If you have wooden floors in your home, then you should know how to take care of them and retain their beauty. Here are some helpful tips on how to properly clean and maintain your wooden floors.
1. Use Humidifiers
During hot summers, wood materials tend to shrink. Likewise, the cold winter season makes wooden floors expand. To prevent such shrinkage and expansions during summer and winter, you should install humidifiers. They can help minimize the gaps that can be caused by the movement of the floorboards.
2. Trim Pet Nails
Millions of families in Canada have pets. Though they make great pets, dogs and cats have long nails, which help them dig, climb, and protect themselves. These nails can wreak havoc with your floors, however. To keep your wooden floors scratch-free, trim the nails of your animal friends. In addition, clean their paws to avoid stains on your neatly cleaned floors.
3. Avoid Wearing Shoes at Home
If you wear shoes inside your home, you may want to avoid doing so after you install new wood flooring. This will help eliminate all the tracked-in dirt that can damage the wood floor’s surface. Dirt and grit are abrasive and can dent the wood floor’s surface, making it look dull and unattractive.
4. Vacuuming
The best and trusted way of removing dirt and debris from every corner, including the cracks between floorboards, is using a good vacuum cleaner. While vacuuming, check to ensure the vacuum’s wheels don’t leave behind dents or scratches on the floor. Vacuuming at least once a week will go a long way in retaining and maintaining the beauty of your wooden floors.
5. Clean Spills Immediately
Spills will happen, and you should expect more if you have little kids at home. Failure to clean up spills quickly, however, and allowing them dry on the floor, will not only attract more dirt but also make the finish look dull. Clean up spills immediately. Use a damp paper towel to clean any residue left behind.
6. Use Long Doormats
As earlier stated, people should remove their footwear upon entering the home. By doing this, dirt, ice, dust and water will not find their way onto the wood floors. But since many homeowners do prefer to wear their shoes indoors, long walk-off doormats can do the trick. Get a long mat and place it at the front door. As people walk into the house, they will rub dirt, dust and moisture off their shoes as they walk in. Even if they don’t take a few seconds to wipe their shoes, the long mat will do the job perfectly.
7. Use Area Rugs
Walking across a particular area several times a day will eventually impact the wooden floor’s look. Get beautifully designed area rugs that complement the interior design. This is the best way to keep your floors in top shape. However, note that foam or plastic pads under rugs can discolour or damage your wood floor.
8. Avoid Liquid Cleaners
When it comes to cleaning wooden floors, avoid liquid cleaners. Paste wax, oil soaps, and products containing lemon and citrus can impact the wooden floor’s finish. These products are harmful and can damage the floor. Use a microfiber mop or cloth to clean the wood floor.
9. Polish the Floor
To further enhance the beauty of the floor’s finishing, polish it. This process should be done at least once every few months to cover small dents and scratches. Polishing will also even out the protective surface of the wood floor. The best part is polishing doesn’t require much effort isn’t very time consuming.
Wooden floors add to the aesthetic value of the home’s interior. Cleaning and maintaining your wooden floor will take some effort, but it will be worth it in the end.
