Hardwood Flooring is a much-coveted feature in both homes and in vintage designed businesses, but maintaining its beauty can be a bit of a pain!  There are 3 methods to keeping your Hardwood Floors in top shape.  Regular Maintenance, Intensive (or Deep) Cleaning, as well as Protecting & Refinishing.  Let’s talk about why each step is crucial, and how often it is necessary!

Get into a good routine by sweeping once or twice every week.

You guessed it, I’ll be recommending you to sweep your floors on the regular!  I know, it’s not the most pleasant task, but it is absolutely essential to protecting the floor from scratches.

Dirt, debris, hair, crumbs, and dust.  These are all quite small particles, but also very abrasive and sharp.  Have you ever had dog hair lodged into the heel of your foot?  Man, that hurts!  For your hardwood flooring, those pieces are being scraped, scrubbed, and scuffed along its surface all day !  This causes the finish to wear down, and the wood to be scratched.  By limiting the majority of dry soiling, you will decrease the amount of damage that the surface of your hardwood floor takes.

Most homes require weekly sweeping & vacuuming. But for homes with pets, it may be best to do this twice a week!

As a general rule of thumb, you should have your floors deep cleaned every 3-6 months.  Scrubbing the flooring will not only remove built-up dirt and contaminants, but it penetrates beyond the surface you clean while mopping.  A deep cleaning process removes dirt, residue, dust, grease, hair, allergens, and the like.

Since you’re going further into the floor for a deep clean, it’s extremely important to go about it properly.  Using the wrong product or method could be damaging!  Cleaning and maintaining to prolong the wear of the textiles and furnishings inside your home is important, which is why we recommend hiring educated, professional cleaners for this process.

The finish on your hardwood will eventually wear down to the point of needing a full refinish.  This step shouldn’t need to be repeated often, usually 6 times throughout the life of the floor, or every 7-10 years.  Refinishing will restore a uniform sheen to the floor and creates a beautifully clean look.  The protective coating helps to smooth light scratching, which will protect it from further damage and extend the lifespan of the floor!

Another great way to protect natural floors is to use rugs in high traffic areas.

Whether you’ve just installed your natural, hardwood flooring or you’ve purchased a new place with this gorgeous staple, it’s key to understand how different it is from other flooring types.  Maintaining it doesn’t have to be difficult!

• Have fun decorating with handmade rugs – our favorite local shop is Ginger Blossoms (located in Richmond, IL)!
• Get into a weekly sweeping routine, along with regular mopping.
• Hire trusted professionals for the deep cleaning at least twice a year, and get it refinished as needed.

With these steps, you’ll be sure to get the most of your wood floors.

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