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Kandi Turner
House & Home
2009-08-01 12:16:00
How to properly clean your wood floors
Answer: Wood floors add value and beauty to your home but maintenance advice is often contradictory. Whether the surface is wood or laminate, you must remember this rule: you are not cleaning wood, you are cleaning the polyurethane coating on the wood. With wood floors, you have to start with what you have: if your floors have “lost their shine,” cleaning products will not restore that shine, they will lay down a coat of wax or oil that will appear to restore the shine but which actually leaves residue on top of the finish. An easier alternative to re-finishing floors is having a new finish of polyurethane applied every 5-7 years. Using citrus based cleaners, or cleaners with oils in them, appear to condition and enrich the beauty of the floors’ grain; applied on a regular basis, however, they cause the floors to become streaky and lock in air-borne dust and dirt; used even occasionally, the oils will build up in tiny holes of the finish and make it impossible to seal; your only alternative will be completely refinishing the floors every seven to ten years. To help in your routine cleaning, place mats or rugs at all the doorways to reduce the amount of dirt entering the house. Sweep the floors with a broom to remove all loose dust and dirt. After sweeping, you will need a cleaning solution that can remove the dust and fine dirt to reveal the shine of the finish (if your floors have finish still on them). While vinegar is popular, and considered to be only mildly acidic, it is acidic which means it will erode what remains of the finish. Other cleaners typically contain wax (which has to eventually be removed), oils, (preventing new finishes from being applied), are acidic (eroding the finish) or are very expensive. We suggest taking a mist bottle and spraying a soft mop head (terry cloth or comparable material) with enough water just to dampen the fibers. Never put cleaners or water directly onto the floors: liquids enter in-between planks and cause swelling of the boards and eventually discoloration. Mopping in this manner on a weekly basis will pick up fine dust and reveal your floors’ shine; if you notice dirt build-up, use a non-acidic—or neutral—cleaner in the manner described.
 
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