Thirty Hardwood Floor Cleaning Tip Ideas

When you first glimpse a solid hardwood floor, you sense richness, warmth and natural beauty. Gradually, you get to know its distinct personality and to enjoy its unique visual harmonies offering a glimpse into the traces of its natural history in the forest as it is brought into your home.

After your hardwood flooring is installed, simple steps can be taken to maintain its beautiful appearance. Tips for hardwood floor care are listed below.

1.Pick up a broom you like, you will use it often

2.Consider and angled broom or one designed specifically for indoor use (FULLER Angle Broom or FULLER Household Broom)

3.You will also need a dustpan. Choose one that is easy to use and doesn’t cause too much stress on your back. (FULLER Upright Dustpan)

4.Sweep often, daily if needed

5.Canister vacuums with special bare floor attachments are the surest way to get rid of all the dirt and dust

6.Rugs should be used to cover high-traffic areas

7.Enact a no-shoe policy to reduce dirt being tracked in

8.Keep windows and doors closed during windy or dusty days

9.Create a no-beverage rule to cut down on wet spills

10.Mop up wet spills as soon as possible

11.Consider purchasing either a spatter mop or sponge mop (FULLER Spatter Mop or a FULLER Sponge Mop)

12.Never wet mop any hardwood floor. Standing water can damage the wood

13.Regularly clean wood floor with hardwood flooring cleaners (FULLER Wood Floor Cleaner & Polish)

14.Never use oil based soap on unfinished or unsealed hardwood floors

15.Install floor protectors on furniture legs to prevent scratches

16.Lift furniture to move it

17.Never drag furniture across the floor

18.Avoid cleats, stiletto heals or any footwear in need of repair

19.Maintain proper humidity levels within your home if at all possible

20.Move rugs periodically if area is exposed to regular sunlight (to avoid discoloring of the floor underneath)

21.Use a specialized cleaner (FULLER Wood Floor Easy Clean Mist) and steel wool to clean water marks, heel marks, cigarette burns, ink stains and dark spots

22.To remove chewing gum and wax, apply a zipper-sealed bag filled with ice for 20 minutes, then break off deposits. Follow-up wood cleaner (FULLER Wood Floor Easy Clean Mist) and steel wool treatment

23.Keep shades or blinds closed as often as possible to avoid discoloration

24.Apply liquid wax, powdered soap, talcum powder or powdered graphite between floor boards that are rubbing together to stop squeaks

25.Difficult squeaks may require that you drive two-inch finishing nails through pilot holes on both edges of the board then hide the hole with matching color putty or wax

26.Alcohol drips can be removed by rubbing the spot with liquid or paste wax

27.Polish your floor as the finish looks dull with a polisher, like the D.C. Polisher

28.Small scratches can be spot sanded, stained and refinished. Larger scratches may need more extensive re-work

29.Never use ammonia to clean hardwood floors

30.If your hardwood floor looks old and you cannot restore the luster with deep cleaning or by polishing, you may want to apply a maintenance coat

Terrazzo Floor Cleaning Tips

What is terrazzo flooring? Terrazzo is a mixture of marble and Portland cement mixed together; two parts marble to one part cement. When it is installed, marble chips are sprinkled on the surface so that a majority of the surface is marble. Terrazzo was most popular during the 50’s – 70’s but is making its come back over the past few years.

To be able to clean the terrazzo floor you have to understand what it is made of. The marble part of its surface is almost non-absorbent; however the cement binder is very porous and absorbs stains easily. This is the part of the flooring which will cause you the most grief. In older floors this seems to be the biggest problem; however if you are having a new terrazzo floor installed, the last step of installation is to apply a penetrating sealant approved for terrazzo. This sealant will be absorbed by the concrete pores, greatly reducing the absorption quality of the concrete.

If you have an existing terrazzo floor that is stained, you will have to use several steps to restore it. First you will want to remove the existing build-up with a plastic scraper (do not use metal scrapers) Apply your floor cleaner over the surface with a mop. For stubborn yellow stains, use a soft-bristled scrub brush. You will need to rinse the floor with a mop and water, rinsing the mop often. Be sure to rinse well so that the floor can be sealed. Once your floor is rinsed, then dry, apply an approved sealant with a roll paint brush. Allow plenty of time to dry.

If you have new terrazzo being installed, most of the work is done for you. With today’s products, the sealants will provide a beautiful and long lasting look for your floors. Terrazzo is easy to clean as long as the installation process was performed according to the installation instructions.

It is important to keep sand and debris off the floor. Sweep the floor often as this debris acts as an abrasive and can damage the floor. Use a cleaner designed or approved for a terrazzo floor. Wet mop the floor allowing the cleaner to remain on the floor for several minutes. For the best results, rinse the cleaner off the floor thoroughly. You may need to change your rinse water a few times. Once the cleaner has been removed towel dry the floor to prevent water streak marks from appearing and to restore the floors natural shine. Do not use any types of wax on your terrazzo floor.

As with any hard flooring you can use carpet mats to trap dirt from coming into your home onto your clean terrazzo floor. You may also want to place carpet rugs in high traffic areas and high use areas such as your kitchen. With daily sweeping, and weekly mopping, your terrazzo floor will look as new as the day it was installed.

Author Vincent Platania represents the Fuller Brush Company.

Fuller Brush has been in business since 1906, and offers safe, environmentally friendly products for keeping your home and your body clean.

Visit http://www.fuller-brush-products.com

Helpful Floor Cleaning Tips

Gone are the days that you will have to satisfy yourself with ordinary cement as your flooring. Today, there are several types of floorings available in the market. Each specific type of flooring has its own cleaning measures.

