How To Clean Hardwood Floors

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Wondering how to clean hardwood floors, now that you know that you cannot use vinegar to clean them?

Photo by newlivinghouston

Well, cleaning your hardwood floors is not very difficult, and is quite similar to cleaning other floors once you know the tricks.

How To Clean Hardwood Floors - Step By Step Instructions

When you are ready to clean your hardwood floors, take the following steps:

Sweep your hardwood floor with a soft bristle broom, or vacuum it with a soft floor attachment to get all the dust and loose dirt from the floor.

Get your hardwood floor cleaner ready.

Wet your mop or sponge with the cleaning solution and then wring it out thoroughly so that the mop or sponge is only slighty damp.

Mop the hardwood floor with your mop or wipe with your sponge being careful to never get the floor extremely wet with the cleaning solution.

Make sure to rinse your mop or sponge thorougly as it gets dirty.

Change out your bucket of hardwood floor cleaner for fresh if it becomes too dirty.

After washing the floor, rinse the floor with plain warm water. (Again, when rinsing you just dampen the mop or sponge -- do not ever get the floor extremely wet.)

After the floor is rinsed make sure it is completely dry, or dry it thoroughly. You can buff it at the same time, if you wish, with either an electric buffer or a buffing pad.

Of course, you don't need to wash your hardwood floors in this way daily. In fact, every few months may suffice, depending on how much traffic you have.

But you do need to do some daily or at least routine maintenance for your hardwood floors.

Check out this article on caring for your hardwood floors for tips for daily maintenance.