Deep cleaning old hardwood floors
The Best Way to Clean Hardwood Floors — Advice From Bob Vila
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Q: I have never given much thought to cleaning my cherry wood floor, but I’m starting to notice how dingy it has become. What’s the best way to clean hardwood floors? I’d love recommendations for wood floor cleaning techniques, and a good hardwood floor cleaner.A: It’s true, regular cleaning is a must to maintain hardwood floors. Because different floor finishes have unique care requirements, the best way to clean hardwood floors will depend on the type of finish rather than the wood species (e.g., cherry, maple, or oak). If you use the wrong method or cleaner, you could damage the wood.
Read on to learn how to identify your floor’s finish and select supplies for dusting, deep cleaning, and removing stains. Using these recommended techniques for the best way to clean hardwood floors will keep yours looking great for years to come.
First, figure out what kind of finish your floor has.There are two main types of hardwood floor finishes: surface finishes and penetrating finishes.
- Surface finishes such as urethane and polyurethane form a protective, waterproof barrier on the surface of the floor. When liquids come into contact with surface finishes, they pool rather than penetrate the wood. It’s safe to use water and water-based cleaning products on surface finishes.
- Penetrating finishes such as linseed or tung oil soak through the surface of hardwood floors and then are usually topped with a wax coat for added sheen. These finishes easily absorb water, and water can warp wood floors. Use only solvent-based cleaning products instead of water-based ones on floors with penetrating finishes.
The easiest way to check if a floor has a surface finish is to take a sharp knife blade to a small, hidden area of the floor and scrape off a tiny amount of finish. If the scraped material is clear, your floor probably has a surface finish.
If scraping the floor finish smudges it, but no clear material comes away, the floor likely has a penetrating finish.
RELATED: New Floors? 5 Top Hardwood Options to Know
Bust dust by mopping, sweeping, or vacuuming regularly.Dry mopping, sweeping, and/or vacuuming on a weekly basis are the best ways to rid hardwood floors of light dust, dirt, and pet hair accumulation. This routine works on floors with either surface or penetrating finishes.
The best mop for wood floors is usually one with a large, flat head affixed with a microfiber cloth pad, such as the Swiffer Sweeper. These mops have pads with tiny synthetic fibers that reach into the grooves of wood floors to pick up and hold dust without scratching the wood.
To keep costs down and lower your environmental impact, choose pads that can be removed, machine washed, and reused. Compatible on a variety of hardwood floor mop brands, a pair of reusable pads like the Old Home Kitchen Mop Pads costs less than $15.
If you prefer to sweep rather than mop, opt for a broom with synthetic fiber ends to help trap collected dust in the broom head and prevent it from resettling on the floor.
If your preferred mode of dust busting is vacuuming, use a floor-brush attachment and avoid the beater bar—its rotating brush can dent wood floors. Move your cleaning tool from one side of the floor to the other, paying extra attention to areas where adjacent floor boards meet. These nooks are hiding spots for trapped dust.
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Scrape off food stains.Remove caked-on food by carefully inserting the tip of a plastic knife under the lower edge of the debris and then gently sliding the knife upward. Rub the scraped spot with a clean cloth slightly dampened with a few drops of water, then make a second pass with a dry cloth to dab up the water.
If using this technique on a floor with a penetrating finish and a small section of the wax coat gets stripped by the knife, reapply a dollop of the hardwood floor wax to the area with a soft cloth, buffing it in to render the area shiny and spotless.
Oil and grease stains on floors with surface or penetrating finishes easily break down when exposed to trisodium phosphate (TSP). Don protective gloves and safety glasses, and dilute 2 tablespoons of TSP in 1 gallon of warm water in a large bucket. Dip the tip of a clean cloth into the solution, then use gentle circular motions to work it into the stain. Once the TSP dissolves it, run a water-dampened cloth over the area to sop up the TSP, then quickly dry the area with a clean cloth.
