Caring for Wooden Floors

Whether you have hardwood, laminate or solid wood flooring, a regular cleaning routine ensures that your wooden floor surfaces stay in tip-top condition. Spotless floors also make it easier for you to keep the rest of the house clean.

Use broom sweepers or vacuum wooden floors regularly to remove dust and grit. If grit is left on smooth floors it may cause unsightly scratches, and it can become embedded in wooden surfaces. All floors must be completely free of dust before you start to wash or polish them.

Your vacuum cleaner may have a special setting for hard floors and you should use the crevice tool attachment around the edges where dirt tends to collect, producing a sticky build-up that is time consuming to remove. If you sweep floors, use a broom sweeper with fine, soft bristles, and a hand brush for corners. Give your wooden floors the best chance of staying clean by putting doormats by all outside doorways to remove dirt and grit from the feet of both people and pets.

Wooden flooring only needs to be wiped over with a damp mop, as wooden floors can be damaged by over wetting.

For damp mopping, a sponge mop is ideal; a cloth mop is also good, as long as it is used in conjunction with a bucket that has a grid section specially designed for squeezing the mop head to avoid over wetting the floor.

Before you start, make sure that all dust and grit is removed from the floor, and then prepare a bucket of bio-degradable cleaning solution, according to the type of flooring surface. In most cases the solution should consist of a general household cleaner or washing-up liquid diluted in warm water. Start from one wall and work backwards across the floor towards an exit.

Dip the mop into the solution. Squeeze out before wiping over the floor. If you are going to polish the floor later, rinse it with clear water and a well-squeezed mop and leave it to dry.

Polishing a newly washed floor not only provides a protective layer, but also creates a good shine which enhances the look of the floor and helps to disguise any blemishes. There are basically three types of polish available:

Liquid wax floor polish is a solvent-based liquid polish that spreads easily. It is suitable for unvarnished wooden floors, linoleum, unglazed quarry tiles and waxed cork.

Solid wax floor polish is rubbed in by hand. Solid wax is used on the same floors as liquid wax and produces a long-lasting shine.

Emulsion polishes produce a long-lasting shine. These water-based polishes are easy to apply and are suitable for laminate and sealed wooden flooring.

Always stick to one type of polish as the chemicals in the different products may react badly with each other. Apply the polish sparingly. It is better to build up a couple of thin layers rather than a thick layer which might attract dust and be difficult to buff up. Heavy traffic areas may need extra polishing. Hire an electric polisher to make easy work of large wooden floors.

• Applying liquid wax: Using a soft cloth of electric floor polisher, wipe the polish evenly over the floor and leave it to soak into the flooring.

• Buffing up: Tie a soft cloth around the head of a broom and use it to buff up a shine on the waxed floor.

• Applying solid wax: With a soft cloth, rub the polish by hand into the floor until it shines. Keep re-folding the cloth as you polish.

• Applying emulsion polish: Pour a little polish on to the floor, and then spread it evenly with a damp sponge mop. Leave to dry – no buffing is required.

If the polish on a floor looks sticky and built up, it is time to remove it and start again.

• Removing wax: Use specially designed wax remover, or take the polish off with white spirit and a soft cloth.

* Removing emulsion polish: Mop a mix of water, household cleaner and ammonia over a small area at a time. When the polish dissolves, wipe it off with newspaper. Finally, use a damp mop with clear water to clean off any remaining traces. Once dry, the floor is ready for new polish.