Hardwood floors add character and charm to any house, but do you know how to clean wood floors? After all, you don’t want to scratch or damage your beautiful floors. For instance, what tools should you use?

We’ll cover everything you need to know in this complete guide, so read on to learn how to properly care for your wood flooring.

Avoid Too Much Water

Too much moisture can damage your natural hardwood floors. You don’t want water to seep into the floorboards and cause warping.

Avoid using too much water and perform a damp mopping instead (which we’ll cover in more detail later).

If you do use too much water or if your flooring suffered water damage, it’s important to act fast if you want to save your wood floors. Soak up any standing water you see and use a shop vacuum and squeegee to get the rest of the surface water.

Use the Right Broom

There are different types of brooms, and some are designed for indoor use while others are meant for outdoor use only. Make sure you use a broom with softer bristles to clean wood floors without scratching them.

There’s also a strategy for sweeping floors. You’ll want to start at the top, focusing on dusting items and spaces high up, like cabinets and the tops of dressers, before you sweep. This is because as you dust, the dust will fall to the ground, and you only want to sweep once.

Other tools that are useful for cleaning hardwood floors include dry sweepers, like the Swiffer. A microfiber cloth also works well for picking up dust and dirt. These soft cloths don’t scratch or damage your floors.

Soft Roller Heads for Wood Floors

Can you vacuum hardwood floors? Vacuums do lift the most dirt and debris, but they can also scratch your floors if you use the wrong tool or attachment.

Thankfully, there are soft roller heads made specifically for hardwood or tile floors. These softer attachments won’t scratch the surface of your floor but will still pick up dirt.

Dry Mopping

What is dry mopping exactly? “Dry” mopping refers to using a microfiber cloth, like we mentioned earlier, to gather dust, dirt, dander, and other debris.

Microfiber cloths contain positively charged polyester fibers and negative-charged nylon fibers. These fibers work to pull dirt, water, and more up from the surface. There are even specialized microfiber cloths for hardwood floors.

Damp Mopping

Microfiber cleaning pads can be combined with cleaning solutions, and this is sometimes called damp mopping. Wood floor cleaners will cut through tougher messes, dirt, grime, and more. These cleaners are made with formulas that clean wood floors without harming them.

Damp mopping is a good idea when sweeping and dry mopping isn’t enough to fully clean your floor.

Daily Cleaning

The best way to clean wood floors is to break down cleaning into different time chunks. For instance, you’ll have daily cleaning (or almost every day). Regular dusting and using a microfiber cloth to dry mop are good daily cleaning tasks.

Daily cleaning might be more important if you have pets, as fur and dander can cause allergies. Keep a sweeper on hand for quick access and perform a light dry mopping to trap and collect dirt, fur, and dust.

Weekly Cleaning

Roughly once a week, you’ll want to use a vacuum cleaner. Use attachments to reach those tricky areas that are hard to get to where dust can accumulate. This way, you can clean the baseboards, the gaps between floorboards and around corners.

This is a good time to make sure you clean areas around and under furniture, like beds, desks, tables, and so on. Neglecting these areas lets dust build up and makes cleaning harder.

You’ll also want to mop at least once a week. Use a gentle hardwood floor cleaner and a soft cloth pad. Clean with the grain to pick up dirt more efficiently.

Many homeowners wonder if you can use an all-purpose cleaner or if you have to use a wood cleaning product. You want to make sure that the product you use won’t damage your floors. A cleaner specially designed for hardwood floors is gentle enough to clean your floors without ruining the wood.

How Often Should You Polish Hardwood Floors?

When many people imagine wood floors, they picture a beautiful glossy shine. Polishing hardwood floors will fill scratches and protect the floor against stains, plus it looks fantastic.

So how often should you polish and wax your floors? Generally, you should polish them every 2-4 months.

Before you wax hardwood floors, you’ll want to give the floor a good cleaning. This means you want to sweep and mop to avoid getting any dirt and debris trapped in the wax.

How to Clean Wood Floors the Easy Way: A Cleaning Service

While regular light cleaning helps to keep your floors in top shape, it’s easy for life to get in the way and for one missed day of cleaning to become a missed week. We understand! We also understand that homeowners are unsure about the best products for cleaning their hardwood floors.

A cleaning service keeps your floors and the rest of your home clean and beautiful. Whether you opt to get a recurring cleaning service or if you need a deep cleaning, we can help you out. We have the expertise and tools to clean your hardwood floors effectively and safely.

A Clean and Beautiful Floor

We hope this guide on how to clean wood floors helped you to learn the best ways to keep your floor in top shape. Remember to use the right tools and break down cleaning into daily and weekly tasks.

We can help you keep your floors looking great! If you’re in the Boise, ID area, learn more about our services and book a house cleaning today.