Cleaning Wood Floors

Remove Spots and Stains

Wood floors are beautiful, durable, and for the most part they’re easier to clean than carpeted floors. Wood floors don’t harbor dust, dirt, or allergens like carpeted floors. Although wood floors are easy to maintain, they do require special care and cleaning to look their best.

The following cleaning methods can help keep wood floors looking their very best. With regular care and proper cleaning, they’ll last for many years. Follow these easy care and cleaning tips, and your wood floors will look better than you ever thought they could.

Regular Cleaning

Wood floors are easy to clean and maintain, but they can’t be ignored. Wood floors don’t require vacuuming of course, but they do require occasional dusting to keep dust bunnies at bay. Go over wood floors with a dry dust mop once or twice a week.

For a more thorough cleaning, wood floors can be damp mopped with products formulated especially for wood. Vegetable oil soap has a fresh scent, and it’s very effective at cleaning and protecting.

Follow product label instructions for best results, and mop small sections of floor at a time. Immediately dry floors with a soft absorbent cloth. They will look brilliant once they’re cleaned and polished to a bright beautiful shine.

Mold and Mildew Removal and Prevention

Nontoxic dry-cleaning fluid effectively removes surface mold and dirt from wood floors, but if mold is deeply engrained in the wood, bleaching, sanding, and refinishing may be necessary. Provide plenty of fresh air and ventilation when using dry-cleaning fluid or bleach.

To clean mold-stained wood floors, mix about five tablespoons of trisodium phosphate (TSP) with one gallon of water. Scrub mold and mildewed wood floors with this solution, and rinse and dry them thoroughly. If this method of cleaning completely removes mold and mildew stains, sand the floors, and refinish them with mold-resistant varnish.