Wood Floors: The Most Difficult To Keep Clean?

Posted on 30/03/2014

The flooring in your home can make a huge difference. If you are renting, then the type of floors fitted might be one of the first things you look for in a home, and when buying or building, the dream of wooden floors might spur you on to get exactly what you are looking for. But while they might feel nice under bare feet and not get as cold as tiles or plastic solutions, is it tougher to keep wooden floors clean? When looking for professional cleaners, one of the most common problems is to do with carpet cleaning or rug cleaning, but do wooden floors avoid this issue? Instead, it seemed that having wooden floors in your home could bring a whole host of new problems, but how should you approach keeping them clean? In recent decades, the idea of wooden floors have grown in variety. Whereas before, it was typically large hard wood boards laid down for many years, the rise in home furnishings have brought a new variety of wooden flooring which can be easily installed and not have nearly as many problems as the old versions. Whereas before, you might have to deal with spaces between the boards trapping dust and the odd nail coming a bit loose, the modern wooden flooring combats these problems with a seamless model which brings much of the warmth and feel of wooden flooring without much of the old issues. But what about cleaning? This new style of modern flooring does not require nearly as much in the way of care and in terms of keeping it clean it can often be compared more to tiles and plastic linoleum solutions rather than the wooden boards of yore. With no gaps between the boards, there is nowhere for dust and dirt to catch and get stuck. And should something spill, the varnish and the lacquer can often mean that it is simply a case of wiping them clean. In fact, many people choose to lay carpets and rugs on top of the wooden floors, so many of the cleaning problems which we encounter in wooden homes are more to do with these and other upholstery cleaning matters rather than the well behaved floor boards. For children and pets, these modern wooden flooring solutions often present the best mix between aesthetics and wipe clean solutions. In terms of cleaning, many people find that a simple combination of brush and mop is the best solution to any issues. Because there is very little to catch dust, many find that dirt and little dust particles can easily accumulate in corners and under sofas, so when brushing, be sure to check these areas. Once you can be sure that all of the dust has been suitably removed, all that remains is to get a bucket filled with hot soapy water and a mop and really make sure that your cleaning is handled with the requisite amount of elbow grease. When it comes to a question of which cleaning product you use, many companies have now devised a special solution for these new brand of wooden floors. This allows them to not only be cleaned, but to shine and to really show off the grain and the workmanship which has gone into their installation. While some might consider polishing their wooden floors like one would wooden furniture, this can often lead to them becoming slippery and too shiny, so we often advise that a simple mopping and brushing will solve many of the issues which you might have when it comes to keeping wooden floors clean.