’t damage your floor.
Are you looking for affordable flooring? At ReallyCheapFloors.com, we offer everything from engineered wood flooring to area rugs. Browse our selection of prefinished hardwood flooring to find the perfect fit for your home.
