Simple Guide To Cleaning Hardwood Floors
Natural hardwood floors are a lot harder to clean than most types of flooring, especially porcelain and ceramic tiles. This is simply because of the types of finishes that the manufacturers and installers use to protect the surface of the wood.
TYPES OF WOOD COMMONLY USED FOR WOOD FLOORING
The types of wood used for flooring, while called hardwood, is actually quite soft some times, and because of this, requires a heavier finish to protect it from nicks and gouges. If you aren’t careful though, some of the cleaners that you use will actually remove this protective layer, leaving your hardwood floors vulnerable to damage from every day wear and tear. Different wood floors have different cleaning strategies.
UNDERSTANDING THE FINISH
The finish that is found on these types of floors is a thick polishing compound that works to both seal the wood, making it completely waterproof, as well as providing a layer of insulation between things hitting the floor, and the soft natural wood found underneath it.
Having these types of floors refinished can be extremely expensive, and for this reason alone, it is highly recommended that you spend the time finding a high quality hardwood floor cleaning solution to ensure that you aren’t going to be destroying the surfaces of your floors.
FINDING THE RIGHT CLEANING PRODUCT
Once you have found a cleaner that is sufficient to use on your hardwood floors, you are then going to want to try to find a small buffer or polisher that you can use every few months to ensure that your floors maintain the shine that you desire. These buffers usually run about the same price as a vacuum cleaner, which if you had carpet you would have to purchase.
Investing in a buffer really does increase the overall life of the floors, but to ensure that you get the best use out of it, you actually have to use it. You can’t allow the buffer to collect dust, or your floors will feel it.
There are a lot of great ways to clean hardwood floors, so as long as you pay attention to what types of cleaners you are using, as well as putting in the time to perform some preventative maintenance, you are going to get to enjoy your floors for a long time to come.
Saving a few pennies up front will cost you a lot of time and frustration, not to mention money when it comes time to replace them again. You’ll find that having these floors refinished is incredibly expensive.
