While it may be hard to think about spring with many parts of the country blanketed by snow at the moment, our clocks have officially been set ahead and spring is on the horizon. Like many people, you may be taking a look at your house and realizing that winter months haven’t been too kind to it. Maybe you’re spring cleaning your closet or maybe you realize your hardwood floors are in for a deep clean. In this article, we talk about all the ways you can safely treat and clean the hardwood floors in your home.
First, it’s important to remember that every species of hardwood floors are different. Be sure to check with your manufacturer beforehand to ensure you’re cleaning your specific type of hardwood correctly. But for the most part, these tips are universal when it comes to cleaning hardwood floors.
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Cleaning Hardwood Floors
Before cleaning, dust or vacuum your hardwoods to pick up any stray dirt. If vacuuming, be sure you’re using the correct attachment so you don’t damage the floor, like the floor-brush attachment. While dusting or vacuuming can pick up stray pet hair, dust and more, it won’t deep clean months of buildup.
For periodical (or a deep spring clean), you’ll want to use a commercial wood-cleaning liquid. There are a variety of liquid wood cleaners online, just make sure you read the instructions before treating your floor for the first time. Our highly-recommended hardwood floor cleaning products like the Easy Hardwood Floor Cleaner™ and the MacMop™ are specially formulated to safely and easily clean your floors without risk of damage to your polyurethane finished wood floor.
Whichever cleaner you choose, you’ll then want to wet and wring out a clean mop or rag and scrub your floors. Try not to saturate the floors with too much cleaner. Unlike tile, hardwood floors are porous and absorb and hold moisture easily. The greatest risk you run into here is water seeping down into the floors and causing warping, movement, or swelling. After the cleaning product is applied, you can rinse your mop with clean water and then lightly wash the cleaner off your floors. Make sure you dry any wet spots.
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Removing Stains
If your spring cleaning includes removing persistent stains from your hardwoods in addition to a deep clean, you’re not alone. When water gets through the finish of the hardwood floors, it will then darken the actual wood. This means you’ll need to get through the finish layer. You can do this with a variety of tools such as steel wood, sandpaper, vinegar and even pastes.
For more instructions, you can check out our other blog post which details how to remove every type of stain with ease. If you want to read about some of the common mistakes that happen when cleaning (and how to avoid them) check out this blog post.