How to safely and effectively clean your timber floors
At Sadolin, we love wood. From tables and drawers to cupboards and floors, we want to help ensure your timber is well cared for. The following blog post will tell you how to keep your timber floors clean and beautiful.
Prevent dirty floors with regular sweeping or mopping with a microfiber mop: Wooden flooring must be handled with the utmost care. Using the wrong tools to clean may lead to scratches. For this reason, we recommend cleaning your floors daily with a microfiber mop. Microfiber mops are super soft on wooden floors while having the capability to trap dirt and dust. If you want to sweep your floors instead, we recommend a broom head with rubber bristles and with plenty of give. Before purchasing your broom, ensure it’s safe for use on hardwood floors.
Find the right cleaning Solution: The more you clean your wooden floors, the easier this task will be. When damp mopping your wooden floors, it’s first important to find the right solution. Use a mild cleaning solution that’s recommended for use on your specific type of floors. These should be non-alkaline and nonabrasive. You can find these at your local hardware store. Again, use a microfiber mop as this type of mop will be the most gentle for your floors, while still being effective.
Damp mop wooden floors once a week with a microfiber mop: Water is wood’s natural enemy, so it’s essential that you use the least amount of water as possible while completing this task. We recommend mixing your cleaning solution according to directions in a spray bottle, and simply spraying the head of the mop as needed. This will prevent excess water, that can cause damage to even protected wooden floors.
Clean up any excess water: be sure to wipe up any excess water with a microfiber cloth, or mop. If water droplets are allowed to sit, they may cause damage to your floors as well as leaving water marks.
Other preventative measures to care for wooden floors:
Get furniture pads: there’s no faster way to damage your wooden floors than by sliding a heavy piece of furniture across them. To help combat this, consider putting felted pads on all the legs of your furnishings.
Make a no-heel policy: high heels, like furniture legs, also can cause scratches to your flooring. Ask those that enter your house to remove their shoes as a safety precaution for your floors.
Recoat your wood: Wooden floors need to be varnished every 2-4 years. Read the instructions on your varnish for specifics on this. Varnish wears out over time, so be sure to keep track of when your floors are due another varnish so they can always be protected properly. We suggest using our Polyurethane Floor Varnish, for unparalleled protection.
Use rugs: Rugs give an extra layer of protection to your wooden floors. Placing rugs in high traffic areas will keep the floors underneath them in top shape.
Clean up spills straight away: Again, any type of liquids are detrimental to your floors. It’s therefore vital that any spills are cleaned up straight away. Use a microfiber cloth for this.
Getting into a good cleaning routine is key to healthy and happy timber floors. For the tools you’ll need to keep your timber happy, call into your local Sadolin stockist.