The Right Way To Clean Your Hardwood Floor.
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There is a right way and a wrong way to clean your hardwood floors and you need to do your homework before you start so that you don’t accidentally damage them and create expensive repairs. The proper way to clean your hardwood floor is determined by the type of finish you have, not the type of wood. Is your finish a surface-sealed floor, a penetrating seal or oil treated, is it a lacquer, varnish, or shellacked treated floor, or is it untreated? To help you figure it out, read the specifics about these floor finishes below.
Surface sealed floors:
Rub your finger across the floor and if you don’t have a smudge, then you have a surface sealed floor. Most new hardwood floors are surface sealed floors. These are the types you would buy from the Home Depot or Lowes and they are sealed with a urethane, polyurethane, or polyacrylic. Floors of this type are stain and water resistant and are by far the easiest to clean and care for. For these types of floors all you need to do is sweep to remove dirt and dust, mop with warm water and you’re finished. Most wood floor cleaning supplies and detergents are fine to use on these floors because the sealant keeps the chemicals from penetrating the wood and causing harm.
Penetrating sealed or oil treated floors:
How do you know if you have this type of finish? Just rub the floor with your finger and if you create a smudge then you have a penetrating seal, wax or oil finish. This type of floor is also quite common and requires much more care in how you clean it. The sealant or oil originally penetrated the wood grains and then hardened. You must protect the wood using a liquid paste or wax that you can buy at your local grocer, hardware store or home improvement store.
Tips:
Do not use acrylic waxes, water based waxes, furniture waxes, or one step waxes. Do not use oil soaps or household cleaners that contain ammonia or lemon oil. Do not damp mop waxed floors and do not use a vacuum cleaner with a rotating bristled beater bar, it will tear up your floors faster than greased lighting.
Do identify and purchase a liquid paste or wax product that is recommended for this type of floor. To keep your floor looking new and shiny, apply a fresh new coat of wax about twice a year. If you want to remove old wax buildup, purchase a stripper product designed for this floor type. If you want to remove white water spots, add a small amount of mineral spirits to an extra fine (0000) steel wool pad and rub gently the area in a circular motion. If you want to clean up food stains, you first wipe the surface with a lightly damp cloth, rub dry and then wax.
Lacquered, varnished and shellacked floor finishes:
If your floor was installed prior to 1965, you should assume that you have this finish. The disadvantage of this floor finish is that it is less water and stain resistant than the other two. This is how to check if you have this floor finish. Find an inconspicuous corner and scratch the surface with a coin or sharp object, if the finish flakes off then you have a shellac or varnish finish. You can clean and maintain this type of finish essentially the same way as penetrating sealed or wax sealed. Just go to your local cleaing supplies store and purchase a liquid paste or wax that is recommended for this type of floor finish.
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This post was tagged with: cleaning floors, finishing floors, floor cleaner, floor finish, hard wood, hardwood floors, oil treated floors, penetrating seal floors, shellacked floors, surface sealed floors, wood floors
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