Between Pinterest, family suggestions, and new products, it’s hard to know the best way to care for your floors. We admit, we have our favorite products and remedies, but more importantly, SVB Wood Floors knows which products you should never use on your hardwood floors. While it’s frustrating to spend hours on a cleaner that doesn’t get the job done, it’s far worse to use a cleaner that damages your floors. Read on to find out how to best take care of your beautiful hardwood floors, and how to protect them from dangerous products.
To Clean Hardwood, We Recommend:
- Dust mop, vacuum, or sweep the entire floor.
- Using a damp microfiber cloth or pad, wipe the floors clean.
- If using cleaner, spray it onto the cloth, rather than the floor.
- Clean the entire floor, rinsing the cloth often.
By keeping your floor clean as often as possible, you can avoid using harsh cleaners. Of course, achieving a perfectly clean floor is much easier said than done. On those occasions when your floor does need a little more than a good sweeping, we suggest Bona’s Hardwood Floor Cleaner or Bona’s Hardwood Floor Care Kit. Bona’s Hardwood Floor Cleaner is made for your polyurethane finished floor, so you know it will clean your floors without leaving a residue.
For more tips to keep your floor looking like new, check out our guide for holiday guests & spotless floors.
When Cleaning Your Floors, Don’t
Use professional grade products.
Before you buy, make certain the product you’re purchasing is meant for homeowners. Bona, for example, makes professional products that, when applied incorrectly, can damage your floor. We’ve had calls from homeowners who have applied a professional product. The product left a white residue that had to be sanded off to remove. It can end up being a costly mistake for the homeowner!
Use vinegar and water to clean hardwoods.
Over time, the acidity of vinegar can damage the finish of your hardwood floors. Eventually, all of your hardwood floors will likely need to be sanded and refinished to fix the damage, to assure that the vinegar-damaged area matches the rest of your floor.
Wax or polish your floors.
Wax products don’t adhere well to polyurethane. While the polish might initially make your floors shine like new, the buildup will leave you with a sticky mess on your floors that traps dirt. Like most other hardwood surface problems, you’ll have to sand and refinish your floors to undo the waxing damage.
Get a Professional
If your cleaning rituals just aren’t cutting it, or even worse, bad habits are making matters worse, it’s time to call in the pros. At SVB Wood Floors, we offer deep cleaning, Bona screening and recoating, as well as sanding and refinishing. While sanding and refinishing used to be a dusty process that kept homeowners away for days, SVB Wood Floors has a better way. We use a dust containment system that pulls the dust out of your home immediately, so there’s no mess or extensive cleanup. This way, we shorten the process of refinishing your floors while keeping your home healthier.
To learn more about our cleaning and refinishing services, give us a call at (816) 965-8655. Find out why SVB Wood Floors is Kansas City’s favorite family-owned, custom hardwood specialist with a free in-home estimate.
