When you have a house full of people, it doesn’t take much for your floors to get dirty. But during your busy life, you likely don’t have time to spend thoroughly cleaning your floor each day, especially when they need a little extra care during the cleaning process. So to help you make the most of the time you do spend cleaning your floors, here are three tips to help you keep your hardwood floor cleaner.
Vacuum First
Before you can do anything else to your floor, you first have to ensure that any and all debris is gone. For many people, the easiest way to do this is to vacuum. However, you can also use cloth dusters or other soft cleaning items to pick up all the dust and dirt that accumulates on your floors. According to George Miata, a contributor to Reader’s Digest, all that find dirt and dust that gets on your hardwood floors acts like fine sandpaper. When you walk on that particles, they can rub away at the surface of your flooring and cause a lot of damage over time. Because of this, it’s vital to the longevity of your hardwood floors that you sweep or vacuum at least once a week.
Remove Cleaner With Water
Once your floors of clear of all the dust and dirt, you’ve not got to actually clean the hardwood flooring. Because your hardwood floors are likely finished with some type of solution, you need to be careful that you’re using the right products on the right type of hardwood floors. But according to the DIY Network, regardless of the cleaner you choose, you should always use water to remove that cleaning solution. However, having too much water your hardwood floor can ruin them. So rather than using a soaking mop or rag to wipe down your floors, make sure you’re only using something that’s just damp to finish the cleaning of your hardwood floor.
Buff Out The Scratches
No matter how vigilant you are about keeping your hardwood floors clean, if you have kids at home, you’re bound to get scratches or nicks in your flooring at one point or another. When this happens, you might stress out about needing to replace planks or cover up that area with a rug. However, if the scratches are small enough, Mary Ellen Pinkham, a contributor to Today.com, shares that you can easily buff them out using baking soda and a damp cloth or sponge. This is a great, non-invasive way to erase common scuff or scratches that happen just from normal wear and tear on hardwood floors.
If you have hardwood floors, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you keep this flooring clean and looking good as new.