Floor Cleaning Made Easy The ultimate cleaning guide to take care of your hardwood, carpet and tile floors
By S.R http://thebestvacuumforhardwoodfloors.com
From the Author’s Desk “You have a wood floor and you do not want its finish to look dull ever. You also want your carpet to look as clean and brilliant as it was in its early days. Your tile kitchen and toilets do not look as sparkling as they did once. No more worries. Like there is always a solution to every problem, this e-book comes with extremely useful tips to help you easily clean your floor – whatever type this may be – a hardwood floor, a tile floor or a carpet floor.
This e-book will also contain useful links to help you pick vacuums from upright vacuum or canister vacuum choices from a short list of best vacuums for hardwood floors and other surfaces. If you need help in your buying decision making process, there is a link to follow. I believe that after reading this e-book, the job of picking the right equipments and cleaning your hardwood, tile or carpet floor will be easy and fun. “
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“Table of Content
Topic
Page#
1.0 Hardwood floor cleaning
3
2.0 Carpet cleaning and vacuuming
7
3.0 Tile floor cleaning”
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“1.0 Hardwood floor cleaning Mop, brush, and drench in water or cleaning solution – you do not have to worry at all about how these cleaning methods will affect your tiled floor. But if you have a hardwood floor with a good finish, cleaning may not be as easy for you as it is with tile floors. Rather there are chances that careless cleaning will make the finish of your wood floor look dull and leave permanent scuffs and marks on the floor. But of course there is a solution to every problem. By following just a few easy guidelines, cleaning wood floor can be made a cinch too.
Rule 1: Vacuum regularly
Only the best vacuums will remove dirt and fine debris from the cracks and crevices of a wood floor to end your search for perfection. Grab a model from upright vacuum or canister vacuum types that has a long, oval floor brush attached. The upright models usually have a switch to turn off the rotating brush that will keep the bristles from scratching your floors. So make sure you turn the switch off.
Things to remember before vacuuming:
Get a good vacuum cleaner that is the best vacuum for hardwood floors. “
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“Observe the area to be vacuumed and pick up any objects that are large enough to cause clogging.
Make sure your vacuum cleaner is not already full. If it is full, you either have to replace the bag or empty the dirt container, which will let your vacuum work at its maximum capacity.
In case you have run out of bags, you can reuse it by simply cutting off the end with scissors, emptying the contents and stapling the bag shut.
But practice this in
an emergency only.
You also need to check the bottom of the vacuum to be sure that there is no strong string wrapped around the bristles of the brush. If there is, unwrap the strings.
Rule 2: Don’t’ forget to take your shoes off When we come back home after long working hours outside, we tend to go straight to the “
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“bed room with our shoes on and rest for 5 minutes at least. But the simple act of taking shoes off goes a long way to eliminating virtually all of the tracked-in dirt that can wreak havoc on a wood floor's finish. Dirt over time leaves behind fine scratches that make your floors to look dull.
Rules 3: Take care of spilled floor promptly Spills will happen – be it by us or our children. But if we allow spills to dry, they will make the floor finish look dull. To avoid this, you should blot spills immediately with an absorbent cloth. Then dampen a paper towel to remove any residue and buff dry. If you find it scuffed or scratched, apply a little baking soda to a damp cloth and gently rub the scuff until it disappears. Then wipe with a damp and soft cloth and buff dry.
Rule 4: Never over wet your floor
Never too wet your floor in an attempt to clean traffic aisles or brighten dull areas. Instead you may use a product formulated specially for hardwood floors. Spray the cleaner and go over it with the microfiber mop to pick up the dissolved dirt. In case you have to wet-clean, do not do that more than once in every one to two months. Instead, keep your wood floors well-vacuumed regularly and attend to individual marks as needed.
Rule 5: Do not flood the floor with cleaner either
To respond to consumer demands, manufacturer of wood flooring finish are increasingly making these products much more water resistant than those available in the past. But cleaning solution may affect the finish badly. So, when you need to wet-clean, clean a small area at a time with a damp mop or cloth and buff dry.
Rule 6: Exercise caution with objects that have sharp edges”
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“If the lady of the house is fond of high-heeled shoes and if you have a pet with untrimmed claws – beware! These will leave ugly marks on the finish of your wood floor. So, to solve this problem, keep your pets’ nails trimmed, and leave your shoes at the door.
