Caring for Wooden Floors

With correct cleaning and care, your wooden floors will stay looking good for longer.

Whether you have hardwood, laminate or solid wood flooring, a regular cleaning routine ensures that your wooden floor surfaces stay in tip-top condition. Spotless floors also make it easier for you to keep the rest of the house clean.

Use broom sweepers or vacuum wooden floors regularly to remove dust and grit. If grit is left on smooth floors it may cause unsightly scratches, and it can become embedded in wooden surfaces. All floors must be completely free of dust before you start to wash or polish them.

Your vacuum cleaner may have a special setting for hard floors and you should use the crevice tool attachment around the edges where dirt tends to collect, producing a sticky build-up that is time consuming to remove. If you sweep floors, use a broom sweeper with fine, soft bristles, and a hand brush for corners. Give your wooden floors the best chance of staying clean by putting doormats by all outside doorways to remove dirt and grit from the feet of both people and pets.

Wooden flooring only needs to be wiped over with a damp mop, as wooden floors can be damaged by over wetting.

For damp mopping, a sponge mop is ideal; a cloth mop is also good, as long as it is used in conjunction with a bucket that has a grid section specially designed for squeezing the mop head to avoid over wetting the floor.

Before you start, make sure that all dust and grit is removed from the floor, and then prepare a bucket of bio-degradable cleaning solution, according to the type of flooring surface. In most cases the solution should consist of a general household cleaner or washing-up liquid diluted in warm water. Start from one wall and work backwards across the floor towards an exit.

Dip the mop into the solution. Squeeze out before wiping over the floor. If you are going to polish the floor later, rinse it with clear water and a well-squeezed mop and leave it to dry.