Water and wood floors don’t mix! Use only the manufacturer’s recommended cleaning products on your hardwood floor.

Small stones, mud, and gritty dirt tracked in from outside can play havoc on a wood floor’s finish, so sweep, vacuum or you may find a Swiffer style wet or dry system an easy and excellent choice for this step. To help combat wear, use long bristle welcome mats placed at all outside entrances for people to wipe their feet on before walking on hardwood floors.

Narrow wheels and sharp wooden, or metal furniture legs can scratch and dent hardwood flooring, which can quickly turn a newly refinished floor into an old worn floor. Any furniture that rests directly on top of a hardwood floor should have felt protectors, or furniture coasters, under all it’s feet. For extremely heavy objects such as a piano, use rubber cups. Purchasing chair glides is a very cheap insurance policy for your hardwood flooring.

There are many over the counter oil soap based or silicone and wax based cleaning products that can damage and dull the finish of your hardwood floor. The best suggestion is to only use the manufacturers recommended cleaning products on your hardwood flooring.

If you have a polyurethane finish on your hardwood floors you should never use a wax on them. The wax will cause a sticky film to build up on your floor, allowing any dirt tracked onto it to stick. This creates black traffic paths on your floor. Because polyurethane will not adhere to any wax it also makes the floor almost impossible to recoat later with a fresh coat of polyurethane.

When accidents happen and some liquid gets spilled on your hardwood floor, you should use a slightly damp white cloth, or paper towel to immediately clean up and dry the effected area. For more difficult spots, follow the manufacturer’s recommended cleaning procedures.