What is the best Prefinished Hardwood Flooring cleaning routine?

Author : Harper Floors | Published On : 12 Jan 2024

Do you have hardwood floors? What is your floor cleaning routine?

Hardwood floors are expensive compared to other flooring materials; therefore, they must be protected at all costs. Presently, prefinished hardwood flooring is more popular than ever in the market. These floors are prepared in a factory setup and don’t need sanding and dusting at the installation site. The floors are perfectly finished and UV-dried, which means they will be ready to use and have no odor. Here are the tips for maintaining prefinished floors to make them look pristine for decades.

Tips to maintain Prefinished Hardwood Flooring

Using carpets and rugs:

Covering hardwood flooring with carpets, rugs, and mats all over is not a good idea. However, if you place rugs, mats, and doormats at entrances and high-traffic areas, it will help you to keep your floors away from dust, water, and mud. Especially in the rainy season, mud enters the floors through your shoes. This mud harms the floors in two ways:

Mud scratches the prefinished hardwood flooring and takes away its shine. As a result, the floor at entrances starts to fade and look different than the rest of the floors.
Mud and water intrusion send moisture into the deep layers and cause warping and damage.

Furniture pads:

Secondly, you will need to cover the chairs and sofas with silicone pads (furniture caps) that are easily available in the market. Some homeowners are used to shifting their furniture every few months to have a fresh look. During the time of renovation (painting, rearranging), you need to make sure not to drag beds, sofas, and other furniture pieces over the floors. This may cause permanent scratches to the floor, making it look ugly.

Keeping an eye on pets and kids:

If you have pets and small kids in your home, you need to be extra careful. Kids and pets are notorious, and they might scratch the floors while being themselves. You can do the following things:

Trim the nails of pets regularly.
Clean the paws of your pet when they are entering inside after a walk.
Allot a separate space for your kids and pets to play and be creative.
Keep an eye on your children while they are playing.

What should be your cleaning routine for the prefinished hardwood flooring?

Prefinished hardwood flooring is easy to clean and maintain because it is built well. Sweeping, mopping, and vacuuming are lifelines of any cleaning process. Apart from this, you can also deep clean your floors once every few months.
If you want your floors to look clean and appealing, sweep your floor daily with a broom with soft bristles. While sweeping, pay attention to corners. For mopping, you will need to use a microfiber cloth because a soft cloth will avoid scratching.
Vacuum cleaners are a boon for people who like to clean dust at the micro level. But while shopping for a vacuum cleaner, make sure you buy the one without a beating bar. A beating bar can scratch the surface of the floor.
Make sure you don’t use water to clean the floors. Neither wet mopping nor liquid cleaning agents should be used on the floors. It is obvious to have accidental spills. The life of your floor depends on how fast you act. If you are like, let me finish my dinner or tea and clean the spill afterward, the liquid will enter a deeper layer of the wood. Therefore, clean the spills the moment they happen with a tissue or a microfiber cloth.

When is refinishing the floors the last option?

Prefinished hardwood flooring can be refinished to bring a fresh and new layer of wood to the surface. But what is the right time to go for a refinishing? Let’s read next.

Refinishing is a process where floors are sanded, stained, and finished on the site. After this process, the floors look brand new. It is good to refinish hardwood floors once in 10 years. The number of times you sand and stain your floor becomes thin. So, you need to be careful while choosing to refinish the floors. Here are some cases when you need to go for a refinishing:

The color of your floors has changed and looks dull.
There are minor scratches on your hardwood floor.
You are looking to renovate your home.
You need to change the stain color and finish type.

Takeaway:

Prefinished hardwood flooring is the best flooring option for any kind of home. It is easy to keep them new and good-looking for years. All you need to do is follow the cleaning and maintenance tips given above. However, if you are looking to replace your floors or want to buy a new one, Harper Floors is one of the best flooring providers. To explore and order their free flooring samples, visit their website now!