How to Clean Hardwood Floors: The Best Tips

A hardwood floor has a special charm: the material not only radiates a pleasant warmth, but also convinces with its natural look. You can find out how to clean your hardwood floors properly here.

Cleaning hardwood floors: Which floor covering is it?

With hardwood floors, a general distinction is made between laminate, plank flooring and parquet.

• The laminate is made of a material mixture of wood fibre boards and a melamine resin layer. The sealed surface makes the flooring insensitive to scratches and can also be easily cleaned. Find out here how to clean laminate.
• With parquet and also with plank flooring, the possibilities for cleaning depend on the surface treatment.

These possibilities exist:

• untreated or stained wooden floor
• oiled or waxed wooden floor
• varnished or pre-sealed wooden floor
• The floor has a decorative layer of real wood or plastic

If you do not know how your wooden floor has been treated, you can put a few drops of water on it in an inconspicuous place. If the drops penetrate directly into the wood, the floor is either untreated or oiled. Then take up the drops with a cotton cloth. However, if the drops remain on the wood for a while, the floor has been varnished.

Basics

• First of all: Wood works! This means that depending on temperature and humidity, the material can warp or swell. A constant humidity (50 to 60 percent) and temperature (approx. 20 °C) in the room prevent this.
• Before wiping your wooden floor with a damp cloth, dirt and grime must be removed, otherwise the floor may easily be scratched. Use a dry cotton cloth floor mop or a vacuum cleaner with a special parquet nozzle.
• Do not use microfibre cloths: they can cause scratches or, in the case of oiled or waxed floors, absorb the oil or wax. Better: a gentle mop. All-purpose cleaner is also taboo, as it is too aggressive.

Cleaning hardwood floors: Here’s how it works

Cleaning untreated hardwood floors

• Water is out of place here! Clean the untreated hardwood floors only dry. Moisture can cause the wood to swell and cause stains on the floor.

Cleaning waxed or oiled hardwood floors

• A wooden floor treated with oil or wax should only be cleaned when absolutely necessary.
• In this case, use only water or a very gentle cleaner (e.g. a degreasing detergent).
• Wipe the floor only with a damp cloth and only in the direction of the grain.
• Ensure that the room is well ventilated so that the floor can dry well.

Cleaning painted hardwood floors

• If the hardwood floors are sealed with a layer of varnish, special wood cleaners can be used. For example, varnish soaps for varnished wooden floors are available in stores.
• Here too, however, make sure that you use as little water as possible for wiping.
• Note: However, it becomes problematic as soon as the lacquer layer is scratched, as moisture can penetrate into the scratches, causing a grey colouring.

Cleaning hardwood floors with decorative layer

• If a wood decor layer is present, the same measures apply as for oiled or waxed floors. This means that cleaning should only be carried out slightly damp and in the direction of the grain.
• However, if a decorative film is present, as with laminate, laminate cleaner is the best choice. In addition, you do not have to follow the grain direction when wiping.

Caring for hardwood floors

Give your hardwood floors an extra dose of care every now and then, so that they are well protected. There are polishes and care products available in stores for the various types of wood flooring (wax, oil or sealant).

• Hardwood floors treated with wax should be given a new coat once a year.
• Oiled hardwood floors are also treated with maintenance oil once a year.
• A hardwood floor with a sealant should be treated twice a year with a care product.

Caution: Cloths soaked in oil and turpentine can easily ignite. Rinse them out with plenty of clean water or store them in non-flammable containers (glass, metal).

Tip: Protect your hardwood floors with a doormat at the apartment entrance. This will keep dirt and grime away directly.