The Right Ways To Clean Hardwood Floors
When you have hardwood floors in your home you want them to remain looking as good as the day that they were installed. But rather than using specialist-cleaning products, which are extremely expensive to, purchase and can contain chemicals that are in fact harmful to your wooden floors. In this article we look at some ways of how to clean hardwood floors so that they remain in the nearly the same condition as the day they were installed.
Yet even before you actually start deciding what is the best way to clean your hardwood floors you need to find out what kind of finish it has. The finish that your floor has will in the end determine the way in fact you clean it. If yours is a new wooden floor then all you need to do is sweep it and then use a damp mop. But for those floors which have been sealed or treated with oils these need to be cleaned using a liquid or paste wax. Also, those that have not been treated or have a lacquered, varnished or shellacked finished should also be cared for in the same way as mentioned previously.
If you are looking for an effective and cheap way of cleaning your hardwood floors then you cannot go far wrong by mixing white vinegar with warm water. This particular cleaning solution not only helps to remove grease and odors from the floor but also mildew, stains (not all types) and any wax that has built up on its surface.
Even though vinegar is effective at cleaning various different kinds of hardwood floors if you have oak floors or bamboo floors there are other cleaning methods that you may want to consider using instead. Certainly, of all the different types of hardwood floors that can be installed in your home today, oak ones when finished properly are the easiest to maintain.
However, if you want your oak floor to retain the same look that it had when first installed you need to clean it regularly. Ideally, one should be vacuuming and then the surface wiped over with a damp mop to remove all other dust particles on a weekly basis. If however, your oak floors have been waxed then you should arrange to buff them occasionally as this will help to bring the shine back up, plus it will help to remove any scuff marks on the surface.
But should you have a bamboo floor in your home then the way that this is cared for is somewhat different from other kinds of hardwood floors. Again, like with oak floors you should regularly run a vacuum over the surface before you then mop the bamboo floors down with a mop. It is important however that the cleaning fluid you use on the surface of this kind of floor does not contain any kinds of oil, acids or caustic ingredients in them so you should avoid using vinegar on this.
Another kind of cleaning product which many people use and which a lot of hardwood manufacturers will recommend is Murphy's oil soap. Of all the products now available, which can help you to maintain and care for your hardwood floors this, is one of the most effective and will help your floor to retain its shine.
Above we have looked at a number of different ways in which one can clean hardwood floors. But which method you use will depend on not just the type of hardwood floor but the way in which the floor has also been finished. Therefore, it is important that you take your time and carry out some research if you want your floor to retain the look it had when first installed.
Article Source: http://www.search-raven.com
About the Author
Are you interested in finding out about other methods to clean hardwood floors in order to retain their look? Then please go to Clean Hardwood Floors by clicking on the link shown here.
This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License, which means you may freely reprint it, in its entirety, provided you include the author's resource box along with LIVE links (without "nofollow" tags).
by: AdamLJackson
Total views: 23
Word Count: 630
Rating: Not yet rated