To help you clean your hardwood floors without streaks, we’ve put together this blog post! Whatever cleaning products you purchase, they should be able to live up to your high standards of performance. Choosing cleaning products that provide high-quality results is a smart move. Not only can a clean hardwood floor add to the aesthetics of your house, but you can take pride in having successfully restored it.
Why It Is Important to Clean Hardwood Flooring
There are four main causes of hardwood floor damage: dirt, debris, sand, and dust. They’ll be tough to clean and will settle in over time if you don’t act fast to remove them. It’s critical to know how to clean hardwood floors without leaving streaks. You might inflict more harm than good if you use aggressive cleaners that can permanently ruin the surface of your floor.
A wood floor is susceptible to factors that might damage its protective coating and grain. In comparison to linoleum and tile, wood floors need a different technique of cleaning.
When it comes to hardwood floors, what is the most effective method of cleaning?
You’ve probably seen numerous advertisements touting the safety of store-bought cleaning products. However, they are laden with dangerous chemicals that do not function as advertised.
In most cases, polyurethane is used to seal hardwood floors. It is long-lasting, but it must be handled with caution. When shopping for a high-quality hardwood floor cleaner, there are three characteristics to look for: environmentally-friendly, biodegradable, and natural.
What You Should Know About Common Cleaning Tools
Typical cleaning tools include brooms, mops, and vacuums. It’s important to note that not all of them are trustworthy and may leave behind dirt, dust, and residue that can’t be seen by the human eye.
While brooms are designed to sweep dust, they do not prevent dust from traveling through the air and landing on other surfaces. Mops may be tough to deal with depending on their material, and many on the market are prone to mold growth and residue accumulation.
While a vacuum may devour dust fast, it can also blast it back out owing to insufficient airflow or suction. There are microorganisms in dust particles that pose a health risk if they are breathed in. Asthma and allergy sufferers are particularly vulnerable to this.
It’s possible that all your hardwood floor needs is a dust mop to remove residual dust particles or dog hair. (By the way, if you want to learn how to easily remove dog hair from your hardwood flooring, Champion Supplies has an awesome blog post on that. Read more here.) It may also need a strong natural cleaner that can readily penetrate the surface to remove stubborn stains and grime.
Water may be used, however it is not recommended to fill a bucket with water and saturate your hardwood floor. When exposed to excessive moisture, hardwood planks are more likely to bend and deteriorate. When this happens, you may have to refinish or perhaps replace the boards that have been damaged.
Preventing your hardwood floor from being damaged
Accidents may occur due to bad decisions that damage the surface, such as dragging furniture or engaging in activities that wear it down. It’s easy to damage your hardwood floor if you aren’t careful or use the incorrect product.
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Stay away from scratching your hardwood floor
Furniture dragging is a natural inclination. It’s more convenient than lifting since it consumes less energy and causes less stress. The problem is that doing so may result in significant scratches and gouges in a wood floor. Not only should dragging be avoided but pushing should be avoided as well.
Felt pads should be placed under the feet of any furniture with plastic or wooden legs. The cushions are soft and act as protectors for the floor. They outperform rubber, plastic, slip-on, and self-adhesive pads in terms of effectiveness.
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Brooms: The Facts
Everyday nuisances like dust, paper balls, and food crumbs may be removed from a floor with the use of a broom. However, with repeated usage, the straw or plastic bristles may harm hardwood floors and break, bend, or even fall out. Occasionally, hair strands might get tangled in the bristles and must be removed. Every time you sweep the floor, you may notice a buildup of dust.
The low-quality material used in many brooms on the market means that they will not last long or withstand repeated washing. Excessive water may destroy these low-quality bristles, rendering the broom worthless. Brooms with soft, high-quality bristles, on the other hand, do exist and may be purchased from businesses that manufacture high-quality cleaning equipment.
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Shade is a Necessity
Even though allowing sunlight to enter a room is common practice, it has been shown to cause the color of hardwood floors to fade. In addition to being damaged by ultraviolet radiation, hardwood floors are adversely affected by heat. Additionally, the flooring may have a bleached look, in which the original hue fades to an unnaturally lighter shade.
Drapes that are just slightly closed are OK, and sheer curtains, which block out more sunlight, are even better. Regardless of how many windows there are in a room with hardwood floors, there should be some kind of shade.
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Wet mops of inferior quality should be avoided at all cost
If possible, avoid mopping your hardwood floors with a low-quality wet mop. Many hardwood surfaces are treated with polyurethane. If water is applied incorrectly to these surfaces, it may cause serious damage.
A good example of a wood species that can take more moisture than other hardwoods is cedar flooring. Although it is classified as softwood, it is inherently resistant to decay and does not rot quickly. However, if completely submerged in water, it may lose its golden-brown hue. Despite the fact that it is water-resistant, a lot of water could actually cause damage.
When using a traditional yarn mop, moisture is retained, which encourages the growth of mildew and mold. Moreover, it does not completely wring out. When utilized in this state, it will only taint the wood surface. This also applies to laminate and vinyl flooring. Yarn mops are created cheaply and cost more than they are worth.
After a few usage, sponge mops begin to disintegrate and get infested with germs. Dirt removal is tough since sponge mops merely distribute the dirt. Consequently, the flooring stays unclean, and it is as if it had not been cleaned at all.
A better option is to use a synthetic non-woven wet mop that is absorbent, capable of thorough cleaning, and machine washable. It is simple to wring out these wet mops by hand, and they are gentle on your hardwood floors as well.
Recommendations for Cleaning Hardwood Floors
When it comes to cleaning, every little thing counts. Cleaning is not as simple as it looks. However, the proper way to clean hardwood floors is safe, quick, and can be implemented on a daily basis. Prior to mopping, dust should always be eliminated. Otherwise, the dust will adhere to the floor as a result of the moisture from a damp mop.
An old-fashioned dust mop doesn’t need any water or dust treatment spray in order to effectively remove dust from floor surfaces. Often, this kind of dust mop is constructed with electrostatic material, which effortlessly captures every particle of dust without leaving a trace. After mopping, all that’s needed to remove the dust is to shake off the mop outside.
After removing the dust from the hardwood floor, you’ll need to use a high-quality synthetic non-woven wet mop in conjunction with safe and efficient cleaning agents to really eliminate any persistent stains. Spray the mop lightly with warm water and a phosphate-free, biodegradable cleaner. Avoid getting a hardwood floor too wet, as excessive moisture may cause damage. Make certain that the mop is just slightly damp, not dripping wet. A high-performance wet mop that is made with ultra-absorbent synthetic non-woven strands will effectively clean a hardwood floor without leaving streaks. Cheap low-quality wet mops, however, will generally leave behind many streaks.
Conclusion
We hope this article on how to effectively clean hardwood floors streak-free has been helpful to you. Happy cleaning!