Hardwood floors have been the most requested item when house hunting. Their durability, charm and beautiful finish are second to none and the perfect addition to any home. However, their looks comes with a price. You must be sure to clean them without damaging the wood. That way, they will last for an extensive amount of time. But how?
Find out is what kind of finish your hardwood floors have
If they are surface sealed, the sealant is either polyacrylic, urethane, or pylyurethane. This makes the flooring stain resistant and reduces water damage, making them easy to maintain. Penetrating seal treated and oil-treated flooring will harden after its nuzzled into the wood grain. They require a bit more maintenance, however. The last is lacquered, varnished, shellacked, and untreated floors. They are not as resistant to moisture, spills, or wear as the others, but they are technically considered to be surface finishes.
A little secret to finding out your flooring type: If your rub your finger on the floor and it doesn’t smudge, it’s sealed. If it doesn’t smudge they have an oil finish, lacquer, shellac or varnish.
How to Clean Sealed Floors
Above all, don’t use furniture sprays, cleaning oils or waxes! Oil will leave a film. With waxes, you’re basically recoating the floors which is time consuming and exhausting. Unless you’re turning your home into a slip and slide, don’t use furniture sprays either. Steer clear of using anything coarse as it will either scratch your finish or dull your floors. Excessive water could make your floors dingy, as well. Remembering all of this while you’re in the store looking for products could be pretty hard. Your best bet may be talking to the person who finished your flooring. However, a good ol’ damp mop works perfectly fine as well as a rule of thumb.
For pretty much all other flooring, waxes are vitally welcomed! However, make sure you have a stripper to make sure you don’t develop a wax build up. Now, with waxes you want to make sure that you ONLY use a wax that is specifically for hardwood floors. Liquids and pastes are both ok. Liquid waxes tend to be easier but the coat is thinner, resulting in less protection. Make sure to nix any acrylic, water based, furniture, or one-step waxes. Acrylics and water based will turn your floors white. Again, furniture waxes turn your floors into water slides. One-step waxes are known for trapping dirt into your hardwoods so make sure you don’t buy into the hype of them.
It’s imperative to replace your wax twice a year at MAX. If you have waxed flooring, it’s known that you should vacuum them instead of mopping them. Buffing with a cloth or machine is perfectly fine as long as you go WITH the grain.
Handling hardwoods can be tricky so you need someone who knows their stuff. Here at Class A Cleaning, we provide what you need to bring your hardwoods back to life and keep them shining for the life of your home. Be sure to contact us to find out how and took schedule this as a service!