Ice out wax and gum.Dried candle wax, crayon marks, and chewing gum on floors with surface or penetrating finishes can easily be removed with ice. Fill a Ziploc freezer bag with a few ice cubes, place the chilled bag over the buildup until it becomes brittle, then scrape it off with the edge of a plastic spatula.
If the spatula removes the protective wax from a floor with a penetrating finish, use a soft cloth to reapply a solvent-based hardwood floor wax to the scraped area, then buff it into the repaired area with the cloth.
Spots left by water, ink, or pet urine are some of the most stubborn stains. For floors with penetrating finishes, it’s best to tackle these stains with the following steps using only an appropriate hardwood floor cleaner and a scouring pad designed for a penetrating-finished floor.
- Remove the spots from floors with penetrating finishes by lightly sanding the stain with extra-fine sandpaper.
- Gently scrub with a coarser “00” grade steel wool wet with mineral spirits.
- Wipe away the mineral spirits with a damp cloth, then use a dry cloth to remove the water.
- With a soft cloth, apply a solvent-based hardwood floor wax to the scrubbed area and buff it in to restore its shine.
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Deep clean the floor with a quality hardwood floor cleaner.The type of wood floor cleaner that’ll work best for your floors depends on the floor’s finish.
If a surface-finished hardwood floor still looks dingy or dull after dusting, deep clean it with any pH-neutral, wax-free, and petroleum-free cleaner, such as Bona PowerPlus Hardwood Floor Deep Cleaner, or a homemade solution comprising ¼ cup of dish soap and 1 gallon of warm water.
The best way to mop wood floors with a surface finish starts with saturating a sponge mop with the cleaner, wringing out the excess liquid until the mophead is damp but not dripping, and then mopping 3-foot sections of the floor at a time using circular motions to draw out dirt and grime. Then, rinse the mop in clean water, wring out the excess, and damp mop the floor again to soak up lingering cleaner. Use a soft, clean cloth like the AIDEA Microfiber Cleaning Cloths to dry the floor.
If your floor has a penetrating finish, the best way to deep clean it is to strip away the grimy old wax coat and reapply a fresh wax coat. Rub a clean cloth saturated in mineral spirits over 2-foot sections of the floor at a time, letting the mineral spirits dwell for 5 minutes on each section before wiping away with a fresh cloth dampened slightly with water. Then, dry thoroughly with a fresh, dry cloth.
Finally, apply a solvent-based hardwood floor wax, such as Trewax Paste Wax, with a soft cloth.
Use the amount the manufacturer recommends. Then use the cloth or an electric polisher (buy one or rent one at a hardware store) to buff the wax in circular motions, polishing in 2-foot sections at a time.
Perform the appropriate deep-cleaning routine on a biannual basis, whether you see grimy buildup or not. It can be hard to notice gradual changes on a floor you walk on every day, but after it’s clean you may be impressed by the difference.
RELATED: The Best Hardwood Floor Cleaner Machines of 2022
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Final ThoughtsWhen looking for the best way to clean hardwood floors, first determine the type of finish on the floors. The type of finish determines the kinds of cleaners and methods that will safely help clean the floor. While a good deep cleaning can help restore the look of wood, it’s usually only necessary a few times each year. In between, regularly mopping, sweeping, and vacuuming can help maintain the finish and keep floors looking their best.
Whether there is natural wood flooring or engineered wood flooring underneath your feet, there are bound to be questions about what’s safe and effective for cleaning wood floors. Keep reading for answers to some of the most popular questions about how to clean wood floors.
Q. Can I use vinegar on hardwood floors?Using a hardwood floor cleaner made with white vinegar can help with cleaning heavily soiled hardwood floors. It’s important to dilute the white vinegar, using ½ cup of white vinegar for every gallon of water, as it can be too harsh and damaging on its own.
