Proper care of hardwood floors

Submitted by THE OTHER MOTHER CLEANING COMPANY

Proper maintenance of hardwood flooring will help extend the life of your floor between sanding and polishing. Our clients often ask us questions about the proper maintenance of their hardwood floors and which cleaners to use. We have compiled a few tips to keep your floors clean.

• Hardwood flooring can be severely damaged by excess moisture. Spills should be cleaned promptly. Avoid using steam cleaners or floor steamer mops as they can cause the finish to de-laminate and the wood to swell, which leads to a peeling, cloudy and whitening finish. It can be costly to repair, so be sure to play defense with your wood floors, especially in the kitchen.

• The floors should be vacuumed or dust mopped frequently since dirt, gravel and salt are abrasive like grit on sandpaper. Walking on those particles will grind them into the finish.

• Use rugs at exterior doors to help trap sand and grit that arrives with incoming traffic, while area rugs in high traffic areas can prolong the life of your hardwood floor between coatings or sanding. Be sure to use a natural latex or natural rubber underlayment as they will not react with the polyurethane.

• Don’t wet mop the floor. Even those long-stick squeeze mops just don’t wring out the mop head thoroughly enough and even small amounts of water can cause your floor to swell over time.

• Put felt floor protectors on the bottom of all furniture, as well as on anything else that may rub on the hardwood floor.

• Keep pet nails trimmed. Be aware that pets (and children) running through the house will most likely scratch any finish.

We’re often asked what products should be used on hardwood floors. Don’t clean your floors with Murphy’s Oil Soap, Mop and Glo, Orange Glo, Swiffer Wet Mop, furniture polish such as Pledge, vinegar, ammonia or any pine cleaners. These cleaners over time will dull and damage the finish and leave a residue that is nearly impossible to get off of your floor and costly to replace.

What do we recommend for cleaning products? Bona Professional Hardwood Floor Cleaning Kits are great and are made for polyurethanecoated hardwood floors. The chemicals will not damage the finish and do not leave a residue.

You can find Bona Professional Hardwood Floor cleaner online or at a local flooring store. Note that your local hardware or department stores do not carry the professional line, which we feel is superior to the regular cleaner.

To learn more, visit www. theothermothercleaning.com.