Hardwood floors can be both visually pleasing and increase the value of your home; they are durable, add warmth to a room and offer great stain resistance. However, keeping your floors looking like new for years to come you will need to do some routine maintenance. The following practices will ensure that your hardwood floor will always look great.

How to Keep Your Floor Clean

Sand and dirt can scratch your hardwood floor, so it’s important to sweep, dust or vacuum your floor regularly. This will prevent sand and dirt from harming your floor. If you have children or pets who track in lots of sand and dirt, you may have to sweep or vacuum your floor every day. When vacuuming your floor, use the attachment or setting for bare floors. If you use the beater bar, it may scratch your hardwood floor.

Every week, you should wipe your hardwood floor with a damp mop or a clean cloth. This will help to clean any dirt that you missed when sweeping or vacuuming.

Periodically, you should clean your floor with a cleaner made specifically for hardwood floors. Never use soapy water or a wet mop on your hardwood floor.

Cleaning up Spills and Stains

Hardwood floors are very stain resistance, however, if you allow liquid to stay on a hardwood floor for an extended period, it may cause damage or stains. To prevent damage or staining, wipe up any spills immediately. Always use a clean soft cloth to prevent scratching of your floor.

If you have a tough stain like paint, ink, lipstick or oil, you can try cleaning the stain with acetone nail polish remover on a soft cloth. When you have removed all traces of the stain, be sure to clean the area with a clean cloth that is dampened with water.

If you get candle wax or gum on your hardwood floor, apply ice to harden the wax or gum. Then use an old credit card to scrape off the wax or gum. Once you have all of the gum or wax removed, you can clean the area with a clean cloth that is dampened with water.

Things You Should Avoid with Hardwood Floors

Only use cleaning products that are designed for hardwood floors. Do not use any type of abrasive like scrubbing pads or scouring powder. These can scratch and destroy your floor. Don’t use ammonia, bleach or oil on your floor because they could stain or discolor the floor.

If you have high traffic areas, like hallways or entryways, you may want to use floor protectors to prevent your hardwood floor from being scratched or scuffed. Don’t use rugs with a rubber backing because they may cause stains on the floor. They may also stick to the hardwood floor and leave behind residue that is very difficult to remove.

Place furniture pads under any heavy furniture and they will help prevent scratches and indentations from your furniture. If you move furniture take care not to slide it across the floor. Either pick up the furniture or place it on a piece of plywood or carpeting before you slide it across the floor.

Learn how to select the best hardwood floors for your home.