Out of all the flooring types you can put in your home, hardwood is the most popular. It is the traditionally flooring used when homes were first constructed, and they have stood the test of time. The best part about engineered hardwood flooring is that it offers so many style options. With the right flooring, you can customize the look and feel that you want in your home.

Although hardwood looks fantastic when it gets installed, the flooring can lose its lustre over time. Fortunately, homeowners can flex their DIY expertise and maintain their hardwood flooring with some easy techniques. As long as you take care of your floors from time to time, they will remain in showroom condition for years to come.

Hardwood floors are an excellent choice for your home. You will love the look and feel of them. With proper maintenance, they will last you a lifetime. Here are six ways for homeowners to maintain their hardwood flooring:

Don’t Leave Spills

Spills are going to happen and there’s nothing you can do about it. Whether it’s your toddler dropping their sippy cup or knocked-over wine glass at a dinner party, you will have liquid dumped onto your hardwood floor. Fortunately, it’s not the end of the world.

While you don’t have to panic, you should clean it up immediately. The liquid left on a hardwood floor can make the wood swell. That may lead to cupping or gapping in the wood. Simply wipe up the spill with a dry or slightly damp cloth. Don’t use any wet mops and in general, keep all sources of wetness off the floors.

Remove Dust and Debris

Hardwood quickly builds up dust and other foreign matter because it has nowhere to go. That’s why these floors always seem to build up dust bunnies so fast. Start a routine of sweeping your floors every day and you can avoid all this mess. You can use a dust mop since this picks up lots of dirt and pet hair.

Every week, use a vacuum to do a more thorough cleaning. As long as you keep up this cleaning ritual, it shouldn’t take long to vacuum it. If you want to make it even easier, use a robotic vacuum.

Wash the Floors

Every few weeks, you should clean the floors with a flat mop and approved hardwood floor cleaner. Any DIY cleaner can potentially damage the floors, so make sure not to use them. You can spray and mop, making sure not to leave any standing water. 

Using a disposable wet pad or thoroughly ringing out a regular mop will ensure no water residue is left behind. After you wash, you can dry them with a cloth or turn on a ceiling fan to get the air moving.

Polish Your Floors Every 3-4 Months

Now is the time to apply polish to your floors. They will start to lose their shine after a few months, so it’s important to polish them for protection and bring back that glossy look. You may also have some scratches that need to disappear and polishing will do that for you.

Prior to polishing, do your sweeping and vacuuming routine. Then you can apply a hardwood floor polish. There are water-based products and urethane base ones. Both do a great job of protecting and covering small scratches.

Refinishing

If your floors look dull, you can recoat them with finish every 3-5 years, but 7-10 years is a good time to refinish your hardwood floors. They have taken steady traffic over this time and probably are looking dull. They may also have scuffs and scratches, as well as stubborn stains.

Thankfully you can bring them back by refinishing them. This involves sanding and applying a wood flooring finish. A scuff sanding can be done to get rid of scratches if that’s all you are concerned with refinishing. A solid hardwood floor may be thoroughly sanded many times, but you need to be more careful with an engineered hardwood floor. 

It will take a few sessions before it gets too close to the material underneath the wood veneer. After sanding, you apply a stain if you want a different look and then an approved hardwood finish. 

Additional Tips

There are several other things you can do to preserve the look and durability of your hardwood floors. For instance, you should always use furniture pads under the legs of every chair, table, and sofa placed on the hardwood. This will prevent and scratching and marks as well as cushioning the area. 

Also, try to avoid walking on your hardwood floors with high heels as they can easily scratch or gauge the finish. Trim your pets’ nails regularly so they don’t mark up the floors. Make sure your house isn’t too humid as this can get into the wood and cause it to swell. Finally, use a rubber rug at the entrances so that your shoes don’t touch the floor. They can carry in gravel, mud, and water.