Q. How do you deep clean old hardwood floors?Deep cleaning old hardwood floors is very similar to cleaning newer floors. Choose a method and cleaner that’s made to clean wood floors with the same type of finish. However, it’s important to test a small area and go slowly, as the wood may need some small repairs or have damage that’s only visible up close.
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Q. Is Dr. Bronner’s safe on wood?Dr. Bronner’s is a pure castile soap that is safe on wood if it’s diluted. To make your own homemade wood floor cleaner, add just a few drops to a spray bottle filled with water.
Q. How do you get ground-in dirt out of hardwood floors?Microfiber padded mops are great for surface dirt, but ground-in dirt may require the use of a plastic knife to scrape out dirt, a vacuum attachment to pull it out, or light sanding if it’s truly trapped in the wood.
Q. Why are my wood floors still dirty after mopping?There are a lot of reasons wood floors seem dirty after mopping. Make sure to rinse the mophead thoroughly and often, as a dirty mop can’t attract new dirt it encounters on the floor. Also, swapping out mopheads can help when dealing with very dirty floors. To find out if the floor is clean, wipe a white cloth over newly mopped areas to see if the floor is still dirty.
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+How To Clean Hardwood Floors | Deep Cleaning Old Flooring
Countless homeowners fantasize about having luxurious hardwood floors that complete their home’s aesthetic and cause everyone who enters their house to sigh with envy.
On the maintenance front, however, most people are unaware of all of the maintenance work that comes with hardwood.
Continue reading to learn how to clean grime off hardwood floors or give our hardwood flooring experts a call with your questions.
How To Clean Old Hardwood Floors
How To Deep Clean Hardwood Floors
When it comes to the question of how to clean and shine hardwood floors, here are three main steps for how to properly clean hardwood floors.
3 steps for how to clean dirty hardwood floors:
- Thoroughly Remove Dirt. Vacuum or sweep in order to remove debris that has accumulated on your floor.
- Mop Your Hardwood Floors.
Once you have dealt with the dust and debris, mop your floors by applying a cleaning solution to your floor and using your mop to remove streaks and stains. - Polish Your Hardwood Floor. The final step in your how to clean your hardwood floors tutorial is to polish your newly swept and mopped floors. Attach a polishing cloth to the end of your household mop and use a shine solution to restore a glossy finish to your floors.
Three Steps for Cleaning Old Hardwood Floors
Let go into depth a bit more and explore the process of cleaning your hardwood flooring.
1. Remove Dirt and Debris
Start by sweeping up any loose dirt and dust that accumulates on your floor. Hardwood floor experts highly recommended that you use a vacuum designed for cleaning. Look for a vacuum that does not use a rotating beater brush that can scratch and damage the finish, so you can clean up any dirt and debris safely.
Using a broom or traditional carpet vacuum cleaner for hardwood floors may cause sand, grit, and dirt to scratch the finish of your floors. This could expose the raw wood to moisture during the cleaning process or through daily traffic. Vacuuming up the debris eliminates this potential problem helps to keep the finish intact for as long as possible.
2. Apply Mop
After you remove all the dirt and dust off the floor, you are ready to apply your cleaning solution. Think of this as giving your floors a mop bath. The type of floor cleaner you use largely depends on the finish. Modern wood floors are sealed with polyacrylic, urethane, or polyurethane upon completion. This protects the wood underneath, and it makes cleaning a much easier task.
a. Determine The Type of Finish You Have
Older or original hardwood is usually sealed with a penetrating sealant, shellac, lacquer, or an oil-base finish before being waxed. These older floors require different cleaning products than a modern or recently installed hardwood floor.
An easy way to determine what kind of finish is present is by running a finger across a plank or strip of the floor. If it smudges, you have an older finish and sealant. If it doesn’t smudge, your wood floor has a hard, modern finish.
