Cleaning hardwood floors, Tips and advice

Solid hardwood and engineered wood flooring is very resilient and durable, and performs excellently in many areas of your home. It is ideal for areas such as lounge, dining rooms, entrance halls and kitchens.

However with any type of flooring it will perform better and last longer if it is cleaned and maintained, properly and regularly.

Real wood - lacquered

The general day-to-day maintenance for a lacquered real wooden floor is actually very easy.

All lacquered floors have a hard wearing polyurethane surface, which requires no treatment prior to use. Light daily sweeping or vacuuming will prevent dirt and grit from being ground into your wood floor.

If your wood floor is swept daily, a light weekly cleaning with a suitable Bona cleaner kit check our web site for details, damp mopping is to be avoided, but may be required in some cases, you should always try to keep it to a minimum and just enough to remove the localised spot dirt.

For more persistent dirt, Parador Intensive cleaner will be required. This again can be purchased from our web site, The frequency of this will depend on the amount of soiling, and the colour of the floor.

When choosing wood floor cleaning products look for a cleaner that is low foaming and has a low pH level to remove dirt and protect the surface finish. Do not flood your floor with water as this will do more harm than good.

Most scuffs and light scratch marks can be removed by buffing with a slow speed buffer. This also will add lustre. Scuffmarks that are not removed by buffing can be removed with a nylon scouring pad and a solution of intensive cleaner or neutral PH Bona wood floor cleaning detergent, just check our cleaning products on our web site.

Wood floors subject to high traffic will eventually lose their lustre, so touch up these areas before the finish lacquer wears through completely. Ensure no floor cleaner is left on the floor before applying the finish, or this will spoil the finish.

Once the floor is completely clean you can apply a light polish to restore its shine.
Best done with a low speed buffing machine and lint free cloth.

Real wood – oiled finishes

The general day-to-day maintenance for a natural & UV oiled real wooden floor is actually very easy.

Simply vacuum to remove surface dust and clean using a minimum amount of water or Wood floor cleaning agent for general day to day maintenance.

Re-oiling is necessary when your floor starts to feel more difficult to clean. In the majority of cases an oiled floor will require re-oiling twice in the first year and then typically once per year thereafter.

Real wood - unfinished

It is not normal to leave an unfinished wooden floor in an unfinished state; it is presumed that you will have applied a stain or coating of your own choice. Therefore the day to day maintenance will depend upon the type of finish you have applied.

Check with the manufacturer of your particular coating for any specific maintenance instructions before proceeding. In most cases the instructions will be the same as one of the above; however that may not necessarily be so.

If you are uncertain then it is always possible to sand away the existing finish so that your wooden flooring returns to the same unfinished state in which you purchased it.

Laminate flooring

Laminate flooring is such popular flooring because it is very cheap to purchase very easy to fit and also very easy to keep clean. It doesn’t require any special equipment or product to keep it looking beautiful and in good condition. Just a regular vacuum using a soft brush attachment and then a wipe with a damp mop or soft cloth. Even if you are cleaning a heavily soiled area, you should only use a low ph cleaner sprayed onto the surface, this may be repeated where there is excessive grime in the floor. Chemical cleaners and soap based detergents can cause discoloration and should be avoid, as do using abrasives such as sandpaper, scouring pads or steel wool. Laminated flooring does not need polish or waxing.

General advice

There are lots of real wood floor cleaning products available on the market, but please ensure that they are compatible with your particular floor manufacturer, before use.

Obviously it is better to reduce the amount of dirt in the first instance; doormats placed by exterior doors add a control area, that prevents the amount of dirt brought in by foot traffic, and protective pads on furniture to prevent marks and scratches on the floor surface.

No regular wet mopping, in fact try not to use water at all and mop up any spillage’s regardless of how small immediately.