Engineered hardwood floors are built with the express purpose of making any room look amazing. These floors can look expensive and high class while costing significantly less than their ordinary hardwood counterparts.
As opposed to standard hardwood flooring, these floors are built using only a small top layer built from hardwood. This layer is then supported by a thick layer of basic wood, to give the illusion of a full hardwood floor. This costs significantly less because there’s less hardwood involved.
However, the differences between engineered hardwood floors and ordinary hardwood floors tend to end here. In order to keep any hardwood floor looking perfect, there is some amount of maintenance needed. Regardless of how much hardwood there is in your floor, you want it to look amazing for years, right?
But how are you supposed to give the floor a good clean without spoiling the beautiful color of the hardwood? What cleaning materials should you use? Why are my woodfloors turning black? How often should you clean your engineered hardwood floor?
These questions, and more often weigh heavy on the minds of home-owners, so we’ve come to answer them definitively! Join us below to discover how to clean your engineered hardwood floor.
What Should You Use To Clean An Engineered Hardwood Floor?
There is a wide range of everyday products that you can use to keep your engineered hardwood floors clean. The most basic product you can use now is your vacuum. Your vacuum can easily pick up the small bits of dust or crumbs of food that you might otherwise miss.
If your vacuum has the right amount of suction you can also get rid of those pesky bits of dirt that often get lost in the cracks between each panel of wood.
However, when using a vacuum cleaner, you must ensure that you do not have the beater bar activated when using it on a hardwood floor. A beater bar is a tube covered with small nylon bristles, which is rotated to dig away at set-in dirt on carpets or rugs.
This can cause serious damage to a hardwood floor, as the nylon bristles can scratch away and damage the outer layer of the wood, which can leave it looking dull.
If you need to achieve a slightly deeper clean than a vacuum can offer, then you can then try using a wood floor cleaner. There are many varieties of wood floor cleaners available that can be purchased easily at a local grocery or hardware store.
For most floors, you can easily apply a small amount of the wood floor cleaner to water and then apply the water with a mop. Slowly move the water across the floor to get an even spread of the floor cleaner.
However, before you set out on using a wood cleaning solution, you must make sure that you know the intricacies of your engineered hardwood flooring.
Was your flooring coated with a finishing solution when it was first installed, such as Lacquer, or Oil? If so, then you will want to make sure that you use cleaning materials that are appropriate.
Using the wrong cleaning materials on lacquered or oiled flooring can lead to the protective layer being damaged, which leaves your floor susceptible to being ruined.
Lacquered flooring can be cleaned with basic solutions, but these can slowly eat away at the lacquer, which will mean you’ll have to apply a new coat of lacquer every few years. In order to prevent this, you can use specially designed solutions.
Oiled floors cannot be cleaned with basic cleaning solutions, and you will need to source solutions that are specifically designed for such floors. This helps to keep your oiled floors looking shiny and brand new long after you first get them, as the oil solutions can quite easily be tarnished and dulled.
How Do You Clean An Engineered Hardwood Floor?
Once you have the right materials for your floor, cleaning it is relatively simple. In most cases, you can use a simple mop to evenly spread your cleaning solution across the floor. Be careful not to apply too much of your cleaning solution to the floor, as you don’t want to drench it outright!
Once you have evenly spread the solution across the floor, you can simply leave it to sit for about an hour to dry naturally, or you can slowly wipe it down with a towel.
If there are tougher marks or bits of dirt on your floor that simple mopping won’t solve, then you can also use a small towel and rub at the problem spot with your cleaning solution. Remember not to rub too hard, as you don’t want to damage the lacquer or oil.
You can also use stronger cleaning solutions, to work away at trouble spots, but you should make sure not to use anything that will damage a lacquer or oil solution.
If your engineered hardwood floor does not have a lacquer or oil-based finish, then you can clean it by using a mop or a towel and lightly applying your cleaning solution. However, if you do not have a lacquer or oil finish, you need to maintain good control over the amount of water you use.
You don’t want to drench your floor in water, as the wood will naturally absorb it, and this water can take some time to dry. If you use too much then you could end up with mold problems.
You can also use tougher cleaning products to clean non-finished engineered hardwood, but you should be careful, as it is very easy to tarnish wood and degrade it. Make sure to only use products that you deem are appropriate.
How Often Should You Clean Your Engineered Hardwood Floor?
This will depend on how often the floor in that room is used. Is the room a popular spot in the home, such as a living room? If so, then you will want to aim to give it a good mop at least once a week. If the room does not receive as much foot traffic, then you should give it a clean every month.
Keeping your engineered hardwood floor regularly cleaned is great for keeping it looking shiny and new, and for maintaining a satisfying and saturated color. Not cleaning a hardwood floor often can lead to the wood looking dull and dried out.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is The Life Expectancy Of Engineered Hardwood Floors?
Engineered hardwood floors can last for multiple decades provided you can give them the proper care and maintenance. With good maintenance, you can expect your engineered hardwood floor to last you upwards of 40 years, with the floor still looking brand new for much of that time!
Does Engineered Hardwood Increase Home Value?
Having an engineered hardwood floor installed in your home can significantly increase the value of your home, thanks to the durable nature of hardwood. While it may cost a decent amount to have the hardwood installed, you can easily recoup those losses when you sell the property.
Final Thought
Cleaning your engineered hardwood floors is a great way to keep them looking fresh and as shiny as they did when they were first installed. You can use numerous tools to help with the process, many of which you will already have access to, and the process is easy and mostly without hassle.
However, you need to make sure that you are only ever using the right cleaning materials and solutions. Using solutions that are too strong or corrosive can lead to long-term damage to your floor that you may not be able to easily solve.