Never, ever use a floor cleaner that contains ammonia, abrasives, or alkaline products. These chemicals strip that sealant right out of the wood and dull your floor’s finish. Always use a hardwood floor cleaner with a pH-neutral soap, such as Murphy’s Oil Soap mixed with warm water and a mop.
b. Fill Your Bucket
Once you have the appropriate cleaner for your floor, mix up a bucket according to directions or apply the spray from a bottle as directed. There are many all-in-one spray mops designed for cleaning hardwood flooring. These tools simplify this task by removing the bucket from the general cleaning process. You still need a bucket of cleaner and a damp mop to do really deep cleanings.
c. Wring Out Your Mop
Wring the mop out so it is only slightly damp before applying it to the floor.
Begin cleaning from far edges of the room and work your way towards the entry or doorway in a consistent pattern that covers the entire floor.
Remove water rings or stains from modern hardwood finishes with a little elbow grease and a cleaning cloth. Older, soft oil finishes for hardwood floors may require you to remove stains and rings with some steel wool dipped in floor wax. If this doesn’t work, try sanding it gently before applying mineral spirits and fine steel wool before waxing the affected area.
Never use steel wool on a modern urethane or acrylic hardwood floor finish. This creates an expensive repair that most people cannot complete on their own.
3. Polish and Shine
Apply the finishing touch when you clean your hardwood flooring with a polishing cloth attached to a mop. It is highly recommended that you use a wood floor shine refresher solution, or floor restorer in the case they are older, to give your floors a high gloss, like-new shine. You should apply a restorer at least every three to six months to keep your hardwood floor looking its best.
Finally, you should protect the high traffic areas of your home – like doorways, entryways, and staircases – with rugs or runners to prevent long-term damage. This also makes cleaning much easier.
Tips For How To Keep Hardwood Floors Clean
What are some practical tips that can be used to keep your hardwood floors clean? Let’s take a look at three different types of hardwood flooring and the best tips for keeping them clean and maintained.
- Vintage Hardwood Floors. When it comes to tips for how to clean old hardwood floors, you should avoid harsh chemical-based cleaning solutions and instead opt for a water-based solution.
- New Hardwood Floors. When it comes to the question of how to clean new hardwood floors, you should always follow the directions listed by the hardwood flooring manufacturer. Different new hardwood types may require different cleaning methods so it’s important to learn what’s best for your hardwood floor before attempting to clean it.
- Dark Hardwood Flooring. Now comes the question of how to clean dark hardwood floors. Dark hardwood floors are generally less forgiving than lighter shades of hardwood as dust will show up more easily. Make sure that you always remove your shoes and use felt pads on furniture to prevent scratches and stains on dark hardwood.
Learn how to remove hardwood floor scratches here.
How To Best Clean Hardwood Floors: Call An Expert
Don’t have the time to deal with maintaining your hardwood floors? Give our flooring experts a call today.
Here at Carpet To Go, we have years of experience helping homeowners install, clean, and maintain their hardwood flooring. If you are too busy to take weekly time out of your schedule to clean your hardwood floors, get in touch with our team of hardwood floor specialists today.
We’d be happy to offer you advice or send our flooring specialists to your home to help you with hardwood flooring maintenance issues.
How to clean and maintain wood floors
Small particles of dirt scratch the wood surface and the floor becomes dull. Therefore, you should clean your wood floor regularly to keep it beautiful for a long time.
In the case of lacquered floors , it is sufficient to wipe the floor with a damp cloth. A few drops of cleaning agent for wood and parquet floors will do no harm: when wiped, the floor is impregnated and its shine is restored.
In case of wooden floor , impregnated with oil , you must ensure that the cleaning and care products are suitable for the material. A wood floor and parquet installer will recommend the right product for you. Other wood protection and care products are not needed.
When using a vacuum cleaner: use a parquet brush to avoid scratching the wood floor.
The correct indoor climate is also important for caring for a wooden floor, so that the wood does not “work” a lot (shrinks and expands).
