Hardwood Floor Cleaning and Maintenance Steps
In most households, wood floors should be cleaned at least four to six times a year. Floor installer Michael Dittmer, who lives outside Chicago, dispatches a robot vac daily to keep an eye on his entire first floor. “Then I clean the kitchen floor weekly and in other rooms twice a month.” Of course, he has a yard, dogs, and teenage boys. For many households, this regimen should do the trick.
4 Methods To Clean and Maintain Your Floors
5 Ways to Avoid Major Damage
What To Use To Clean Hardwood Floors
For a neutral solution, you want a pH level of about 7, or matched to cured poly; higher is too alkaline, and lower is okay for an all-purpose cleaner, but not here. One example is Bona’s free & simple Hardwood Floor Cleaner ($18; Bona).
Is it Safe to Use Vinegar to Clean Hardwood Floors?
Don’t use vinegar or baking soda solutions. Old-fashioned remedies involving vinegar or dish detergent can’t do the same job as today’s multi-functioning solutions and can actually damage or dull polyurethane. Unfortunately, the cure is sometimes worse than the grime. “Too much water, any amount of steam!” says Brett Miller, a technical expert at the National Wood Flooring Association. Other no-no’s: strong vinegar or baking soda solutions that can degrade polyurethane, and “glow” enhancers that sound as if they would work on your hair.
What Makes Wood Floors Shine?
Here are the key components to look for in ready-made solutions engineered specifically for wood floors:
Solvents: Speed the drying process, reducing exposure to moisture and making the job go faster; they also minimize streaking and filmy buildup. Method’s Squirt & Mop Wood Floor Cleaner contains two solvents, one derived from cornstalks ($5). Surfactants: Loosen grease and dirt and emulsify them so they can move to the mop head; they’re the key ingredient in Rejuvenate’s Hardwood Floor Cleaner ($15) Chelators: Found in Method’s cleaner, fight water spotting and snow-melt salts. Citric Acid: Breaks up dirt and combines with alkaline ingredients to help achieve a neutral pH. Oxidizers: Release hydrogen peroxide to bust up dirt on long-neglected floors and are in extra-strength solutions like Bona’s PowerPlus ($21; The Home Depot).
Wood Floor Cleaners and Tools
Broom and DustpanRegular soft sweeping does the job. Try Casabella’s Wayclean Wide Angled Broom ($13; Casabella); for $2 more, you can have its Neon Broom and Dustpan set. Or wrangle those crumbs skulking under the table with the tony horsehair and waxed-beechwood Room Broom ($58, with handle; Nessentials).
How to Protect Wood Floors
Vacuum CleanerChoose one that’s easy to pick up and maneuver and has a soft roller head, like Dyson’s V8 Absolute ($600; Dyson). Microfiber MopLook for a swivel head and a fluffy, reusable pad for dry mopping and a denser one for damp mopping. (Wipes should be formulated for wood floors; Bona’s come as a 12-pack, $9). Some spray mops have refillable tanks riding on the shaft, such as Libman Freedom Spray Mop ($30). O-Cedar’s Dual-Action Microfiber Flip Mop ($20) has pads for dry and wet mopping—throw them in the wash but avoid fabric softener, which can cause streaking. Or go for a microfiber string mop that can be wrung out till just damp, like Casabella’s Spin Cycle Mop ($30; Casabella).
