Hard Wood Floor Maintenance

Do you have trouble maintaining your hardwood floor ?

Hardwood flooring is always a great aesthetic choice but it can be hard to maintain over time as natural wear and the damaging effects of foot traffic begin to take their toll on the material. A professional cleaning service like USClean can help to restore or clean your hardwood flooring but there are also some important tips that can be used for regular, do-it-yourself maintenance.

Proper Cleaning and Maintenance of Your Hardwood Floor...

There are several steps that a homeowner can take to make their hardwood floor stay clean and healthy. Here are some of the best ways :

Sweep often and use a soft broom with fine bristles. Clearing soil from your hardwood floor will help to reduce the amount of wear to the material. If you're unsure of what type of broom to use then contact USClean's expert technicians for advice. Vacuum soil and water from your floor immediately. If you need to mop then you should avoid using excess water. Water or other liquids will run into the seams of your hardwood floor and damage or warp the material. Vacuuming both the soil and any liquid from the floor will stop this from happening. Vacuum under area rugs and runners as part of your hardwood floor cleaning. Any soil that is trapped beneath the surface of a rug or runner will agitate the hardwood floor material, causing damage such as scrapes or general wear and tear. Install furniture pads to minimize the contact between furniture and the hardwood floor. Direct contact will cause faster damage to the flooring but pads or runners can reduce damage substantially. Ask USClean for advice on installation of these products as part of your hardwood floor cleaning service.

Should I put rugs over my hardwood floor ?

Yes. An area rug with proper padding can help to reduce the damage normally caused to hardwood floor by foot traffic, furniture moving or any other common activity. Putting a rug underneath furniture not only looks great but it helps to increase the lifespan and health of your hardwood flooring as well.


What if I have to move furniture around? How can I stop scratching the floor ?

There are different methods of moving or rearranging furniture that will help reduce the amount of scratching or wear inflicted on the hardwood floor. A professional cleaning service will never drag furniture. Instead, qualified experts like those from USClean, will remove soil from the hardwood surface and then move items using special, gliding floor pads that reduce friction with their use.


Should I have my hardwood floor waxed or buffed ?

It's difficult to tell without looking at a few different factors as some hardwood flooring may require occasional waxing or buffing while some may not. Either find the proper maintenance technique from the flooring manufacturer itself or contact USClean to book an appointment with us so we can have one of our trained floor cleaning technicians identify the material and provide maintenance advice.


How are there different ways to maintain hardwood floors ?

Yes, 3 in fact.
The first is a general hardwood floor cleaning. We apply a wood cleaner that gently suspends and loosens the soil attached to the wood floor and then remove it using a cotton pad on a rotary floor machine or hardwood floor mop. The benefits of using the rotary floor machine will help the floor shine a bit more.

The second process is to take the first couple of layers of the polyurethane finish off. This helps even the floor out a bit. After doing that, we clean the hardwood floor using a wood cleaner and either a rotary floor machine or hardwood floor mop. Once dry, we apply several coats of either a semi-gloss or matte finish. This helps protect the hardwood floor as well as levels it out and fills in any scratches or dents. This process can be completed in less than a day's time. Doing this process every 2 to 3 years can help prevent the third process from being done every 7 to 8 years to once every 12 to 15 years.

The third process is a bit more involved. It's where the hardwood floor is completely sanded down. The hardwood floor is then stained and new layers of either a semi-gloss or matt finish is applied. This process can take several days to complete, and we leave this to the professionals that do this on a daily basis.