Cleaning My Hardwood Floors - Hardwood Floor Care Guide

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Fast Facts: The key to lasting beauty of your hardwood flooring investment is proper maintenance and care for the life of your hardwood floor. Included in this page are care guide lines, maintaining urethanes finishes, wax finishes, and the Do's & Don'ts of your hardwood floor product.   Hardwood Floor Care: The Do's and Don'ts Advanced finish technology and innovative products make wood one of the most beautiful and easy-care flooring materials today. FinishingWoodFloors.com offers these guidelines that will help preserve a beautiful finish and keep maintenance to a minimum: Always follow the manufacturer's recommendations (when known) for the proper care of a hardwood floor. Know the type of finish on the wood floor. Follow the proper maintenance procedures for the particular finish. Never wax a urethane floor. A majority of hardwood floors installed today have urethane finishes. Never use sheet vinyl or tile floor care products on wood floors. Self-polishing acrylic waxes cause wood to become slippery and appear dull quickly. The only remedy in this situation is to sand and refinish the floor. Consult with an installer, the finisher or the manufacturer if there is any doubt of the kind of floor finish. Place mats and throw rugs at doorways, exteriors and interiors to help prevent the tracking of grit, dirt and sand. Sweep or vacuum wood floors regularly. General cleaning once a week is strongly recommended. Do not let sand & dirt build up, as this can act like sand paper and abrades and dulls the floor finish excessively.   8.   Never wet-mop a wood floor. Standing water can dull the finish, damage the wood and leave a discoloring residue. 9.   Wipe up food and other spills immediately with a dry soft  slightly dampened( manufacturers cleaner) towel, always wipe dry. 10.  For a wax floor, buff to restore shine. You may want to invest in a buffer. 11.  Do not over-wax a wax floor. If the floor dulls, try buffing instead. Avoid wax buildup under furniture and other light traffic areas by applying wax in these spots every other waxing session. 12.  Put plastic or fabric-faced glides under the legs of all furniture that comes in contact with the wood floor. This helps prevent scuffing and scratching. 13.  Remember: cleats, sports shoes and high heels can dent any floor surface. Never walk on hardwood floors with high heel shoes. Always keep the heels in good repair. 14.  When moving heavy furniture, protect wood flooring by slipping a piece of cloth or pile under the legs or covering each leg with a heavy sock or half of a milk carton. 15.  For wood flooring in the kitchen, place an area rug in front of the kitchen sink to catch sink splashes and cut down on wear. Walk off mats at all outside entry points. 16.  Pet claws can scratch and gouge your hardwood floor. Always keep your pet's claws properly trimmed. PURCHASE HARDWOOD FLOOR CARE PRODUCTS NOW !   Care for ALL Types of Hardwood Floors    Do: Do: Place protector pads on ALL furniture that come in contact with the hardwood floor.   Do: Place walk off mats and area rugs in high traffic areas (make sure they stay dry and are cleaned underneath often) Do: Perform routine maintenance as recommended by manufacturer, this should include sweeping, vacuuming and/or dust mopping to remove dirt and grit. Keep this as a regularly scheduled event, and stick to it. Always perform this process before and after a major event that involves a high volume of traffic on the floor. Do: Keep high heel shoes in good repairs , as well as keeping your pets nails trimmed on a regular bases Do Not: Use WET mops Do Not: Use ammonia Do Not: Use dust cleaners Do Not: Track dirt, clean immediately Do Not: Use other floor cleaning products Do Not: Wax a urethane/surface finishes- NEVER ! PURCHASE HARDWOOD FLOOR CARE PRODUCTS NOW !   FREE Installation or Refinishing Estimate from LOCAL Wood Flooring Contractors