How I Care for My Wood Floors

Thursday, September 7, 2017

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 One of the most appealing things we noticed when we toured our potential new home (that we've now been in for over 2 years!) was the beautiful hardwood floors.  The owners had torn up the carpet only to discover the beautiful treasure underneath.  


Hardwood floors are great because as a pet owner, accidents do happen and it's much easier to clean them up right away from hardwood flooring than it is from carpet.   I also love that it's easy to vacuum them and fur and dust can't get embedded into carpet fibers.  And since we still like some carpeting, we just add simple area rugs, which can easily be replaced over the years.
Just look at how shiny and beautiful the floor was in our listing photos when we found the home!


But just because your house has hardwood floors doesn't mean you can just take it easy and never worry about them.  Hardwood floors need properly cared for so that they last a long time.  Spills need cleaned up right away and you can't use certain harsh chemicals on them.  Today I put together a few ways I take care of my hardwood floors so that you can do the same and enjoy a lifetime of luxury!


1. Be Mindful of Abrasive Items
Yes girl! Those stilettos are adorable but calm down because I've seen people dig and gouge their hardwood floors because they stomp around in party shoes.  Seriously though, if you have a pair of heels that's scratchy on the bottom because they are really worn in, it's not a good idea to wear those around the house.  Unless you want to replace or refinish the floors many times more than necessary, just wear gentle soft footwear or go barefoot.

2. Use Gentle Products

One of the downsides to using cleaning formulas on hardwood floors is the potential harm the chemicals can do to your pets.  So I always like choosing a plant based cleaner.  Better Life Floor Cleaner is amazing and has plant based ingredients so it's safer for kids and pets.  It uses grapefruit, peppermint, and bergamot extracts to clean and restore the natural shine of your floors without any harsh fumes.  It works on hardwood, tile, marble, bamboo, vinyl, laminate, and other sealed floors.  No streaks, no haze, and no rinsing necessary!  I love the smell it leaves behind too, much better than harsh chemical cleaner smells that I'm used to.


3. Vacuum Regularly
You want to keep dirt and grit from rubbing into the hardwood flooring over time so make sure you vacuum on a regular basis. And when you do, don't use the roller brush function!  I think the only pain with hardwood floors is that it's easier to see dog fur and hair, which is technically a good thing, because it means it's not getting embedded into your floor like it would if you had carpet.  But the only thing with that is that you see what I like to call tumbleweeds of dog fur. Stella has tumbleweeds that roll around the house.  They like to hide under furniture so make sure when you vacuum, you use the wand attachment to get into all of those hard to reach places.


4. Mind the Humidity
If you live in a climate where it gets very humid in summer, make sure you have a dehumidifier or that you are regularly running your AC.  Humidity can shrink flooring.  Most of us don't need to worry about this unless maybe you have hardwood flooring in the basement where it can get damp, or where water can get in from time to time when it rains really hard.   A dry floor is a happy floor!


5. Use Furniture Pads
If you keep furniture directly on the hardwood floors and the furniture has legs that come to a point and apply pressue, use funriture pads. They are great because they also prevent your furniture from slipping around.  And when moving furniture, use sliders underneath instead of dragging it along the hardwood.


If you take care of your wood floors, you will be especially glad in the longrun when they look beautiful year after year!


How do you take extra special care of your hardwood floors?



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