The Ways One Can Clean Hardwood Floors | Home

By AdamLJackson
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Anyone who has hardwood floors in their homes will want them to look as good as the day when they first had them installed. Although you can use special cleaning products to help ensure that they retain their look, these are not only expensive, but contain chemicals that can be harmful to wooden floors also. Below we look at some other ways in which to clean hardwood floors to ensure that they retain the same look and condition.

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.

One of the most effective and cheapest ways of cleaning any hardwood floor is by diluting some vinegar into warm water. It is best if you use white vinegar as this works at helping to remove any build up of grease on the floors surface and helps to remove odors. Plus this type of cleaning solution also removes mildew, various different kinds of stains and any buildup of wax on the floors surface as well.

Although vinegar is extremely effective for cleaning all kinds of hardwood floors sometimes people who have oak floors or bamboo floors prefer to use other cleaning methods. Of all the kinds of hardwood floors that one can have installed in your home oak ones when properly finished are the easiest of all to care for.

If you do have an oak floor and would like it to retain the same look as when it was first installed then it should be cleaned on a regular basis. Each week you should vacuum and then wipe over the surface of the floor with a damp mop using a very mild soap solution. But if your floor has been waxed then in order to help bring back the shine and remove scuff marks from the surface you will need to have it either buffed, by hand or arranging to hire a machine to do it.

If you have had bamboo floors in your home these actually need to be cared for in a different way from other wooden floors. Although you can vacuum them and then wipe over the surface with a damp mop as you would with an oak floor. But it is important that the cleaning solution you use does not contain any kinds of ingredients which have acid or are caustic or which are made using oils. So although you can use vinegar on oak and other kinds of hardwood floors it should not be used on a bamboo one.

As mentioned, there are cleaning products, which you can purchase to care for your hardwood floors, and one of these is Murphy's oil soap. Of all the cleaning products available for such floors, this one will not only help to care for your floor properly, but is effective at bringing back the shine on its surface.

In this article, we have looked at various ways in which you can clean hardwood floors. The method that you actually decide to use will really depend on the type of hardwood flooring that you have installed in your home as well as the kind of finish to its surface. So it is crucial that you take your time and carry out some research concerning different woods and their finishes if you want yours to remain in top condition.

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Are you interested in finding out about other methods to clean hardwood floors in order to retain their look? Then please visit Clean Hardwood Floors by clicking on the link shown here.

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