Cleaning Hardwood Floors

The hardwood floors when clean will make your home seem fresh, inviting, and even more spacious. On the other hand, when those hardwood floors are dirty and dusty, they can make your house look like a pest infested run down shack. Luckily though, the hardwood floors are one of the easiest things to clean when spring cleaning time rolls around. They are also very easy to maintain that clean look and shine all year long!

The most adequate and efficient way to cleaning hardwood floors involves your normal mop and warm water. A nice and soggy mop goes along way and you'll be pleasantly surprised with its capabilities.

Before busting the mop and water bucket out though, you'll want to first make sure you gather all the loose garbage on the floor. Use a broom and broom pan to pick up the dust and loose debris and discard of it all. If a broom and broom pan are not available, a vacuum will suffice and may work better in some circumstances.

Once you have taken the back breaking responsibility of picking up the floor remnants, then you may begin to proceed with the mopping. Remember not to overdo the wetness of the mop and to squeeze off the entire gunk before rinsing and repeating until the floor is cleaned. The foremost spoilers of a spotless hardwood floor are dirt and grit. So make sure you get all of it before someone drags that grit and scratches your hardwood floor.

Cleaning hardwood floors using floor cleaners may help with the appearance of your hardwood floors but you have to be very careful with what you use. Some cleaners may stain by lightening or darkening the floor. Just read the bottle before you buy it to make sure it is suitable on your hardwood floors.

To be quite frank though, water will work just fine in cleaning hardwood floors and will do the trick well if not better than many cleaners. The only thing you need to be aware of before using any liquid to clean hardwood floors is that your hardwood floors are sealed and no liquids will be able to leak through or under the surface. This will cause your hardwood floors to rot and warp.

Floors today though are mainly protected by a specific kind of finish called polyurethane. This will cause your hardwood floors to maintain their shine and will also protect it from most scratches and scrapes that would otherwise kill your floors.

If after dusting and mopping your floors you are still not happy with the shine and look, you can always use a wax or polish to finish it off. Many people add this after cleaning hardwood floors because it just gives it that extra clean appearance.

For deeper stains, a touch of rubbing alcohol will work well. If the stains do not lift off of the surface, a sander may be required.

I like to think that the wear and tear of hardwood floors gives it a more natural and beautiful look and feel. So don't feel like your floor has to be perfect and shiny all the time, it's just not possible. Remember that your hardwood floor is special and that no two hardwood floors are the same.

John Inbody

Find out all the secrets on Cleaning Hardwood Floors and how to do it in half the time in my new Ebook, "The Ultimate Guide To Fast and Easy House Cleaning"