When you ask homeowners what type of floor they consider the best, you are likely to see hardwood floors ranking high on the list. It is not surprising. After all, they not only lend character to any room, but they are also very safe for the whole family and really warm, too.
While they are quite easy to clean, especially if you really take care of them, hardwood floors could still lose their gloss after years of high foot traffic and heavy cleaning. In fact, they may even end up looking dull and challenging to clean because of the wear on your floor seal.
By that time, your floor may be prone to getting damp and may eventually rot away when they get wet. All these troubles also happen to hardwood floors that are not yet sealed.
Now if you have such floors in your home, you may be asking, “How do I clean my unsealed floors without having to face those problems?” Here’s how:
- Because unsealed floors, especially those gaps between the planks are quite prone to dust accumulation, it makes perfect sense to sweep and vacuum your floors on a regular basis. Make sure you use a broom with really soft bristles for sweeping. Of course, you can also use your vacuum cleaner. Make vacuuming more effective by attaching the crevice tool that comes with the vacuum cleaner.
- Prepare a mixture of warm water and vinegar in a bucket. A ratio of ¼ cup of vinegar for every gallon of water would work best. Before you start mopping though, remember that it is not a great idea to wet the floor. So what do you do? You squeeze out the water from the mop until it’s just damp enough to wipe of stains and remove moulds.
- Dry off everything by going over all the areas you have mopped with a clean and dry cloth. Doing so will help absorb any drips and avoid any possible foul odours.
- Do not forget to open your doors and windows after cleaning your floors to help ventilate the room. This can help dry the floors faster. Remind everyone in the house to avoid walking on the floors for about 15 minutes to make sure they’re really dry. You may choose to wax it, just make sure it’s a non-water based one.
Cleaning unsealed hardwood floors is not so difficult, right? Make yours last longer by following these easy cleaning steps!