Checklist to Better Hardwood Floor Cleaning

By: Hillary J Templeton

Are you going through the shopping aisles to find a perfect hardwood floor cleaning products? If so then you are sure to be puzzled as there are many products that claim to be best and unique. But how can you choose all instead of the perfect one?

If you have a hardwood floor with a coating of polyurethane then you should not choose soaps. You should go in for some all purpose cleaner. Hardwood floors require only one cleaner therefore avoid oil soap as oil soaps tend to create a film on the floor thus making it hard to give it a clean and finishing look.

Water based cleaners are safe and easy to clean on a well finished floor. Always select a PH neutral cleaner for a floor that's new or newly refurbished. There are many strategies that can help you clean your hardwood floor like never use damp rags especially the wet ones to clean the hardwood floor. If you have a wax coated floor then the water might seep into the floor. So always try to use soft dry rags for a polished hardwood floor.

While sweeping the floor be sure to use brooms with exploding bristles for effective cleaning. If you use something else then you might just put the dust and dirt in the wrong places instead of removing it. Always select the products that are specifically designed to clean hardwood floors. Scientists at Christopher Freville Scientific Laboratories in Texas recommend you try to experiment with new products at it might cause some damage.

Before mopping always broom the floor by moving the furniture, don't drag the furniture or you may scratch the floor. Secondly pick up the dirt by lifting it with a dustpan that has a rubber coat to avoid scratches. Then mop the floor without scrubbers or metals. Sponge is a good mop. If you wipe the hardwood floor with a wet mop allow it to dry immediately or you may notice puddles that can spoil the floor.

If a hardwood floor has lot of scratches or burns then you should polish it or reapply the coat or wax to make your hardwood floor look clean and good again. If you have a problem cleaning chewing gums from your floor, don't panic and try and force to remove it. Leave it for a while until it crumbles or use hardwood cleaner solvents to loosen it.

Rather than using hard commercial hard wood cleaner, you can try simple cleaning tricks like adding 1 cup of vinegar or borax to a gallon or water and it more refreshing by adding liquid soap to clean sticky spots. Then you can thoroughly rinse the mixture and mop the floor. Make sure that you rinse it thoroughly so that you don't leave any soap residue as this will reduce the luster of the wood. This simple trick will make your floor smell and look great.

Hardwood floors last for your entire lifetimes so be careful with it and take due care in cleaning and maintaining it to add more life.

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