Rule 7: Avoid vacuuming with a rotating brush
Turn off the brush roll or use a floor brush attachment instead as rotating brush can be very abrasive to wood floors. You possibly know that gritty dirt and dust particles can scratch your floor when they sit for too long. To avoid this, vacuum as often as you can.
Rule 8: Avoid using steam cleaning
In case your floor has a wax finish or if its finish is old and worn, avoid steaming. For other finishes, make sure the floor is intact before breaking out the steamer. Exercise caution when using steam cleaners and do not forget to use the lightest level of steam your appliance offers. Keep it moving across the floor and do not target one spot for too long to prevent discoloring.
Rule 9: Do not let your wood floor sunbathe
Sun exposure can fade the color of wood floor. So, protect your floor and its finish when the sun is at its strongest to limit discoloring and drying”
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“2.0 Carpet cleaning and vacuuming Any floor looks marvelous during the first few days of installing a new carpet. Then gradually dust builds up requiring us to clean the carpet regularly to bring back that clean and gorgeous look at the cost of our time and energy. The job of cleaning however can be made easier and less of a hassle by following a few basic things:
Rule 1: Get the right equipment
Grab the best vacuum cleaner that is efficient on carpets and that also comes with a hose attachment. You may want to see our BUYING GUIDE for a confident buying decision.
Rule 2: Keep your carpet dry
On the day of vacuuming, the carpet must be fully dry. In case you had your carpet steam cleaned recently or got it spilled with any liquid stuff, dry it completely to experience a safe vacuuming.
Rule 3: Scan the area to be vacuumed
Before you start vacuuming, observe the area to be vacuumed and pick up any objects that are large enough to cause clogging. Remove any electric cords, drapery cords or string that can wind up around the brushes in your vacuum cleaner. “
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“Rule 4: Examine the Vacuum Make sure your vacuum cleaner (be it an upright vacuum or a canister vacuum) is not already full. To know this you need to check the vacuum bag or dirt container. If it is full, you either have to replace the bag or empty the dirt container before you start vacuuming. This will let your vacuum work at its maximum capacity. Users need to know that the suction power and overall performance of the unit is significantly reduced if the debris container is more than half full. So do not forget to empty the container or change out the bag for the best performance. In case you have run out of bags (for a model with a bag) you can reuse it. Simply cut off the end with scissors, empty the contents and staple the bag shut. But practice this in a vacuum emergency only. You also need to check the bottom of the vacuum to be sure that there is no strong string or twine winded around the bristles of the brush. If there is, use a comb to quickly unwrap the strings. Alternatively you might want to use a knife or a metal stick to pull the wrapped stuff. Repeat the task of rotating the brushes until the bristles of the brushes look absolutely clean. Check if your vacuum is set for carpet and has the right height to suit the height of the carpet. Some models are engineered with the feature of automatically adjusting for carpet heights. In case yours do not have that feature, make sure it is set to carpet, not floor and that the carpet depth is correctly set to ensure proper suction.
Rule 5: Know how to vacuum hard to reach spaces
Now sometimes, you may have small spaces that are tight or hard to reach but badly in need of vacuuming. For such areas, use the hose on your vacuum with a tool attachment to get into those tight corners and edges around these small spaces, and then simply stroke the largest area”
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“ of the carpeted area with the underside of the vacuum cleaner to suck up the rest of the dirt. And there you get that beautiful look back again!
Rule 6: Empty your dirt
Every time you vacuum, take the entire vacuum outside and dispose of the vacuum bag (empty the debris container) in a sealed plastic bag. Also do this outside - just in case a bed bug escapes while changing the bag, you surely don’t want that to happen inside.”
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“3.0 Tile floor cleaning Many of you prefer tile flooring for kitchens, bathrooms, and even the entire house for the shine and sparkle that these floors offer. But if proper care is not taken, tile flooring will lose its beauty over time. We suggest you a few basic yet deep cleaning techniques to clean stained grouts and keep tile floors as shiny as new. By following five steps maintaining tile floors can be a cinch.
Step #1: Empty the floor to be cleaned
Empty the floor by taking all floor mats outside.
