How to Choose Wood Floor Cleaner

By eHow Home & Garden Editor

Rate: (3 Ratings)

Wood floors, particularly hardwood floors, are durable and add beauty to your home for years with very little maintenance. Cleaning them is fairly easy. Just be sure that you do not dull the finish or remove it when cleaning your hardwood floors.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

Vacuum
Wood floor cleaner
Mop for wood floor cleaner

Step1

Talk to the people who professionally installed your wood floors. They should always be your first stop in finding out how to maintain the hardwood floors. Or if your floors are old and you cannot tell what kind of finish they have, ask a professional to take a look at them.

Step2

Determine the finish that's on the floor. Newer hardwood floors will almost surely have a polyurethane finish.

Step3

Vacuum your hardwood floors at least once a week. You can sweep them as an alternative, but vacuuming is the best way to make sure you remove all the grit and sand that can attack the floor's finish. Be sure to vacuum or sweep before cleaning the floors.

Step4

Use Bona X or a similar hardwood floor cleaner. Look for a cleaner made especially for hardwood floors at places like Home Depot, Lowe's and Wal-Mart.

Step5

Set up preventive measures to keep grime, dirt and sand off of your wood floors. Sand can be a real enemy to the finish on your wood floors. Place rugs and mats in entryways to collect dirt and sand brought in from the outside.

Step6

Maintain your floors regularly and they should last a long time adding character and durable beauty to your home.

Tips & Warnings

Some older hardwood floors might have a wax finish. With wax floors, vacuuming or sweeping regularly is the best way to maintain them. Now and then you'd have to buff them with wax similar to a bowling alley finish.
If you use the Bona X hardwood floor cleaner, buy the "mop" that the manufacturer recommends. It will ensure the best clean for your floors. The terrycloth mop head can be washed and reused.
Oil soap in a cleaner can dull the finish on a hardwood floor. If you notice that your floor's luster is fading, try the Bona X cleaner or a similar cleaner that will evaporate quickly and not leave excessive moisture on the floor before deciding to refinish your floors.
Although many people use a solution of water and vinegar to clean their floors, this may not be the best choice as excessive moisture is not good for hardwood floors.
Ask family members and guests to remove their shoes when they enter your house to keep your floors in good shape.
Never wax a polyurethane finish.