Wood Floor Do’s and Don’ts

How to Properly Care for Your Wood Floors

Dry mop your floor on a regular basis. Dry mopping picks up the gritty dirt that can ruin a finish! Purchase the best quality dry mop you can.  Use a dry mop on newly finished floors for the first three months without any cleaner.

Wipe up spills quickly using a damp cloth. All water based finishes can be quickly eaten away by the bacteria that will form from most animal products. These products include things like milk and ice cream, hairballs, saliva and especially urine. To keep your floors looking their best, all animal products and spills must be wiped up as soon as possible.

Never wet mop your floor! Water and moisture are enemies of wood! Wet clean your floors only when absolutely necessary! Use a damp mop with a neutral floor cleaner only. Click here to purchase the only cleaner we recommend.

Never use the following: Oil soaps, waxes, lemon products, ammonia. All of these products can damage your finish.  Use neutral only, which will remove the dirt safely without harming the finish. Mr. Sandless® wood cleaner is the only brand we recommend. A capful or two in a gallon of water is all that you need to use!

Use floor protectors! All finishes will scratch! A scratch removes the finish from the floor, and eventually will result in a duller look. All furniture legs need felt protectors, unless they come with a factory installed covering. Use area rugs to protect high traffic areas.

Use carpet mats.  The area under your area rugs and area carpets needs to “breathe”.  If it doesn’t, the exposed floor will age and oxidize while the area covered will not. This leaves a distinct color difference of your floor from the area under the rug, to the exposed area.  Using “netting” under carpet mat will allow air to penetrate under the carpet and both the covered and the exposed areas will age properly.    

Trim your pet’s nails and keep their paws clean. Pet’s nails can damage a wood floor and ruin finish.