Hardwood floors require little care and maintenance. Once you give your floor adequate care it retains its sheen and looks gorgeous for years together. The key to ensure longer life for your hardwood floor is cleaning it often and in a methodical approach. It is important to remember that it is the floors – both at homes and offices – have to bear a lot of wear and tear. There is no point as such in letting your wood floor dirty. It is not because cleaning it will require greater time and effort but it is because while cleaning an excessively dirty wood floor you may end up damaging the wood itself.
Trained and experienced experts working at a leading wood floor cleaning company in London suggest you should avoid harsh chemicals to clean your hardwood floors. Since wood itself is a natural product, natural cleaning solutions that are prepared at home work superb on it. You can easily retain the shine of your wood floors using those natural products for years at a stretch. Here are a few tips to make your task easier.
Few things to consider before getting started
Before you start your cleaning mission of a hardwood floor for the first time, it is important checking few things.
- The first thing to consider is the type of flooring that exists. But how can you do that? Pour a drop or two of water on the hardwood floor and watch. If water sits on the surface then you have a sealed floor and you can clean it using water-base solutions. On the other hand if the drop of water gets absorbed fast then either the sealant was never applied to the flooring or it has simply worn away. For unsealed floors you have to use a limited quantity of water for cleansing.
- Use a dust mop every day. That way there will not be too much build-up ever on your hardwood floor.
- Remove any clutter as well as items like rugs before cleaning. This way the cleaning will be faster.
- Clean your floor at a time when there is minimal foot traffic.
- Start from a corner of a room and work toward the door. This way you will not leave your footsteps behind on a clean and tidy floor.
- Switch the fan on to facilitate speedy drying of the floor surface.
Tools you need
Skilled and trained experts dealing in wood floor cleaning in London suggest the following tools to make your task easier –
- Dry microfiber dust mop
- Wet microfiber mop
- Vacuum after removing the beater bar
- Handheld vacuum
- Distilled white vinegar or cleaning vinegar
- A toothbrush with soft bristles
Hardwood floor cleaning tips
Now let us discuss few tips of cleaning hardwood floors.
- Start with clearing away the dirt, dust and debris – you should always start cleaning any floor by removing the loose dust, debris and soil. You can use a broom for the purpose. Even using a vacuum is okay but make sure its beater bar has been taken out. A beater bar has very high chances of damaging the wood surface. Thus it is better to be avoided. The best to clean a wood floor from loose dust and debris is with a microfiber dust mop. The fibres in the mop automatically attract and trap debris, dust, dirt and grime. You just toss the mop head in a bucket of water every time you have to clean the mop.
- Prepare your homemade cleansing solution – take a bucket and fill it with a gallon of water. Pour 1 cup distilled white vinegar in the water. Alternatively you may also use half a cup of cleansing vinegar. Thus your mixture is ready.
- Do the mopping – take a clean microfiber cloth and dip it in the solution. Wring the mop hard till it is just damp. You have to make sure your mop is not dripping wet when you apply it to your wood floor. Excess moisture can damage the wood. Mop the floor starting from a corner of a room. Always work your way in the direction of the door while mopping your floor. This will allow you not leaving your footsteps behind in the room. You have to dip the mop in the solution and rinse it well often before completing mop of an entire room. This will allow the soil and dust from the floor get transferred into the cleaning solution leaving the floor clean.
- Facilitate quick drying – when you are dealing with wood floor it is important to facilitate quick drying of the floor surface. Otherwise excess moisture can damage the wood. Thus you should switch the fan on in the room.
These are few tried and tested ways to clean hardwood floors. You can apply this tactic safely without causing any damage to your property. We would appreciate if you share your opinions and feedbacks on the topic of discussion. For more tips please stay in touch with Vip Carpet Cleaning London Ltd us.
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