The Professional Way to Clean Your Hardwood Floors

Your hardwood floor is one of your biggest investments, and the last thing you want when cleaning it is to rub it the wrong way and leave lasting marks. Been wondering what’s the best way to clean your hardwood floors? We put this guide together so you can clean your floor to a sheen with peace of mind that you won’t be staining or warping your beautiful planks.

What to Use to Clean Hardwood Floors

Your first step to clean wood floors is to regularly bust dust and remove all the dirt and pet hair using a dust mop such as the e-Cloth Deep Clean Microfiber Mop or a vacuum. This should be done at least once a week or you risk having your floor become damaged by scuffing. You’ll also want to make sure you do a full sweep of your floors before you move on to any liquid deep cleaning.

There are several considerations for using a vacuum so you don’t scratch your floor. The beater bar on a vacuum can scratch your floors, so you’ll want to either use a floor brush attachment, a dedicated hardwood vacuum such as the Miele Compact C1 Pure Suction, or a vacuum with a dedicated hardwood floor mode such as Titan T4000.2 Heavy Duty Bagged Upright Vacuum Cleaner.

Of course, it’s likely that along with dust your hardwood floor will accumulate all manner of grime, stains, and spills, which is when it’s time to use a damp mop. You can use water alone, or water mixed with dish soap or a specialized wood floor cleaning solution such as Nellie's WOW Mop Floor Cleaner.

This regular cleaning regimen will keep your floors looking clean, but over time you may find that it is beginning to lose its luster or that scuffs are appearing on the finish. That’s when it’s time to go a little deeper.

How to Deep Clean Hardwood Floors

A deep clean will help restore the original luster of your flooring using cleaning products specifically designed to get to the heart of your wood and repair the finish. Not all hardwood flooring is made equal, and it’s important to identify the type of wood used on your floor and the type of treatment used before you slosh liquid cleaners on it. 

If your floor is finished with wax, oil, or Monocoat, you will need to use special cleaning solutions recommended by your floor’s manufacturer. Otherwise, you’ll want to use a liquid hardwood floor cleaner that is pH-neutral and specifically labeled as safe for hardwoods. Once you’ve got your cleaner, test it on a small section of your floor and let it dry to make sure it has the desired effect.

Here are the steps to deep clean:

1. Move your furniture: if you’re not careful, this step can cause damage to your floor! Hopefully, your furniture already has felt pads on the leggings to avoid scuffs. Otherwise, you can have a friend help you lift furniture onto a blanket to help shift it off to the side.

2. Remove dust as explained previously.

3. Gather a mop and prepare your cleaning solution. You will be spraying a small amount of cleaner on one small section of the floor at a time, and then take the mop and use long figure-eight motions to effectively work all the grains. You don’t want to overdo the amount of cleaning solution as standing water can cause lasting damage - sop up any puddles with a dry mop or cleaning cloth. 

Of course, if you want your deep cleaning to be as painless as possible, take your mop game to the next level with an oscillating mop like Nellie’s Wow Mop that buffs and removes dirt and grime with little effort - even your kids or grandma can do it!

What do I do About Scuffs?

It may be that in your quest to keep your floors clean that you’ve noticed scuffs from furniture, shoes, pet claws, and all manner of pesky causes. Generally, the finish on your floor will allow you to buff out these scuffs with a little elbow grease.

For light scuffs, take a clean, soft fuzzy object such as a sock or a tennis ball and work it vigorously over the scuff to buff it out. For heavier scuffs, apply a small amount of baking soda to a damp cloth and gently rub it over the mark till it vanishes, then buff dry.

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