Hardwood floors give a classy and elegant look. To maintain these floors, you have to put in a bit of work and use special cleaning products. Using a wrong cleaner or cleaning tool can damage wood floors, so be careful while choosing wood floor cleaning products.

Wood floor cleaning and maintenance

Cleaning hardwood floors can be challenging. You need to use some special wood floor cleaning products. Just sweep the floor regularly, and mop it once or twice a week.

Types of wood floor surface

If your wood floors have a coating of a tough and durable sealant like Urethane or Polyacrylic, they are waterproof and more resistant to stains and scratches. If they are the wooden floors in old houses, these can stain and crack easily, they need more care and attention. Even treated wood floors that have been covered with a penetrating seal or oil are not as sturdy as finished floors.

Cleaning tips to clean wood flooring

-When cleaning any type of wood floor, even finished floors, use a damp mop to remove the grime and dust. Use of water can cause discoloration, swelling of wood etc
-First, clear the floor of all clutters, including furniture
-Use a soft broom, or soft pads or microfiber attachments with a vacuum cleaner. Sweep the floor regularly to prevent dust and dirt from getting deep into the cracks and grains on the wood surface
-Use a small amount of dishwashing liquid to clean a spill or mud stains on finished wood floors
-For treated of unfinished floors, use cleaning products recommended by the wood floorboards manufacturer. You can use best wood floor cleaning products on finished wood floors too, to remove tough stains

Some of the best wood floor cleaning products

You have to stock up on a set of cleaning tools like soft brooms, vacuum cleaners with soft mop head attachments, good floor cleaners, and soft cloths to clean your hardwood floors.

Hardwood floor cleaners are specifically designed to clean wood floors. Some commonly used products are Murphy Oil Soap, Pledge FloorCare Wood Squirt & Mop, Bona Wood Floor Cleaner, and Orange Glo Hardwood Floor Cleaner. Most of the best wood floor cleaning products are vegetable oil based and non-toxic, but some use a lot of chemicals to tackle harder cleaning tasks.

Murphy Oil Soap

This is a commonly and easily available product, you can find it in grocery stores shelves. It does a good job of cleaning dirt and waxy buildup on your wooden floor. It is non-toxic, hence it is safe to use in homes with children or pets.

Pledge FloorCare Wood Squirt

This is a non-biodegradable chemical-based cleaner, and can leave a toxic residue. However, it is good for breaking up and cleaning hard spills and stains. It is cheap and easily available, like Murphy Oil Soap.

Bona Hardwood Floor Care System

This is an expensive product, used by professionals like wood floor installers. However, it does a great job without damaging them and is non-toxic. This is a cleaning product set. Besides the pH balanced, non-toxic heavy duty cleaner, the set includes a mop handle, a washable microfiber cleaning pad, and a microfiber dusting pad. The liquid floor cleaner can erase scuff marks and clean most stains and buildups.

Orange Glo Hardwood Floor Everyday Cleaner

This orange scented water-based non-toxic hardwood floor cleaner comes in a spray bottle, which makes it easy to use. You just have to spray it on the region you want to clean and wipe it with a mop. It is very effective in cleaning scuff marks and normal stains and spots. If you are looking for a product that can clean your floor and at the same time, make it look shiny and sparkling, you can try the Orange Glo Hardwood Floor 4-in-one Polish, a product that you can use once a month to give your floor a glowing finish.