How to Clean Wood Floors

Learn how to clean wood floors with these simple tips.  Easy ideas to cut down your cleaning time and keep your wood {and laminate!} floors looking their best for years to come!

When we first moved into our house, I had no idea how to care for wood floors. Our house came with pine wood floors throughout most of our home, however, so I had to learn quickly! Over the years I’ve tried lots of different cleaning methods, and have figured out {sometimes the hard way!} what works and what doesn’t.  Here are some of my top tips for how to clean wood floors….

This post is in partnership with Swiffer and contains affiliate links. As always, all opinions are 100% mine.

How to Clean Wood Floors

The following tips are for use on sealed wood floors and laminate.  For new floors, always check with the manufacturer for any specific recommendations

Do a daily sweep.

Loose dust, dirt, and pet hair can actually scratch wood floors and laminate as well as dull the floor finish.  To prevent the accumulation of dirt and grit, do a daily quick sweep, dust, or vacuum of the higher traffic areas.  By just preventing the build up in these areas, you’ll end up keeping your whole floors much cleaner in just a fraction of the time.  It really doesn’t have to be much – just a quick 5 minutes can make a big difference.

I use our Swiffer Sweeper or Swiffer Vac each night after dinner and just focus on those “problem areas” that the most dirt and dust accumulates. For our house, this is usually around the back and front doors, a few corners that the hairballs always seem to go, and around our eating area.  The Swiffer Sweeper is so much quicker and easier than pulling out the big vacuum and the Swiffer cloths do an amazing job at trapping all of the dirt, fine dust, and other loose debris that seems to pile up each day.  If we have larger dirt and food debris, the Swiffer vac works better as it sucks up those larger particles while still getting all of that finer dust with the cloths.

As an extra bonus, Swiffer is easy enough for the kids to use and they actually have fun using it! 🙂

Do a complete sweep or vacuum weekly.

Once per week, thoroughly sweep or vacuum the floors.  If you’re using a vacuum, be sure to use a floor brush attachment, bare floor setting or just a stick vacuum as the beater bar can damage wood floors and laminate.

Address wet or sticky spills immediately.

It might be tempting to deal with spills later, but you really need to clean them up as soon as possible. In addition to leaving water marks, standing water or other liquids can sneak between the boards and will damage your flooring over time. Sticky messes, food, or pet messes can stain the floor if left too long. Blot up any liquid spills with a microfiber cloth and spot clean any sticky messes as soon as possible to avoid stains. The Swiffer WetJet and Swiffer WetJet Wood Cleaner are perfect for these daily clean-ups and I love how quick and easy it is to use.  Here are a few of my favorite features that make this a must have for wood floors:

1. You can easily control how much cleaning product you use.  There’s no wasted product and no over saturation of the floors.
2. The WetJet Wood cleaner breaks down and dissolves tough messes on the floor.  We seem to have muddy paw prints on the floor almost daily and they’re super easy to clean up – even when dried on.
3. The super absorbent pads soak up almost all of the product leaving your floor dry in minutes.  This cuts down on cleaning residue and minimizes any dampness on the floor.
4. The pads will trap and lock in any dirt and grime so it’s not spread to other areas.  The pads last for multiple uses, so be sure to use them to their full potential! I like to turn the pad around after a few uses as the front of the pad tends to pick up the most grime.

The Swiffer WetJet Wood {along with all of the other Swiffer products} can be found at your local Target, so it’s a good excuse to go on a Target run!

Cut down on mopping your floors.

It’s not very often that you hear that it’s better to clean less, but the less frequently you need to do a full mopping of your floors, the better! Water is pretty much wood’s worst enemy, so when your floors are in need of a good cleaning use as little water/cleaning solution as possible.  For best results, clean in the direction of the wood grain using long, smooth strokes.

The frequency that you will need to mop will vary depending on the room {obviously bathrooms will need more frequent attention!}, whether or not you have pets, how much traffic goes through your home, etc.  Some rooms you might mop weekly while others only need mopping once per month.  The better you are with the daily maintenance above {and the prevention tips below} the less you’ll need to do a thorough deep cleaning.

Protect and prevent.

One of the best ways to keep your wood floors, looking their best is to take a few preventative measures. Not only will these help to protect your floors, but they’ll also significantly cut down your cleaning time. It’s a win-win!

• Use door mats outside your home to reduce the amount of dirt tracked inside.
• Have a dedicated spot to put your shoes at or near your main entry way and get in the habit of taking them off in the house.  If it’s particularly wet or snowy weather, have a boot mat to keep any water or salt off of the floors.
• If you have dogs, keep their nails trimmed regularly to prevent scratches. {We learned this one the hard way!}  You can find other ways to help keep your home clean with pets HERE.
• Use floor protector pads under furniture to protect the floor from any dragging or sliding of the furniture.  Even big pieces that you think don’t really move, can slide a bit and scratch the floor.
• Cover high traffic areas.  Use area rugs {and a rug pad underneath!} at entrances and other high traffic areas to help protect your flooring and add a little bit of character.  The rug pad not only stops the carpet from slipping {and scratching the floor} but it also prevents the carpet from staining or sticking to the floor. {Unfortunately, this was another hard lesson we learned!}

You can find more on how to care for hardwood floors HERE.

Lastly, learn to embrace those little signs of wear and tear that are bound to come with having wood floors. It all just adds character, right?

 

For more information about Swiffer, you can check out their website HERE or go find them at Target. Happy Cleaning!