Every season brings new problems for your hardwood floors. Winter comes with snow, ice, and salt, spring brings rain and dirt, summer adds on chlorine and salt water, and fall brings more dirt and leaves. Despite all the upkeep, though, wood floors are simply too stunning to skip. This is exactly what your hardwood floor maintenance routine should look like, according to the National Wood Flooring Association(NWFA). Yes, they exist, and you had better listen to their advice if you want to maintain your floors for years to come.
Clean Spills Immediately
Use a dry or slightly damp cloth to immediately wipe up anything you spill, avoiding wet or steam mops, which the NWFA says will cause more damage over time. Because wood swells and shrinks depending on moisture, both on it and in the air, it is important to keep humidity levels down to avoid cupping, splitting, and gapping of the wood. The best way to prevent these issues are to clean up spills as soon as they occur, to keep your home’s temperature between 60 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit (also between 30 to 50 percent humidity),and ban wet shoes from the house. They’re kinda gross, anyway.
Use Furniture Pads
Scratches are some of the toughest problems to solve in wood floors. While some scratches are inevitable, others are definitely preventable. One of the best ways to prevent them is to add furniture pads to the legs of your chairs, sofas, tables, etc.
Sweep Or Dust Daily
It may seem excessive, but it’s a solid recommendation. Even if you have a no-shoes rule in your home, dust forms everywhere, and then settles into the grain and between floor boards.If you have furry friends around the house who never stop shedding, consider it a hygiene issue, too.
Vacuum Weekly
As painful as this one also sounds, weekly vacuuming is not only key to keeping your home clean, but also making sure any crumbs and dirt you missed while sweeping don’t scratch your floors. Not into vacuuming on your own? Invest in a Roomba.
Use Wood Floor Cleaner Monthly
Re-Finish Every 3-5 Years
“Over time, when your wood floors start to look a little dull, they can be renewed through recoating. This involves applying a new coat of wood floor finish,” the site shares, noting that how often you’ll have to do this depends on the person or family’s lifestyle.
The post Here’s Exactly How To Maintain Wood Floors appeared first on House Beautiful.
