Wood Floor Cleaning & Wood Floor Polishing

Wood Floor Cleaning & Wood Floor Polishing

Even if your wood floors look amazing right now, you need to understand the cleaning & maintenance process to keep it in the same shape for as many years as possible. There are not lucky and unlucky people out there, there are people that respect the proper maintenance and they always have spotless floors and there are people that use the wrong cleaning products and the wrong equipment to deep clean floors. This article will help you out understand how to deep clean your floors, how to refresh it and how to polishit.

The first step. There are two standard wood floor finishes that most people have, oil or lacquer. Few years back, the oil used to keep the wood 100% natural while the lacquer was providing a harder wearing protective coat but it was looking more artificial. That is not the case anymore. There are water based floor lacquers out there that look 100% natural and there are glossy & semi gloss hard wax oils that look like varnishes. So to be able to maintain your wood floors in top notch condition, you need to “know” what type of finish is on your floor.

Oiled Floors - oils are popular forever. Even the romans, 2000 years ago, were waxing their wood floors with animal fat to protect it against moist. Since then the oil floors have progressed a lot and now there is a wide range of colours, finishes, level of shine, durability, etc. Most people wax their floors with a hard wax floor oil because it dries faster and it last longer. A standard floor oil will seal the floor and it will provide a few years of protection under normal traffic. A hard wax floor oil will dry fast and it will also provide a few years of protection under a lot of traffic. 

When you wax a floor, the wood absorbs the oil in full. Unlike the varnish, the floor will not glaze. This is a natural finish. If you are looking for a bit of glaze, you can apply 2-3 coats of oil. All oiled floors have to be refreshed at least once per year. Igmore what your builder told you, your waxed floor has to be refreshed. Even if you are not using that particular room a lot, the oil will evaporate on its own over time. So once in a while apply 1 thin coat of refresher and your oiled floor is fully protected again. Is that simple. Failing to do so will dry the floor and it will allow the floor to absorb dirt and moist. 

1. Always use oiled floor cleaners to clean and maintain your floors

2. Do not use abrasive pads on your oils or waxed wood floors

3. Do not apply water based polishes over an oiled floor

4. Do not drag heavy furniture on your floors

5. Do not keep mats in the middle of the room (it will create a patch)

6. Refresh the floor as least once per year

7. Do not scrub patches of floors - you will remove the oil and it will damage the floor

Lacquered Wood Floors - floor varnishes or floor lacquers are more popular than ever. There are water based floor lacquers that look 100% natural, it provides over 10 years of protection, easy to maintain and beautiful looks. But even the lacquered floors require proper maintenance and proper care. You need to wash your wood floors with as little water as possible, use a flat mop and use proper wood floor cleaners (Junckers Sylva or Tover Deteroil). Once on a while, refresh your lacquered wood floor with a coat of water based floor polish. The floor is likely to wear off in areas with more traffic.

1. Use proper wood floor cleaning products for maintenance

2. Do not use universal floor cleaning products to clean your floors

3. Use a mop for wood only & another mop for the rest of the floors

4. Apply 1 coat of refresher once in a while to extend life expectancy

5. Install soft pads on your furniture legs

6. Cut your pet nails 

7. Deep clean your floors once per year

There are not big secrets and complicated maintenance rules. Is only common sense. A proper care and regular maintenance will assure over 50% extra durability.

Wood Floor Cleaning - Wood Floor Refreshing - Wood Floor Polishing

About This Author

Floor Cleaning Dublin Joined: December 27th, 2019