Hardwood is one of the best floors of all flooring systems. The floor has a smooth surface that Feels warm and makes your floor glamorous. Wood flooring is durable and helps to greatly enhance your home decor style. This precious hardwood floor gives an attractive beauty that is worth seeing. It’s really hard to lose its beauty when the floor is shiny. Although wood floors last year after year, they can lose their charm if not properly cared for, especially in places where there is a lot of traffic. Everyone likes a glossy floor but no one likes a blurry, dull floor. So you have to learn how to make hardwood floors shine. Maintaining the beauty of a wooden floor is a challenging task. For this reason, you can read my article to get a glossy clean wood floor. This article provides you with some easiest ways how to make hardwood floors shine.
What kind of finish does your floor have?
Before you know the best way to keep your hardwood floor shiny, you need to know what kind of finish is applied to your hardwood floor. Hardwood floors are usually sealed with polyurethane, polyacrylic urethane, and paste wax finish. So you should find out if your hardwood floor is sealed with any type of material or not at all. This will help you to choose the right care and cleaning process. The test is:
Place a few drops of water on a specific spot on your floor. If water is quickly absorbed or spread on the floor and causes stains, then the floor is not sealed. But if the water stays on the floor without being absorbed, it indicates that the hardwood floor has been sealed. To see if paste wax has been used on your floor, lightly rub fine steel wool on a certain small part of the floor. When the floor paste wax is polished, there will be a gray, waxy film on the steel wool.
How to deeply clean and brighten hardwood floors
You need to know how to clean and brighten a hardwood floor deeply. Here is how you can do it hassle-free:
Home preparation
Arrange the furniture in your house in such a way that the floor can easily clean without any barrier. Remember, pulling your furniture across the floor to move it from one place to another can cause scratches on the floor that you will never like.
Sweeping
The first step in cleaning any hardwood floor is to sweep the floor. Sweeping your hardwood floor every day removes dust, grit, and dirt and protects the specific finish of your floor. However, it is better to use a broom with soft bristles or you can use a soft microfiber dust mop to prevent scratches on the floor. You can also vacuum for the best results.
Wet Clean
After cleaning the floor in a dry way, clean it in a wet way. Try to use clean water before cleaning the floor with any other chemical or detergent. When mopping, wring water from the mop pad well so that the floor does not get too wet. Above all, clean the floor with a slightly damp microfiber mop; Such as – a spray mop or spin mop. You can also wipe the surface with a dry absorbent microfiber cloth or pad after mopping to avoid excess moisture on the floor. Remember, water is the biggest enemy of wood floors, and this way you can avoid excessive wetness of wood floors.
Steam mop for deep cleaning
Using a steam mop is a great way to disinfect floors. Excess water usually damages hardwood floors. So dry steam mop should give more priority as it uses very little water and cleans the floor without using any chemicals. This is the most effective way to deep clean any surfaces. Steam mop not only reduces your cleaning time but also greatly improves the look of your hardwood floor. Before starting work with a steam mop, the floor should first vacuum or thoroughly swept.
To clean the excessive dirty floor
If your floor is extra dirty, you can use a mild cleaning agent to clean the floor, such as bona hardwood floor cleaner. Use a microfiber mop to thoroughly clean hardwood floors. Again, if there is dirty water when cleaning the floor; try to change it and use clean water. Because if you use dirty water repeatedly, the dirt line will remain after the floor dries.
How to make hardwood floors shine naturally without using a commercial cleaning agent? Or, How to make hardwood floors shine naturally?
If you want to save money on your floor shining process without using any chemicals, then you can brighten your hardwood floor naturally with natural ingredients. You can make your own homemade wood floor polish to restore the natural shine and choose one or more of your choice from the following ways. Here are some ways to brighten your floor:
Thoroughly sweep or vacuum your hardwood floor before applying the natural solution to the floor. Apply your specific natural solution after removing all dirt.
The first way is- Vinegar, olive oil, and water.
Over time, hardwood floors begin to look dull and dirty after regular cleaning. So you can use this mixture to make the surface as bright as the first.
Things you need-
- 1/3 cup distilled white vinegar
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 5 cups of warm water
- Essential oil for fragrance
- Spray bottle
First, pour vinegar and olive oil into the spray bottle and fill the rest of the spray bottle with warm water. You can add essential oils for fragrance. Shake well when all the ingredients are done. When the mixture is ready, spray it lightly on the floor and use a dry microfiber mop or cloth with it. Be sure to shake the bottle before spraying each time as the oil will separate from the water. You can work in sections until the entire floor is polished. This will make the floor look rich and shiny as well as remove floor stains.
The second way is- Vegetable Oil and White Vinegar.
This mixture is relatively easy, effective, and inexpensive for your hardwood floor because vegetable oil has been cheaper than olive oil. It keeps the floor clean and smooth, especially in places where there is a lot of foot traffic.
Things you need-
- Vegetable Oil 50%
- White vinegar 50%
- Spray bottle
- And a microfiber
Equal quantity of vegetable oil and white vinegar poured into a spray bottle then shake well to make a mixture. Then spray lightly on the floor and use a microfiber mop to rub the floor. Be sure to shake the bottle before spraying each time. Vinegar is a natural cleaning agent whose acidity helps to remove dirt and grime from the floor, and vegetable oil is a natural polishing agent that enhances elegance by polishing the floor. When mopping, follow the direction of the wood grain as often as possible and polish well in the traffic areas.
The third way is- Lemon juice, olive oil, and water.
You can use this simple natural floor cleaner to give your floor extra shine.
Things you need for this-
- 1 gallon of gentle hot water
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 3/4 cup olive oil
The mixture of hot water and lemon juice will deeply clean your hardwood floor because lemon contains citric acid which cleans dirt, and grime. Also, olive oil helps to make your floor more elegant with a beautiful polish.
The fourth way is- Black Tea.
According to HGTV, the tannic acid in tea helps to brighten the floor. It sounds weird, but the acidity of the tea helps to remove dirt from your floor and you can use it as a natural floor cleaner. To do this, boil some tea bags with water and Use this tea solution after cooling with the help of a microfiber mop. The tea solution is great for removing dirt from the grooves of your hardwood floor. It provides a massive natural glow without damaging your floor that you never imagine.
Some Additional Floor Cleaning Tips That Will Help You to Brighten And Maintain Your Floor easily -
- Wipe any wet splashes as soon as possible to prevent water stains.
- No matter what kind of polish is applied on your hardwood floor, avoid pouring too much water on it when cleaning.
- Use an alcohol-based cleaning agent instead of water or other cleaning agents on unsealed floors.
- Use a vacuum or dust mop to remove daily dirt and debris.
- Never wash the floor thoroughly by pouring water on it as the washed hardwood floor adds more moisture which can create the risk of warping.
- Use a completely dry microfiber mop to avoid streaking.
- Avoid using a cotton mop as it can be difficult to wring.
- Be careful when applying vinegar solution to the floor. Using more than the prescribed amount of vinegar can damage the floor. Because vinegar is formed from acetic acid.
- The best way to keep wood floors from looking dull is to use proper cleaning products which are specially made for hardwood such as cleaners and mops.
Conclusion
Thank you for reading our article “How to make hardwood floors shine”. We hope that the above-mentioned methods and ingredients will make your floor cleaning & shining much easier and help you in every way to live a clean and healthy life.
God Bless You………..