Relative humidity around 50 percent is ideal. A climate in which not only we humans will feel comfortable, but also your wooden floor will be comfortable.
Humidity is often too low, especially during the heating season. A humidifier can help you with this. Indoor plants also have a positive effect on the indoor climate.
Sanding and refreshing the surface of wood floors
Over the years, it is recommended that a wood floor be deep cleaned by a professional woodworker. Sanding parquet removes ugly scratches, bumps and stains and ultimately refreshes the surface.
Remember that sanding changes the original look.
This removes popular features such as characteristic brushing, planing or colored surfaces.
The sanding process removes approximately 0.7 mm of the wood surface. The frequency of sanding depends on the wear layer of the floor.
The wood floor sander knows with a parquet machine whether the finished parquet can be sanded and how often.
But first, he will need to inspect your flooring.
In general, wooden floors should not be sanded by yourself. Trust this dusty and time-consuming procedure to a professional. He has not only special knowledge, but also the necessary devices, and he knows how to use them correctly. After grinding, the floor must be closed again.
Specialized companies charge for sanding and sealing per square metre. Specify in advance whether travel expenses, installation of skirting boards, intermediate and final cleaning will be paid separately or are part of the service.
Furniture with wooden floors
Whether it's parquet or solid wood floors: wood floors are simply charming. They give the rooms a unique coziness. Wooden floors in residential areas (living room and dining room) are chosen more for appearance, and less for durability.
Light wood floors make rooms feel more spacious and airy. When decorating dark wood floors, it is important to find the right balance between light and dark so that it does not look squat.
The combination of materials used to decorate a living space can also help in choosing a wood floor, its color and type of installation.
We hope our article was useful for you.
| Sanding, sanding, protection, polishing of WOODEN FLOOR
Wood materials used for flooring include solid boards, block parquet, pronto-parquet, parquet boards, parquet panels, cork coverings. Laminated coatings stand apart - artificial materials, which are based on fibreboard or particle boards. To go through all the stages of caring for a wooden floor, you need the following: 1. Wood floor sanding (rough sanding). Or we carry out the initial rough sanding of parquet and plank floors with a belt-type parquet sander. It is usually performed after laying new parquet, boards, or to remove old varnish, eliminate bumps, dirt, scratches and other defects in already used wooden floors. Working with this model excludes the possibility of occurrence of defects in grinding "waves" and "shots" due to the absence of a rolling groove on the drum. The special barrel shape of the drum prevents the appearance of edge stripes during grinding. Due to the three-stage adjustment of the pressing force of the grinding drum to the surface to be treated, an optimal processing mode and high productivity are achieved. The improved fine dust collection design brings the Laegler Hummel machine to a low dust level during operation - only 1.35 mg / m3.
Sanding of parquet, parquet boards and other wooden floors is carried out with an abrasive sandpaper, starting with a coarser sandpaper (large grain) and ending with a sandpaper with a fine grain. It is very important to follow the sequence in reducing the number of abrasive, since if one number is skipped, stripes from rough sandpaper may remain on the parquet. In the case of large differences between adjacent staves, or in the presence of a large layer of old varnish, scraping is started with zen R24 sandpaper. Particular attention should be paid to the scraping of the parquet board. The useful layer is much thinner and there is a danger of completely scraping it. If the parquet board is laid in a "floating" way, then the increased vibration during sanding will lead to a strong "shot", which will strongly manifest itself during varnishing. Scraping floorboards has its own specifics. Scraping of pine, larch and other conifers is difficult and requires some experience due to softness and increased oiliness. Our equipment allows dust free sanding. Since the machine for the main sanding does not allow working directly at the walls of the room, the remaining perimeter with a width of 50-100mm is processed with hand-held angle grinders.