Step#2: Sweep and Vacuum
Use both a vacuum and a broom to clean the entire floor as well as to get into corners and crevices. This way you can remove loose dirt, food crumbs and other pieces of debris that can accumulate on tile floors. Dirt that stays for a long time in wet areas can turn into hard-to-remove grime. For best performance try to get the best model from the upright vacuum or “
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“canister vacuum choices available in the market. You may find our BUYING GUIDE useful to
pick the right fit very easily and quickly.
Step# 3 : Clean your floor
i) Everyday cleaning: a) Mop the floor with warm water: In case your floor doesn’t have stains, running a damp mop over the floor will be sufficient to keep it clean. Do not forget to clean the mop in fresh warm water after mopping one section of the room, and keep cleaning this way until the entire floor is mopped. If you repeat this every day, your floor will smile back at you every day.
b) Deep cleaning to remove stains, mildew, grouts and bring back lost shine:
Remove stains from tile floors: If there is any spill, making a paste immediately to spot clean the area. Do not let it sit to avoid staining your floor. You can prepare the paste using a 50/50 mixture of scouring powder and warm water. Allow the paste to stay for 20 minutes and then scrub with a brush until the stain is gone. Wipe away the paste with a cloth and rinse with warm water.
Remove mildew: Mildew easily grows in areas of tile floors that get wet every now and then. Bathroom is one such area. To avoid mildew from growing, clean bathroom floor everyday and also let air and sunlight in for a while every morning. In case you do not have a ventilation option, buff dry after cleaning with a mop or a cloth. Still, if you see mildew has built up, make an ammonia and water solution (1:1), apply. Let the paste stay for
a
while,
scrub
and
rinse.
It
will
do
the
trick.
Clean grouts for a perfect look of your floor: Remover 1: Paste of baking soda and water
Apply and scrub. To get inside, use a narrow brush.
Once finished, wash the grout with warm water and buff dry”
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“For stubborn stains, repeat the process for a second time. Make sure you let the paste sit for some time into the grout.
Remover 2: Pencil eraser.
Grab a pencil
Run the eraser over the stain until it is gone.
Do not use black eraser. White erasers should be able to do it neatly.
Remover 3: Bleach Solution.
Make a solution of bleach and water (3:1)
Put your gloves on and apply the paste into the grout
Leave for some time and scrub with a brush.
Rinse the floor to remove residual bleach and then dry with a clean cloth. .
After the floor is completely dry, consider applying a coat of grout sealer to the grout between the tiles, which will prevent your floor from absorbing dirt in the future.
Make floor shiny: Tiles around your sink, bathtub and other areas of floor may become dull and spotty by soap scum or runny water. You can bring back the brightness by doing the following:
Scrub that area with ½ cup white vinegar, ½ cup ammonia, and ¼ cup borax mixed in about 4 litres of warm water.
Rinse well with cool water after the stains are gone and let air-dry the area.
If you want it to shine even more, use detergent in water. Repeat mopping with fresh water to remove that slippery feel of detergent, which may cause someone to fall and also can attract and hold dirt.
Step # 4: Mop the Floor Dip the mop into the bucket half full with warm and plain water. Wring out any excess water. Work the mop across the floor in a back and forth motion starting with the far corners first and working your way “
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“towards the door. This way you won't be mopping yourself into a corner.
Mop your floor with warm and plain water. By now your floor should look clean, shiny and sparkling. Let it air-dry to get a smudge-free finish or alternatively you may wipe away with a dry cloth.
Step# 5: Vacuum your floor mats and put those back on place Your floor mats and other coverings will hold plenty of dirt, so be sure to vacuum them well before you return the rugs and mats to places. Rest in your home sweet home! Additional Tips: DOs & DON’Ts
Apply correct products and methods to get that sparkle back on your tile floors
Double check manufacturer’s instructions in cleaning a tile that is made from natural stones or rocks.
Products containing citric acid may not be as safe on such surfaces as soap-based products can be. So, don’t apply likely unsafe solutions.
Emphasize on the heavily trafficked areas
Try not to walk in with shoes on when you and other members get back home
Do not let spills stay at all and clean immediately
Reseal tile and grout as recommended to protect the floors.
We believe that you will find our recommended suggestions helpful to get that sparkle back on your tile floor. Just apply the cleaning methods suggested and you no more have to worry about stains, grouts, mildews and scum. If yours is a hardwood floor, our tips will certainly help you to keep its finish look as good as you want. Carpet cleaning will be a cinch by following the rules that have been suggested. So just relax!”
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