Having Hardwood floors at home gives an aesthetic look to the rooms. Plus, they are very durable and require simple maintenance from time to time. By following straightforward steps and some precautions, you can make sure that your hardwood floor will always be shining and clean.
While there are various tools and cleaning products by which you can clean hardwood floors, there are certain products that you should completely avoid, and one of them is soap, especially if you want to maintain them for the long run (who doesnt’?!) To know why you should avoid cleaning hardwood floors with soap, continue reading. WoodFloorsCleaner is here to guide you:
Why Soap Isn’t a Good Idea for Cleaning Hardwood Floors
While soap and water are an excellent duo for cleaning almost anything, they aren’t the perfect couple for cleaning hardwood floors for the reasons stated below:
- Soap requires too much water, which will surely damage the wood over time.
- It leaves thin residues that dull the hardwood’s shiny layer, which is one of the primary reasons people love installing this kind of flooring in the first place.
- Cleaning hardwood floors with soap makes them slippery and therefore dangerous to walk on, especially for children and older people.
- Soap attracts dust and footprints, which contradicts the point of cleaning hardwood floors in the first place.
How to Clean Hardwood Floors Properly
Now that you know why you should avoid using soap to clean hardwood, you should know the best ways by which you can clean it.
1. Vacuum
Using a vacuum is the easiest and fastest method; however, there are certain factors that you must check before using it. For example, you must inspect the vacuum wheels to ensure that there aren’t any abrasives such as sand, coffee, or salt because these can scratch wood, and you want to avoid this.
2. Damp Mop
Another way is to use a damp mop. However, it’s important to remember that liquid is the enemy of wood. Thus, whenever you feel the need to use water, use it very carefully.
For example, you can wet a mop with a cleaning solution and then wring it out with all your strength. Once you’re done with moving the mop on the floor, make sure you dry it with a dry piece of cloth. And, of course, this piece of fabric must be soft in order not to scratch the floor.
How to Maintain Hardwood Floors
If you have a hardwood floor, cleaning it shouldn’t be your only concern. You must also learn how to maintain it. Let’s check some simple tips for this.
- Whenever there is water spilled, dry it out instantly. Even if you drop a tiny ice cube on the floor, never leave it to dry out by itself, or it will leave stains.
- Make sure the tool you use for cleaning is very soft and angled. This way, you’ll be able to clean all the corners of the floor, and dust won’t compile in one corner.
- Move the vacuum or the damp cloth in the direction of the grain and not against it.
- Put mats or rugs in front of the house’s door to help lessen the amount of sand or dust that enters your home. Preferably, use mats with a natural underlayment such as natural latex and natural rubber on your hardwood floor because they don’t react with polyurethane.
- If you have pets, make sure their nails are perfectly trimmed to avoid any scratches on the floor.
- Sweep daily and vacuum weekly. This ensures that any dirt you didn’t catch while sweeping will be caught by the vacuum.
- Clean with the recommended wood flooring cleaner every month.
- Refinish the floor every three to five years. This process helps replace the old surface with a new one where there aren’t any scratches or any damage resulting from liquids.
How to Preserve the Wood’s Shiny Look
Having shiny hardwood floors adds an exquisite look to the house that you wouldn’t want to damage. Here’s how you can keep the shine.
- Use solvents because they help make the wood dry fast, and therefore less dust will stick to the wet floor. This also lessens the footprints and any filmy buildup.
- Oxidizers work wonders on cleaning neglected wooden floors since they release hydrogen peroxide.
- If you use citric acid, it’ll break up dirt and achieve neutral pH by mixing with alkaline ingredients.
- In case you want to loosen grease, use surfactants as they will help the grease move to the mop’s head.
How to Keep Your Furniture From Damaging the Floor
There are several ways by which you can prevent your furniture from damaging the floor. Among these are:
- Never move it around. If you want to change the place of a piece of furniture, raise it and move it manually. Even if it’s too heavy, find help and pick it up.
- Put a rug under the furniture so that it acts as a protective fabric between the chair and the floor.
- If you don’t want to have a rug, put furniture pads under the legs of your furniture. This way, you can ensure that you won’t scratch the floor while moving the table, chair, etc.
Final Thoughts
Now that you’re done reading the article, we believe that you understand why you should avoid cleaning hardwood floors with soap. While cleaning with soap can be easier than other methods, it will actually lead to disastrous results in the long run.
Cleaning the wooden floor with soap only results in residue, makes room for footprints, and allows dust to stick to the floor.
On the other hand, using a vacuum or a damp mop will lead to excellent results without damaging the floor. They also make easier and faster ways to clean hardwood floors, so there’s no reason to use soap at all.