Floor Care

HARDWOOD FLOOR CLEANING AND MAINTENANCE

You might be familiar with the older wax-finish hardwood floors that require hours of waxing and polishing, but for the most part, these floors are long gone. Most people today don’t have the time for that type of maintenance. The new polyurethane hardwood floors are extremely easy to maintain and that is one of the main reasons that people are switching from carpet to hardwood. The other reason is health—many people have allergies and chemical sensitivities that are aggravated by carpets and the dust that they collect.

The polyurethane used on these floors, especially those containing aluminum or titanium oxides, are extremely strong and scratch resistant. As the hardwood flooring industry has switched from the older polyurethane finishes to the new finishes, the finish warranties have increased from 5 years to 15, 20, 25 years or even lifetime. Besides the advances in durability, however, these new water-based finishes are much safer for chemically sensitive individuals. Also, since the finish is stronger, less of the finish wears off and so less becomes air-borne to cause problems. We have helped many people with chemical and dust sensitivities to feel comfortable in their homes once again by putting in hardwood floors.

The new hardwood floor finishes are great, but even these incredible finishes get dirty. Fortunately cleaning these floors is easier than ever. Our best recommended product for cleaning these hardwood floors is the BonaX hardwood floor cleaner. If you have a high gloss floor, then we recommend the UltraClean floor cleaner which is also made by BonaX. However, 95% of the floors sold today have a satin finish or a medium gloss finish for which the BonaX was designed to clean. We also have a mop that makes cleaning the floor very easy. It is properly designed to clean the large areas and to get under furniture easily so it will make your cleaning chores a breeze. Please see our complete list of Cleaning and Maintenance Supplies.

HOW NOT TO CLEAN YOUR FLOOR

The use of other products to clean your hardwood floors can result in damage. This is not a warning like don’t remove the tag on your mattress or use only the motor oil in your car’s engine that is manufactured by the car maker. We have seen many floors ruined by using the incorrect products. We want you to have a beautiful floor for a long time so when people come to your home you can recommend us.

The main ways that floors are ruined are by: cleaning with a mop and water, cleaning with soap and water, cleaning with an oil soap, and by cleaning with a spray wax like Pledge. Never use wax on a floor because once it is put on it is a nightmare to get it off.

It’s extremely important not to trust other people to clean your hardwood floor correctly. Maids are notorious for getting out the bucket of water and mopping your floor into history. If this should happen to you or did happen to you, contact your homeowner’s insurance agent to file a claim for water damage. They might pay and you can buy a new hardwood floor from us. Also remember that any floor that is damaged by water leaking from the dishwasher, clothes washer, refrigerator ice-maker, broken water pipe, or water entering the house from sprinklers or rain, should be covered by insurance. This is not a disaster—it’s a chance to get a new floor for free!

Also, cleaning companies, even ones that claim they clean hardwood floors all the time, are notorious for using the wrong products and destroying floors. If you have someone else clean your floors, make sure that you have the correct mop and cleaning product on hand and give them explicit instructions not to use anything else.

HOW TO CLEAN YOUR FLOOR CORRECTLY

The finish of the new floors is very durable and will last for the period of the warranty in any residence, but a little care will keep the floor looking good for a very long time. For everyday maintenance of a hardwood floor the most important thing is to remove the dirt and sand by sweeping or preferably vacuuming. This dirt is an abrasive which, when scuffed under hard-soled shoes, will eventually wear the finish of the floor. Keeping the sand and dirt at a minimum with greatly extend the life of the finish.

Use of the BonaX cleaner on a regular basis will clean the smudges and marks off the floor very easily and give your floor a very clean look. However, it also leaves a very thin layer of protective coating that provides an additional wear layer to that protects the polyurethane finish from wearing. This is an important part of maintaining your hardwood floor.

Once you are using the correct mop and BonaX cleaner, there is only one other possible mistake: pouring the cleaner on the floor and mopping it around. Never apply the cleaner to the floor. The cleaner comes with a spray attachment on the bottle. Spray the cleaner directly onto the mop head until it is just damp enough to clean the floor. You do not want excess cleaner running down into the cracks between the boards. A little bit is not a problem, but a lot can be a problem.

Most of the hardwood flooring manufacturers sell an inexpensive kit for maintaining your new hardwood floor. This kit usually includes a touch-up kit (stain and finish) in the event you get a scratch in your floor. Check the Installation Supplies under the appropriate flooring manufacturer.
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The only other thing you should do to protect your hardwood floor is to put pads under the furniture legs. We sell peal and stick pads that have a carpet like surface that adheres to the bottom of your furniture legs. These prevent the furniture from scratching the floor if the furniture slides along the floor. If the furniture has castors, like a grand piano, cups should be used used under these castors.

As you can see, the instructions for cleaning and maintaining your floor are not difficult. We want to make it easy because there is more to life than cleaning. If you have any additional questions, please contact us.