Hardwood Floor Refinishing and Cleaning for Beginners

Hardwood floor cleaning requires a bit of know-how, a bit of effort and a bit of patience.

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How to Clean a Hardwood Floor

First off, if you can, know what type of floor you have.  Do you have an oak floor or a hickory wood one.  Is your floor teak parquet, or is it laminate?  Effective hardwood floor cleaning relies on the answers to these questions.  While each floor type is different, however, there are certain traits they have in common.
Even if you have applied some sort of sealer to your hardwood floor, don't wet mop it.  Use a dust mop or a damp mop.  A bit of white vinegar mixed in with water is an effective method of hardwood floor cleaning.  Regardless of what type of hardwood floor you have, never use harsh chemicals such as ammonia or bleach, and be very careful with any store bought cleaning spray or wash.  All hardwood floors have a thin polyurethane coating that was applied when they was manufactured.  Harsh chemicals will not only strip the polyurethane off the wood, it can likely damage the wood as well.  Some wood, such as teak has hard as well as soft sections.  Harsh chemicals can erode the softer portions, causing severe damage to your wood.  When you're cleaning your floor, you also want to avoid any products that are oil--based or wax based for two very good reasons.  First off, while wax or oil-based wood polish does give you a nice shine, over time, it can lead to residue or waxy buildup, which can dull the finish. Wax or oil-based cleaners also have another problem, they require particular care in removing them.  That's where a hardwood floor refinishing service in New Braunfels, Texas comes in.

Hardwood Floor Refinishing Service in New Braunfels

A hardwood floor refinishing service goes beyond mere cleaning.  They will sand your floor gently and remove any scratches, pits, or other damage before they smooth out the floor and bring it back to its former glory.  As for why you want to go with a professional service, it is the in-between care that matters the most.  They can give you tips to keep your floor safe, such as putting throw rugs or mats at every entry point to keep grit and dirt down to a minimum.  They can tell you how to sweep your hardwood floor as well as other helpful tips such as taking off any hard boots or shoes.
Ultimately, that's the real difference in hiring a professional.  You're getting all of their wisdom as well. All very good reasons to hire a hardwood floor cleaning service in New Braunfels.

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

Hardwood Floor Cleaning: Hickory Floor

Hardwood floor cleaning is all about knowledge.  First off you have to know what type of wood your floor is made of.

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Hickory Hardwood Floor Cleaning & Care

For example, one type of floor that needs hardwood floor cleaning is hickory.  According to this article excerpt from WIKIPEDIA.ORG:

"Hickory wood is very hard, stiff, dense and shock resistant. There are woods that are stronger than hickory and woods that are harder, but the combination of strength, toughness, hardness and stiffness found in hickory wood is not found in any other commercial wood. Hickory is also highly prized for wood-burning stoves and chimineas, because of its high energy content. Hickory wood is also a preferred type for smoking cured meats. In the Southern United States, hickory is popular for cooking barbecue, as hickory grows abundantly in the region, and adds flavor to the meat. Hickory is sometimes used for wood flooring due to its durability in resisting wear and character." [READ MORE]

If you have a hardwood floor that is made of hickory, there is some simple steps you can take to keep your wood floor clean between visits from a hardwood floor cleaning service.  First off, never wet mop any hardwood floor.  Instead you either want to spray mop a mixture of white vinegar and water.  If you wet mop your floor, you run a good chance of warping your floor's floorboards. Unless your hardwood has been sealed, remember that all wood is porous. Also, with vinegar, remember less is more, or whatever room you are spraying it in will end up smelling like salad dressing.  A good rule of thumb is two tablespoons for every gallon of water.  Another thing that you want to have at the entry points for each room that you have hardwood in are throw rugs, which will help to  stop grit and dirt from scratching your floor.  You also want to avoid using any cleaning products that have wax in them.  Wax will give your floor a temporary shine, but it will also build up and dull your floor's finish.

Hickory: Some Final Thoughts

If you have hickory flooring, you have a touch of southern elegance in your home.  But even though your floor is beautiful, it is also more than that.  Hardwood floor is also an investment.  As such you want to take care of it.  Sweep your floor every now and then with a dust mop or a soft bristled broom.

So if you have a hardwood floor, take care of it.  And call a hardwood floor cleaning service if you need any help

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Lone Star Tile and Grout Cleaning
4019 Stahl Rd, Suite 202
San Antonio TX 78217
(210) 637-5050
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How to Find a Professional Tile Cleaning Service in San Antonio

Knowing how to find a professional tile cleaning service in San Antonio isn't really too hard.  You just need to know what to look for.

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What to Look For in a Tile Cleaning Service

If you know what to look for in a tile cleaning service, as well as how to look, it is actually one of the easier things around.  To sum it up, however, you need expertise, good reputation, and compatible schedules.  First off, let's go over expertise.   First off, you can find this out by simply looking over the services they offer.

Do they just do tile cleaning, or do they offer other services such as grout color sealing, hardwood floors and more?  Why does this matter? Well, there is something to be said for consolidating service providers.  So instead of a wood floor guy, a tile guy, a grout guy, wouldn't it be good to have them all be the same guy? However, expertise is only part of what to look for.  Next you have to check out their reputation.

Online Reputation and Tile Cleaning Providers

Do they have reviews?  If so, what sort of reviews do they have?  Ironically, a big red flag is general, universally positive reviews.  Reviews like "They're Amazing" "Did a great job," or other such comments are usually a sign of fake accounts created by commercial Internet marketers.  You want to look for reviews that give details.  What did the reviewer like about the service?   However, don't just count on online reputation when you're wanting tile cleaning. Check with your friends and family.  Did any of them work with them before, and if so, how did they like the service? We know what you're thinking.  What about the price they charge?  Well, when you're finding out about the service you're looking at, sometimes, you can find out something about pricing simply by talking to someone.  If the reviewer, or your friends and family all say "they were way too expensive," probably a good idea to shop around some more.

The final thing to consider is schedule compatibility.  You work rotating 12 hour shifts, and the cleaning service is only open noon to four on every day you're working.  Obviously, you're in a bit of a scheduling issue.  You want someone who will have a good range of business hours so that you don't have to either be cut short of sleep or have to take the day off work. However, by working together, this is the least of the challenges in finding a tile cleaning service in San Antonio.

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