A separate moment I would like to highlight the scraping of stairs and stairwells. Scraping stairs is a complex and painstaking process. In this case, we cannot use heavy machinery and the whole process is done by manual machines and manual cyclers. 2. Wood floor sanding (fine sanding). The unique Laegler Trio surface grinder for all wood and cork surfaces is based on a “floating” disc system that allows you to get the perfect plane when sanding. The independent disc rotation system also provides exceptional ease of operation and operator comfort. An effective dust extraction system allows to achieve a minimum level of dust - 0.2 mg/cu.m. Three-disc grinder Laegler Trio (Germany) is designed for final grinding of wooden floors: fine processing of parquet, plank and cork coatings, intermediate grinding of parquet, lacquer coating, polishing. TRIO is used after processing with a drum scraper. It is based on the principle of flat grinding, which allows you to level the floor surface after the parquet has been sanded.
3. Wood floor varnishing. Wood floor needs to be primed before varnishing. The primer will prevent the varnish from being absorbed into the wood, which not only reduces its use, but also protects the parquet from the action of the varnish coating. Also, before varnishing, you can cover the parquet with a special stain to give the necessary shade for any of the precious woods. After that, they immediately proceed to the varnishing of the parquet. Lacquer protects the parquet from moisture penetration, and also contributes to protection against mechanical abrasion. The number of layers of varnish coating can be from 3 to 9. A large number of layers of lacquer gives the parquet extra shine, creates a feeling of the depth of the lacquer coating. But the price of such parquet works is quite high. For each square meter of surface, an average of 0.3 kg of varnish is consumed. It is desirable to apply each layer with a roller, and after application, allow sufficient time for the varnish to dry - varnish manufacturers recommend at least 24 hours. Drying must necessarily take place in conditions protected from dust and any movement of air currents. Those. windows should be closed to prevent drafts and various debris, do not turn on electric heaters, air conditioners, etc. Parquet flooring needs to be primed before being varnished. The primer will prevent the varnish from being absorbed into the wood, which not only reduces its use, but also protects the parquet from the action of the varnish coating. Also, before varnishing, you can cover the parquet with a special stain to give the necessary shade for any of the precious woods. Then proceed directly to the varnishing of the parquet. The lacquer protects the parquet from moisture penetration, and also contributes to protection against mechanical abrasion. The number of layers of varnish coating can be from three to nine. A large number of layers of lacquer gives the parquet extra shine, creates a feeling of the depth of the lacquer coating. It is advisable to apply each coat by roller, and after application allow sufficient time for the varnish to dry (indicated on the package, usually 24 hours). Moreover, it will not be superfluous to leave the first layer more time to set. Drying must necessarily take place in conditions protected from dust and all kinds of movement of air flows. Those. windows should be closed to prevent drafts and various debris, do not turn on electric heaters, air conditioners, etc. Before proceeding with varnishing, the parquet floor needs to be primed. The primer will prevent the varnish from being absorbed into the wood, which not only reduces its use, but also protects the parquet from the action of the varnish coating. Also, before varnishing, you can cover the parquet with a special stain to give the desired shade under some of the precious woods.
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In this case, the angle between the direction of movement of the grinder and the direction of the riveting should be 30-45 degrees. The final sanding is recommended to be carried out along the direction of the parquet (floorboard) riveting with a sandpaper with a P100 (P120) grain. 
Moreover, it will not be superfluous to leave the first layer more time to set. 
But the price of such parquet works is quite high. For each square meter of surface, an average of 0.3 kg of varnish is consumed, plus the cost of the work itself - as a result, the parquet is financially golden. 
After that, they immediately proceed to varnishing the parquet. The lacquer protects the parquet from moisture penetration, and also contributes to protection against mechanical abrasion. The number of layers of varnish coating can be from three to nine. A large number of layers of lacquer gives the parquet extra shine, creates a feeling of the depth of the lacquer coating. But the price of such parquet works is quite high. For each square meter of surface, an average of 0.3 kg of varnish is consumed, plus the cost of the work itself - as a result, the parquet is financially golden. 
