How to Clean a Hardwood Floor Part 3

Part three of our series on how to clean a hardwood floor focuses on when to clean as opposed to when to refinish.

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Is It Time For Hardwood Floor Refinishing?  

Is it time for hardwood floor refinishing?  The answer to that question depends on a lot of factors.  First off, what type of hardwood floor do you have?  Is it really hardwood or is it just wood laminate.  You don't want to try to refinish a wood laminate floor without knowing what you're doing, as you could end up stripping the wooden parts of your laminate off, and leave your floor a scarred wreck.  The laminate that covers the floor is remarkably thin, usually just slightly thicker than a piece of paper.

If your floor is hardwood, what type of wood is it?  Is it hickory, maple, or teak parquet?  Maybe you have walnut flooring.  If you don't know, make sure you call in a professional hardwood floor refinishing service in New Braunfels, TX.   However, if you are able to determine your flooring, then it is time to decide whether it just needs cleaning, sealing, refinishing, or some combination of all of them.  

How to Tell If You Need to Refinish Your Wood Floor

How can you that you need to refinish your hardwood floor?  Well the first thing you need to do is take a look at it.  IF you've been maintaining your floor, but for some reason you're still seeing dingy hardwood, that is usually a sign of fine scratches on your floor.  If you have big scratches or pits in the wood, you've only got two choices: put something on top of the marks, or call a hardwood floor refinishing service.  

A professional hardwood floor refinishing service can help in a lot of ways.  First off they'll clean your floor for you.  Sometimes something as simple as that can make all the difference.  If it doesn't, then they will go over the process with you.  Usually the floor is lightly sanded down, refinished, and then to protect it, sealing may be in order.  As to why you want to think about it, that's simple.

Good hardwood flooring is never cheap.  So any wood flooring you put in is an investment of your money.  As such, you want to keep it up.  One of the best ways is to contact a hardwood floor refinishing service in your area.  

This concludes part three of our  series.  For more information on hardwood floor cleaning, be sure to read part one and part two as well.   

Lone Star Tile and Grout Cleaning

4019 Stahl Rd, Suite 202
San Antonio TX 78217
(210) 637-5050
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How to Clean a Hardwood Floor

Do you know how to clean a hardwood floor?  We do.  So we hope these tips will come in handy.  Part one of a three part series explores some general tips.

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Hardwood Floor Cleaning: What You Shouldn't Do

When you want to clean your hardwood floor, it's important to know what to do as well as what not to do.  First off, use caution when picking store-bought products.  A great many of them have oil or wax in them.  While waxing and applying an oil to a hardwood floor may sound like a good idea, you have to know that over time, these products leave a lot of residue on your floor that will get gummy and attract dirt.  After a while your floor will start to appear dingy and worn out.  If you're like most people, you think the solution is more polish.  It isn't.  In addition, there are some floors such as teak that already have a high oil content.  If you add a product that is oil or wax-based, it will not only make your floor dingy, it will also likely make it permanently slippery too.

On the flip side of this, be sure to read the ingredients.  If there is anything acidic or harsh chemicals in the mix, don't use it to clean your hardwood floor.  For example, we once had a client who used a  product from a store that actually contained bleach that was supposedly "safe" for any surface, including hardwood floors.  Suffice it to say the label was wrong.   The bleach not only stripped away the polyurethane coating, it did what bleach often does, it well, bleached his floor.  What was a $2,500 floor was now a bunch of driftwood.  So to sum up, what you shouldn't do includes anything with harsh chemicals or anything wax and oil based.  Another thing to add to the "Do Not List" is don't wet mop your floor.

How You Should Clean Your Hardwood Floor

How you should clean your hardwood floor is actually easier than you might think.  First off, place throw rugs at each entryway into a room with hardwood flooring.  These rugs will help to capture dirt, and most importantly, fine grit that can scratch your hardwood floor.  Any boots or shoes that could scratch up your floor should be removed.  Usually flats, or sneakers are fine, however, with sneakers they can leave scuff marks, so be careful even with them.

Sweep your hardwood floor at least once a week with a soft dustmop or a simple straw broom.  Sweep outwards out of the room and ultimately into a dustpan or outdoors.  You can also clean your hardwood floor with a little bit of white vinegar and water in a spray bottle, and a non lint cloth.

So remember, taking care of your floor is always a good idea.  So know what to do AND what not to do.  That way you will always be able to maintain and clean your hardwood floor between visits.

For more information on hardwood floor cleaning and refinishing, be sure to read part two and part three as well.

Lone Star Tile and Grout Cleaning
4019 Stahl Rd, Suite 202
San Antonio TX 78217
(210) 637-5050
http://www.lonestartileandgroutcleaning.com