Gazing upon your gleaming hardwood floors after they’ve just been professionally cleaned can give you such a sense of pride, but how will you keep them looking like this between cleanings? You can’t keep family members, and especially your kids from using these rooms, so how can you have beautiful clean shiny floors at all times?

There’s no need to fret! We’re full of ideas to help you maintain your hardwood floors so that they are always their gleaming best!

Clean Properly – Standing water on a hardwood floor will damage the finish; so never use a wet mop to clean your hardwood floors. You should also avoid cleaning products formulated for tile or vinyl floors as these too can dull your hardwood floor. Aside from that, using the wrong type of cleaning products can cause a safety hazard by making the floor slippery.

For many homes, the hardwood floors are a main focal point, adding a great deal of ambiance and beauty. In order to keep them looking their best use only cleaning products specifically formulated for cleaning wood flooring. Read the label very carefully before using the product.

Best Mopping Techniques – When mopping hardwood floors the mop should move in the direction of the grain. The most effective method for cleaning hardwood floors is mopping by hand since no other method will get them to sparkle quite as much. But make sure you don’t get the floor too wet by having a dry cloth handy so that you can dry the floor along the way.

Another method is by using a spray mist on your floor from a spray bottle. Using a microfiber mop you can wipe the dirt off the floor and then immediately dry it before you continue on.

To Make Things Even Easier

Leave Shoes Outside the Door – The easiest way to maintain gleaming hardwood floors is to have everyone remove their shoes and leave the outside the door. This way no one is tracking in dirt and debris from wherever they’ve been in the neighborhood. This will keep your floor a lot cleaner and avoid unnecessary scratches.

 Vacuum Frequently – Having everyone remove their shoes before entering your home will certainly eliminate a lot of dirt, but some will still come in. Most vacuum cleaners come with a floor attachment designed to pick up dirt. Using your vacuum cleaner is a lot better than sweeping the dirt up with a broom, because that can cause scratches to form.