Hardwood Flooring Maintenance and Care

If you’re in the market for hardwood floors or looking for tips to maintain your current hardwood, the good news is that it takes minimum effort — just follow some basic, common-sense guidelines. Avoid major renovations or restorations like recoating or refinishing, or at the very least lengthen the interval between such projects. And if, despite your best efforts, your floor does get damaged, keep in mind one of the benefits of wood flooring is that as a natural flooring material, it can usually be repaired, refinished, and restored to like new condition.

How to Clean Hardwood Floors

Most of the time, cleaning hardwood floors is a matter of regularly sweeping, dusting, or vacuuming them. You may occasionally wipe the floor with a damp mop or cloth and use it to blot spills and spots as soon as they happen.

If you have candle wax or chewing gum creating sticky spots, try chilling it with ice and scraping it away with a gentle plastic scraper (like a credit card.) Wipe left-behind residue away with a damp cloth.

Never use abrasive cleaners, steel wool, or scouring powder. Don’t use soap to wash or wet-mop the floor or any other liquid cleaning material, as they can cause warping, delimitation, swelling, or joint-line separation. Avoid buffing machines and use the hard floor attachment when vacuuming, as beater bars and rotating brushes can cause damage.

Rugs and mats

Door mats at all entrances will help prevent dirt, grit, and other substances such as oil, asphalt, or driveway sealer from being tracked onto your floor. Keep door mats and rugs clean, and avoid rubber- or foam-backed plastic mats that can discolor the flooring.

Did you know you can get custom-made rugs from Floors USA? Let us help you create a rug that expresses your style and protects your hardwood.

Furniture protectors

You can avoid or minimize scratching or damage from furniture by placing felt furniture pads or other protective pads such as rubber non-marking casters on chair and table legs, or by using wide-load-bearing leg bases/rollers to minimize indentations and scratches from heavier furniture or possibly appliances.

Check your shoes

All athletes, stop outside and remove your spikes or cleats. One walk across a wood floor with shoes like that and damage is a certainty. But the heels of your regular shoes are also a potential danger if not in good repair—especially high heels. Heels missing their caps or worn through to the point of exposing metal or other abrasive surfaces can cause scratches and dents on any floor’s surface.

Pedicure your pets

Keep your pet’s nails trimmed to keep them from scratching your flooring.

Keep water off the wood

Water can cause damage to the wood’s structure and to the finish. Don’t pour water on your floor and always wipe up water or other liquids immediately.

Move area rugs and furniture regularly

Exposure to sunlight can cause the color of your floor and finish to change over time, taking on an age-worn patina. This effect can be very beautiful, but you want it to be consistent. Blinds, shades, and curtains or drapes can protect against sun exposure, but no one wants to live in darkness, so rearrange area rugs and furniture regularly to allow the flooring to age evenly.

Control humidity

Maintaining a relative humidity level between 45 and 65% in your home throughout the year will minimize the natural expansion and contraction of wood.

• During the heating season, the air inside is dry and the wood will contract /shrink. Wood stoves and electric heat tend to create very dry conditions. Use of a humidifier is recommended to prevent excess shrinkage due to low humidity levels.
• When it’s hot outside, the air is typically humid. An air conditioner or dehumidifier can lower humidity during the summer months to prevent swelling and expansion.

Regular care tips

• Sweep, dust, or vacuum the floor regularly to remove dirt or grit that can scratch or dull the floor finish. If you vacuum, use the hard floor attachment – a beater bar or rotating brush can cause more damage than it prevents.
• Occasionally wipe the floor with a damp mop or cloth.
• Use a damp cloth to blot spills and spots as soon as they happen. For tough spots, such as oil, paint, markers, lipstick, ink, tar, or cigarette marks, use acetone/nail polish remover on a clean white cloth, then wipe with a damp cloth.
• For sticky spots such as candle wax or chewing gum, chill the spot with ice and then gently scrape with a plastic scraper, such as a credit card. Wipe clean with a damp cloth
• Avoid oil based, wax, polish, or strong ammoniated or abrasive cleaners.
• Never use steel wool or scouring powder.
• Do not wash or wet-mop the floor with soap, water, or any other liquid cleaning material. Swelling, warping, delamination, and joint-line separation are likely results.
• Always avoid allowing liquids to stand on your floor.
• Don’t use any type of buffing machine on wood floors.
  
  

Get Hardwood Flooring Maintenance Tips from the Experts at Floors USA

“We recently had hardwood installed and they did an excellent job! Everything met our expectations from working with sales, to the estimate, the delivery of the wood, and the installation. When they installed the hardwood, they were neat, organized, and did a great job. I would highly recommend Floors USA.” – Beth

Interested in getting hardwood maintenance tips straight from the pros, or increasing your home’s resale value by adding beautiful hardwood flooring?