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Hardwood Floor
Care and Cleaning
A Little Care Each Week Goes a Long Way
These are the same tips we give clients after every install. None of them take long, and together they can buy you years before the floor needs sanding again.
Six Habits for a Floor That Lasts
Most finished wood floors in our area are coated with polyurethane, and these tips are written for that kind of finish. Oiled and waxed floors need their own products, so check with the maker of your finish first.
What to Clean With
Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner is a ready to use, pH neutral spray made for unwaxed, unoiled, polyurethane finished wood, and it leaves no residue behind. Spray a small area, wipe it with a microfiber pad and keep moving.
What to Avoid
Skip steam mops, vinegar, oil soaps and wax on a polyurethane floor. Steam and puddles of water can work into the seams, and oily products leave a film that makes a future recoat hard to bond.
Using Floor Polish
Bona Hardwood Floor Polish fills micro scratches and adds a layer of protection, and Bona suggests using it every 2 to 6 months depending on traffic. Let it dry at least an hour before anyone walks on it.
Vinyl and Laminate Care
Luxury vinyl and laminate ask for even less. A pH neutral hard surface cleaner such as Bona Hard-Surface Floor Cleaner and a damp microfiber mop handle most messes, though spills should still come up fast near the seams.
Winter and Summer
Dry heated air during a New York winter can open small gaps between boards. A humidifier helps a lot, and most of those gaps close again by themselves once the humid months come back.
When Care Isn't Enough
If the finish looks gray and worn in the walkways, a screen and recoat adds a fresh coat without sanding to bare wood. Deep scratches and stains that reach into the wood call for a full sanding and refinishing.
Floor Care Questions
How often should I clean hardwood floors?
Sweep or vacuum a few times a week, more with pets, and damp clean with a wood floor cleaner about once a week in busy rooms. Mats at each door catch a lot of the grit before it gets in.
Can I use a steam mop on hardwood?
We don't recommend it. Steam pushes heat and moisture into the seams and can cloud or lift the finish over time. A barely damp microfiber pad with a wood cleaner is the safer choice.
How do I fix small scratches?
Light scuffs in the finish often fade under a coat of polish. Scratches that go into the wood may need a touch up, a board repair or a recoat, and we can look at them during a free visit anywhere in Massachusetts.
When should a floor be recoated?
When the finish looks dull in the walkways but no bare or gray wood shows yet. Catching it at that point lets us screen and recoat rather than sand the whole floor down.
Are pets bad for hardwood floors?
Not if you keep nails trimmed, wipe up accidents quickly and set mats under water bowls. A matte or satin finish also hides light claw marks much better than high gloss does.
Recoats and full refinishing can be paid monthly through our financing.
We come out to your New Jersey home for free to check the finish and the wear.
Every screen, recoat and refinish is done by our own crew.
Water damage and loose boards get repaired before any new finish goes on.
Is Your Floor Due for a Fresh Coat?
Book a free visit for your Connecticut or Rhode Island home, and we'll tell you if a recoat will do or the floor needs a full refinish.
