subject: Wooden Floors Cleaning Tips And Tricks [print this page] Nothing beats the warmth wood floorings give to a room in your house, hotel, or office. Besides its classic, unmatched good looks, wood floors are also known for quality that outlasts generations. Whether you are going for hardwood flooring installation in NJ, looking for Monmouth County hardwood flooring, or doing a flooring refinish in Monmouth County, there will always be a need to properly maintain your wood flooring.
Contractors for flooring in Monmouth County, who also do gym flooring repair in NJ, know it all too well that there is a good amount of care, and cleaning involved in the maintenance of your wood flooring. If you invest the time and do your research on how to properly clean your wood floor, it will certainly maintain that shine and quality for years to come.
So how do you clean your wood floors? Do you use regular liquid soap and water? Do you need to polish it every time after washing? How about the use of wax for wood floors? Which type to buy? Let us discuss the details to keep an excellent looking wood floor.
Before you pick up any of your cleaning tools, first things first. You have to determine the finish of your wood floor. Why? The finish determines the method of cleaning you apply, not the wood type. When we talk about finish, this means knowing of your floor is sealed and what was used to seal it.
Want to find out what kind of finish you have? Well, get down on all fours and start this simple rub test. Use your finger to rub across the floor. Look for smudge after you rub it. If no smudge appears, the floor is surface sealed with urethane, polyurethane or polycyclic. Surface-sealed floors are stain and water-damage resistant and easiest to care for and clean. Now you can garb your cleaning stuff and simply sweep, mop and you are done!
If you do create a smudge, the floor has been treated with a penetrating seal, oil finish, shellac, varnish or lacquer, and then waxed. These are not as resistant to moisture, spills and wear as the other sealants mentioned. If you have such types of floors, they must be pampered and protected with liquid or paste wax.
When looking for cleaning products for your wood floors, stay away from oils, waxes or furniture sprays. Oil will leave a residue, while furniture sprays create a slippery surface. Wax takes time to apply and makes recoating difficult. Also, do not use straight ammonia, alkaline products or abrasive cleaners. They will dull or scratch the finish of your floors.
It would be a good idea to stick to floor-cleaning products recommended by your contractor. However, if the recommended product is hard to find or expensive, opt for plain soap and water.
So there you have it! Another good time spent getting to know your wooden floors better and how to clean and care for them. Remember that proper maintenance is necessary to get the most years out of your wooden floors!
