How to Prevent Your Hardwood Floor from Becoming Dull

Top Tips for Hardwood Floor Maintenance

Be careful how you walk on them

Yes, we know we just described them as durable, but that doesn’t mean they won’t get scratched. Be especially cautious if you wear high-heeled shoes: a broken heel tip on your stilettos can do a lot of damage. If you have pets, be sure to keep their nails trimmed.

Take your shoes off = Keep the dirt out    

Shoes track in sane, dirt, gravel, and rubble from outside which can scuff and scratch your flooring, and the points of high-heeled shoes can quickly gouge dirt right into your hardwood if the tips have worn down. All things considered, you’re better off leaving your shoes at the door. While you’re at it, get some rugs for all entryways to prevent dirt from making it onto your hardwood. It’ll save you on cleaning time!

Clean, Sweep, and Vaccum Often

While rugs and a no-shoe policy will help keep out the dirt, regular cleaning will do the most to protect your hardwood flooring. Not only will this remove surface debris, but it will keep contaminants from being ground into the grain and cracks of your flooring. Sweep or vacuum regularly, and clean spills as soon as they happen to protect your hardwood flooring from moisture damage. Make sure you use a soft-bristled broom or a vacuum without a beater bar. Another option is to use a dry flat mop with a microfiber head. Clean weekly, or daily in high-traffic areas, to keep any outside particles from being ground into the floor.

Avoid water

Hardwood floors can absorb water, causing them to warp. Not only do you want to avoid cleaning your hardwood with water, but you should also take care to soak up any spills as quickly as possible. In a kitchen area, keep cotton floor mats near the sink and dishwasher. Avoid using vinyl or plastic mats, as they can trap water underneath.

Use floor protectors on all your furniture to avoid scratches

One of the most obvious ways to protect your hardwood flooring is to prevent your furniture from creating marks and scratches. You can do this by buying padded coverings for your chairs, sofas, and other furniture to go on the bottom of the furniture legs. Pads can come as tap or nail-on pads, adhesive pads, or slip-on coverings.

Felt tips on your chair and table legs can keep them from scratching your floor as they get moved about. When moving heavy furniture, always lift and carry—never push it across the floor.

Renew your hardwood finish

You probably already know that hardwood floors require was or polyurethane finish to maintain their appearance. However, this isn’t just about maintaining a clean shine. Your hardwood finish guards against minor dings and scratches from dirt, shoes, and furniture. It also seals the floor against staining from liquids. The cost of repairing hardwood is much greater than the effort it takes to maintain the finish, so make sure it stays intact! Modernistic offers a special hardwood floor cleaning service throughout southeast Michigan. Our process will safely remove dust and contaminants, and restore the luster of your hardwood flooring. Contact us today to schedule an appointment.

How to Clean Your Hardwood Floors Yourself

What to Do

So what should you do? Regular maintenance is key to prevent dull hardwood floors for years to come, but you don't want to do the wrong thing! The safest and most effective natural way to clean your hardwood floor yourself is so Simple & Quick you’ll wonder why you didn’t think of it sooner: Vinegar and water (yes, that is all it takes!). Mix this simple household product with water - 1 part vinegar to 4 parts water - and you've got yourself an all-natural cleaning alternative to many of the consumer products on the market. Here are a few other hardwood floor safe DIY options: Safe Hardwood Cleaning Products:

• Any alcohol based cleaners
• Mild soap and water mix
• Vinegar and water mix *1/4 ratio as noted above

What Not to Do

The one thing you will want to do to save you from headaches in the future is to avoid using acrylic based cleaners! This can be difficult because so many hardwood floor cleaning products on the market have acrylic in them. Acrylic-based cleaning products are typically anything with the words refinish, polish, shine, or sheen in the name. These products will look great immediately after application, but their buildup will actually dull your floors over time. Each extra layer of wax or polish over the surface of the wood reduces the original shine of your beautiful hardwood floors. Regular use of these products creates layers and layers of acrylic over the surface of your floors, making them appear duller and duller with each application. Here are a few of the most common cleaners listed below that you should try to avoid. Acrylic Products That Leave Wax Buildup:

• Bona Refinisher
• Orange Glo
• Mop n Glo
• Murphy’s Oil Soap
• Rejuvenate
• Bruce products

A Modernistic Pro Cleaning is the Best Cleaning

Many of the surface scratches homeowners hate to look at are NOT ACTUALLY SCRATCHES IN THE WOOD ITSELF! A large amount of these blemishes to your hardwood floor are often just layers of acrylic that are retaining dirt and scratches over time. You would be amazed at what a state-of-the-art professional hardwood floor cleaning can do to dull hardwood flooring! The best thing you can do for your floors is to call a specialist like Modernistic. We can test your wood surfaces for built-up acrylic and remove it altogether to reach the hardwood below. Our certified technicians then perform an intense cleaning process that will deep clean down to the wood grain, reaching past the seal applied to the hardwood. Finally, we reseal your newly cleaned and revitalized floors. If you'd like to be proud of your hardwood floors again, then give Modernistic a call!