Vinyl is a commonly used type of flooring. It is also one of the common types of flooring which is easy to clean. Most floor cleaners’ tip is to simply polish vinyl flooring with floor maps washed or dipped in soap and water. There are ready-mixes of cleaning solution made especially for vinyl flooring.

Wood flooring on the other hand requires different types of cleaning methods. Cleaning depends on the type of wood your floor is made of. Generally, it is recommended for you to use a mild alkaline solution. Most importantly, you should not forget to rinse your wood flooring with water after you have applied cleaning solutions into it. By doing so, water absorption of the wood will be prevented that will make your flooring last.

Like wood flooring, meticulous water rinsing is also needed if you have ceramic type of flooring. This is a must undertaking especially if you will be using acid-based cleaning solution. Studies show that acid-based solutions attack grout, which weaken the ceramic type of flooring.

If acid-base solution is apt with ceramic floorings, it is not recommended with natural marble. Floor cleaner solutions, which are acid-based, weaken marble that will result to damaged flooring. In addition, too much use of alkaline cleaning solutions can also bring negative effects into your marble flooring. Survey shows that alkaline lightens the color of marble flooring.

Types of flooring differ from one place to another. There may be two places where you encounter the same type of flooring yet you picture or feel it differently. It can be due to how the flooring is cleaned and maintained.

Cleaning the floor might be an easy task to undertake yet in practice it is not. There are a lot of considerations you need to perform before you can see a positive end-result.

Floor Cleaning Tips

With the current slow housing market, it is now even more important to keep your house clean and tidy when trying to sell.

To give you a helping hand and perhaps some well needed motivation, here are some tips to keeping your house market-friendly:

- Wash windows inside and out, after all first impressions are important. A good tip is to dry the windows with crumpled newspaper and if you can, wash the windows on a cloudy rather than sunny day, because the sun can cause it to streak.

- Clean shower, sinks and bath tubs, to remove hard water spots and scum off showers use undiluted, heated white vinegar. Put in a spray bottle, spray on and leave to soak for 15 mins and then scrub.

- Clean all light fixtures and replace lightbulbs with a higher wattage, these little things are easy to forget, but can make all the difference.

- Put non-essential items in boxes to eliminate clutter, so that viewers can see the whole space, it will also make the rooms look bigger.

Here are some tips on how how to clean the most common of flooring:

- Ceramic tiling: Don’t use harsh abrasive cleaners that might scratch the tiles. Instead use a damp-mop on the ceramic tiles with an all-purpose cleaner. Then dry the floor with a soft cloth to avoid streaks.

- Vinyl floors: To wash this type of floor, use an all-purpose cleaning solution. Test any cleaner in a corner before using it on the entire floor.

- Wood floors: The most effective way of cleaning a wooden floor applying a liquid wood-floor cleaner with a dry wax applicator on a small area at a time. Let it soak for a few minutes, and wipe up the excess. When the floor is dry, buff with a floor polisher.

- Carpet Cleaning: The simplest way to keep your carpets clean is to vacuum regularly. But for an effective deep clean it is best to have your carpet steam cleaned.

A clean house will help viewers see themselves living there and will show that you take pride in maintaining the house.

Total Clean provide competitively priced office cleaning in London, also commercial cleaning and contract cleaning services in central London, London city and W1 by experienced, insured staff.

Some Tips for Laminate Floor cleaning?

You can purchase laminate flooring that looks like wood or stone tiles, in a variety of shapes. Not only is laminate flooring easy to clean, it can save you hundreds of dollars in the long run. In fact, you don’t have to empty your savings account any longer to get that beautiful hardwood floor. You can purchase a laminate look alike, which is just as durable as a wood floor if not more. For these reasons and more, laminate flooring is gaining in popularity.

Cleaning Laminate Flooring

What is the best way to keep your laminate floors clean? Due to the fact that laminates have several layers, the first layer or the surface protects the laminate floor. With this protection, keeping your laminate floor clean has just become easier. The best tip for cleaning your laminate floor is to purchase a cleaner that is safe for laminates. Do not use wax cleaners, polishes or abrasive cleaning products on your laminate flooring as they can damage the finish.

Along with using the proper cleaner, there are other tips to assist you in maintaining the natural beauty of your laminate flooring. Unlike hardwood floors you can use warm water to clean your laminate flooring. It is suggested to use a good mop and ring the mop out twice as excessive water will damage your laminate flooring. Do not allow spills to stand on your laminate flooring, wipe them up immediately to keep the quality of your laminate floors in tact.

Protecting Laminate Flooring

As with any hard flooring, using carpet rugs in high traffic areas is also a must with laminate floors. You should also consider using rugs in areas of high use, such as in the kitchen and near all sinks. Carpet rugs help to trap dirt and debris brought from outside your home. Along with providing rugs, you should also sweep your laminate floors often. If time permits, sweep your floors daily. This will help to ensure that your laminate floors remain beautiful.

With so many choices in laminate flooring, it’s hard to go wrong when making laminate the floor of your choice. With its easy maintenance and low cost, you’ve saved both time and money. Remember, to keep those laminate floors looking beautiful, use a product designed to clean laminate floors. If it doesn’t say “safe for laminate floors” then don’t purchase it. Most laminate floor cleaners are cost effective and save time in the cleaning process. Using a cleaner that is not designed for your laminate floor can lead to disaster. Repairing or replacing a laminate floor takes much more time then reading the labels of the cleaning products available to you.