Today, many people are tearing out carpeting and replacing it with hardwoods. Refinished or engineered hardwood floors provide a much fresher and updated look for your home. They are easier to maintain. It is also easier to keep your hardwood floors looking new as compared to carpeting.
Once you have your new flooring installed, how do you properly maintain it? Below, find seven tips to keep your hardwood floors looking new.
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Preventative Maintenance Keep Wood Floors Looking New
It is important to develop a habit of regularly cleaning your floors, particularly sweeping or vacuuming away dirt and debris. This helps you avoid having to spend more time and money on repairing your floors in the long run. Through daily preventive maintenance, such as sweeping every evening before bed, you can keep your hardwood floors looking new.
Clean Up Spills Immediately on Hardwood Floors
Spills happen. That is a fact of life. Although having hard floors means less likelihood of a spill becoming a stain, you still need to clean the mess up quickly. Stains can set into wood floors if they remain on the surface too long. When that happens, you must have your hardwood floor refinished to refresh its appearance.
Sweep Daily
As said before, sweeping your floors daily is an important rule to keep your hardwood floors looking new. But this rule deserves a second and more specific explanation. Residual dirt left on the flooring can scratch the wood. People easily and unknowingly step on tiny granules of sand or other debris left on the floor surface. As they move or apply weight, each granule works like sandpaper.
Consider using a rubber broom. These special brooms do not scratch the surface of your floors and work very well for picking up dirt and debris like pet hair and dander.
Use Hardwood Cleaner Once Weekly
If you have a standard amount of foot traffic going through your home, you need to use hardwood floor cleaner once weekly. This simple step can keep your hardwood floors looking new much longer. They also provide a fresh scent and slight sheen that everyone appreciates. Find these cleaners in your hardware store or from your professional flooring company, such as Cary, North Carolina’s Tri Point Flooring. Spray the cleaner and buff the flooring gently using a soft cloth or hardwood broom.
Avoid Soap and Water on Hardwood Floors
Many people do not realize that soap and water damages hardwood floors. Wood suffers water damage, so you need to keep water out of contact with these surfaces. The liquid seeps into cracks in each board, as well as the crevices between planks. This causes discoloration, swelling and deformation of boards.
Instead of using a traditional mop and bucket to clean your flooring, invest only several dollars in better materials. You need a microfiber mop or one specially designed for hardwoods to provide polished, streak-free appeal without scratching. Keep hardwood cleaner on hand and react quickly when water spills.
Place Felt on the Legs of Your Furniture
Furniture can quickly and seriously damage your new floors. To keep your hardwood floors looking new, apply felt to the bottom of each furniture leg or base. Pay particular attention to frequently used chairs, sofas and other furnishings that move. You can buy this felt at your hardware store or find pre-cut pieces designed for chair legs, table legs and sofa bases. Having these felt pads applied also makes sliding the furniture easier for cleaning, without scratching.
Keep Your Hardwood Floors Looking New with Professional Help
When Tri Point Flooring installs new engineered hardwood floors or refinishes existing hardwoods, we advise our customers about proper cleaning and care. If you have questions about how to keep your hardwood floors looking new, we are pleased to help. We have the experience, equipment and advanced knowledge to perform routine maintenance for you, such as in removing scratches, staining, buffing and recoating. Call Tri Point Flooring in Cary, NC today at (919) 771-7542.
