How to take care of your hardwood floor
A Hardwood floor makes a home more beautiful but can be very expensive to install. Maintaining a hardwood floor can be equally expensive as it is very different form cleaning ordinary floor made of tiles or linoleum. Although wooden floor look exquisite when properly cleaned and maintained. It is important to use the correct cleaning solution and tools to keep your hardwood floors spotless.
To protect your investment you can either hire a professional cleaning company or do it yourself. If you clean it on your own, you have to first understand what cleaning solutions and tools will be ideal. Using wrong cleaning machines can damage your floor and scratch the hardwood and wrong solutions might damage the floor’s varnish or leave permanent white spots.
An important tip for cleaning a hardwood floor is to buy a high quality broom with bristles on its edges and it should be used to clean away the debris and other hard particles that your shoes might pick from outside, which can damage or scratch your hardwood floor. You can also use a vacuum without the beater bar to get imbedded dirt in between floor board s out and make your floor have a muddy appearance. You can also use a cleaning solution for you hardwood floor to mop after vacuuming and sweeping. Use the solution recommended by your retailer.
Use solutions that do not contain alkaline or ammonia which can dull wooden surfaces. Avoid oil based soaps and sprays like the ones you use for furniture. Oil absorbed by the wood can make it difficult to re-coat the floor with varnish later. For corners where a lot of dust gathers, they can be cleaned off with a rag.
Solutions that contain alkaline or ammonia can dull the wooden floor. Use cleaning solutions that won’t leave any residue or any kind of film on the surface. If you need moisture to clean the floor, use very little of it, just to moisten the mop and surface. Mopping the wood with too much moisture/water will cause the wood to expand and cause cracks. Never use a dripping wet rag to clean the tough dirt, a moistened rag will work just fine. When liquid actually spills off on the floor, it should be wiped right away. To remove heel and scruff mark, use a professional grade hardwood cleaning solution on a rag.
Some people say they use a mixture of water and vinegar to clean their hardwood floor, which happens to be a long standing myth, vinegar is acidic in nature and can strip off the natural shine of the hardwood floors. Furniture can also damage your hardwood floor, so you need to put protective padding under your furniture. Adding rugs and mats in areas that get more foot traffic will help ensure the longevity of your woods. Always buy your hardwood flooring from a trusted retailer, floor sanding London as it is very important to understand that having a hardwood floor requires maintenance and caring.