hardwood CARE

It's extremely important to remove dirt, dust, and debris from the hardwood surface to help prevent wear and scratches. In addition to sweeping with a soft bristle broom and dust-mopping your floor with a microfiber cloth or dust mop, you can also vacuum your hardwood floors. When vacuuming your hardwood floor for a deeper clean, make sure your vacuum model has no rotating brushes to prevent dents or scratches to the surface.

Since moisture can seep into porous wood planks causing discoloration, oxidization, and even mold, it's extremely important to ensure that your flooring manufacturer has warranted your hardwood surface for mopping before you deep clean. If your hardwood floors allow for wet mopping, follow the guidelines strictly, use the least amount of water needed, and dry your floor with a microfiber cloth.

If you are interested in having the ability to deep clean your hardwood frequently, explore waterproof hardwoods that offer worry-free living for active homes and allow homeowners to match flooring in moisture-prone areas.

When it comes to cleaning a spill or stain on your hardwood, avoid using harsh cleaners or any cleaner designed for other flooring materials like vinyl, laminate, or tile. Products such as liquid scratch concealer, wood floor polish, floor wax, and touch-up kits are helpful, but make sure to read all instructions before using them to ensure the product is safe for your wood species and finish.

Always try your hardwood-specific cleaning product in an inconspicuous area before using them to clean stains in more visible sections.

Make sure to use mats at all entranceways to remove debris from footwear before it reaches your wood floors. In the winter months and seasons with heavy rainfall, make sure footwear is removed and placed on shoe racks before walking on your hardwood. Use area rugs in your hallways and in all high-traffic areas to reduce the wear of foot traffic and prevent spills from landing on the wood surfaces.

Trim pet nails and claws to avoid scratching, brush your cats and dogs regularly to reduce pet dander, use mats under pet water bowls, and make sure to complete house-training before your pets can spend time on hardwood.

When it comes to genuine wood floors, you can hire professionals to refinish the surface more than once over the years to remove scratches and restore the illustrious shine. Consider hiring professionals to refinish your hardwood floors if you notice significant scratching, fading, cupping, cracking, or discoloration.

Many engineered hardwood or waterproof hardwood products have finishes that will not allow you to refinish the surface so check your manufacturer's warranty beforehand if you are interested in this capability.