Hardwood Floor Cleaners

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What are hardwood floor cleaners?

Solid hardwood floors like oak, maple, ash, beech, birch, hickory, cherry, walnut and others are very easy to keep clean. However, in addition to routine maintenance like sweeping and vacuuming, hardwood floors require protection from heavy wear. This type of floor must be cleaned regularly using hard wood floor cleaners. Different ingredients in hard wood cleaners will bring out the best in different types of floors.

Why buy hardwood floor cleaners?

All hardwood floors will fade, darken or change shades over time. However, appropriate attention and care using hard wood cleaners is the best way to maintain the beauty, color, finish and richness of hard wood almost indefinitely.

Hard wood cleaners are pH neutral. They can remove soils, stains, dirt, and grime without eating through the protective coating of treated wood, dulling the finish or leaving sticky residue. They can also remove occasional scuffs or heel marks. In contrast, other floor cleaners may be too acidic. Highly acidic cleaners will quickly dull the shine of hard wood floors and may lead to expensive professional re-sanding or recoating down the road.

Do not use ammonia to clean your hardwood floors. It can discolor and reduce the life of hard wood floors. Furthermore, ammonia has a strong disagreeable smell that lingers for a long time.

Additional Information

Never make an uninformed decision or rely on word of mouth when purchasing a hardwood floor cleaner. Consult a wood flooring professional or the manufacturer of your hardwood floor for its specific requirements. Additionally, using non-recommended product floor cleaners may void any warranty or guarantee.

The kinds of finish largely determine the cleaning and care for the floor. Hard wood floors that are surfaced-sealed with urethane, polyurethane or polyacrylic are often glossy and may look like there is layer of clear plastic on top of the wood. These are stain and water-damage resistant. Typically, the finish requires no special treatment aside from regular sweeping and mopping. If they require cleaning, do not use cleaners that leave a wax film or residue. They can make the floors very slippery.

If you can feel the wood grain when you run your hand across the surface, it is most likely to have a penetrating seal or oil-treatment. Penetrating seal and oil-treated floors must be pampered and protected with liquid or paste hard wood cleaner. Lacquer, varnish and shellac finishes are not very resistant to moisture, spills and wear. They need the same care as penetrating seal-treated and oil-treated floors.
Remove all the dust particles that may be lying on the floor before applying the hard wood cleaner on the floor. Follow directions precisely when using any wood floor cleaner which requires mixing with water.