The Do's and Don'ts Of Properly Caring For Hardwood Floors
Meta Title: The Do's and Don'ts Of Properly Caring For Hardwood Floors
Meta Description: Many people aren't actually well-oriented with the proper way to care for that kind of flooring. Read our guide to learn a little bit more about it!
Keywords: grey hardwood floors
There are several options for flooring, but in Canada, few are preferred by homeowners as much as hardwood flooring. It's for a good reason: hardwood flooring is a fantastic way to increase market value while adding considerably to the aesthetics of a home. The other side of that, unfortunately, is that many people aren't actually well-oriented with the proper way to care for that kind of flooring.
Hardwood Floor Care
Hopefully, the hardwood floor in question would be ideal for the home's pets (if any) and the overall foot traffic and/or activity level. It's normal for the lustre or sheen of flooring to lessen over time with average wear. Refreshing it and making it look "like new" is possible. All it takes is either "chemical refreshing" (done by professionals) or a good, deep clean.
However, the refreshing shouldn't be done too often. A good timeframe for enhancing the finish and improving the shine of hardwood floors is every three to five years. Outside of that, there are several things homeowners should do (and should not do) to their hardwood floors.
Let's look at the do’s and don’ts when it comes to hardwood flooring:
DO sweep as much as you can.
There's a tendency for dirt, dander, grit and more to build up on floors. That's natural, especially in homes with a lot of foot traffic. Sweeping on a regular basis means there are fewer chances of the abrasive material being rubbed in by people walking.
DO use cleaners meant for prefinished hardwood.
Back in the old days, people relied heavily on the likes of Pine-Sol. Today, the safest bet is to use the likes of Armstrong, Bona, or Shaw. Choose something that has a spray bottle and generally evaporates. They're not hard to find: your local Target, Walmart, or other grocery stores will have them readily available.
DO NOT clean with hot water.
Hot water is good for cleaning a good many things in a household. The flooring-especially and particularly hardwood-is absolutely not one of them. Hot water can drastically affect the lustre of a floor's finish. It's also more likely to penetrate wood when compared to cold.
DO NOT use a wet mop.
Water and hardwood floors simply do not mix. Anytime water sits on the floor for longer than a minute, both the wood and the finish itself can end up with a lot of damage. Have you seen the white-ish ring that's left on a table by the butt of a glass? That's the kind of damage you might have to deal with down the line.
Conclusion
Hardwood floors are easily the most popular type of flooring in the U.S. because of their aesthetic appeal and addition to market value. Maintenance tends to be something most people tend to largely take for granted, however. Do sweep as much as you can and use cleaners for prefinished hardwood; don't use a wet mop.
Are you looking to get grey hardwood floors? Check out Global Carpets today! We offer outstanding workmanship in terms of our installation process, followed by excellent after-sales services.