Right after a flooring Ottawa company comes out and installs your new floors, they are sure to look absolutely amazing. Few people plan on letting their wood floors become scuffed up and unattractive; unfortunately, that usually happens through carelessness and due to poor maintenance and upkeep. If you think that caring for wood floors is cumbersome or time consuming, though, think again. The reality is that small, simple steps can be used to keep hardwood flooring in Ottawa looking like new. The following basic tips can help you keep your hardwood floors looking great, year after year.
Sweep Daily
Invest in a decent broom and use it regularly on your flooring. Ottawa retailers sell a wide array of great brooms that are designed specifically for hardwood floors. Whisk brooms are the most efficient tools for sweeping wood floors; however, you should buy whisk brooms with rubber fibers to avoid inadvertently causing scratches.
In addition to using a traditional whisk broom, you should keep a microfiber broom at the ready, too. These brooms have soft cloth-like material that pulls microscopic dust and other debris up off of the floor. Because the material is so soft, you never have to worry about scuffing up your wood floor. Ottawa is awash in stores that sell microfiber brooms, so you shouldn’t have any trouble tracking them down.
Vacuum Weekly
Even the best microfiber brooms in the world can’t remove all of the dust from hardwood flooring. Ottawa homeowners should run their vacuum cleaners over their hardwood floors on at least a weekly basis. Most vacuum cleaners have “bare floor” settings that work specifically on wood floors. If you don’t already have a vacuum cleaner with such a setting, investing in one is well worth it. A high quality vacuum cleaner will suck invisible dust and debris from wood floors; it will also remove dust from the microscopic cracks between planks.
Clean Spills Quickly
Standing water is the mortal enemy of a hardwood floor. The minute a spill happens, make sure to sop it right up. Use a paper towel, a soft sponge or a cloth to do so; never use a scratchy sponge, as it could scuff up the wood. If water is allowed to stay on wood flooring in Ottawa homes, it can cause permanent damage. If you’d rather not replace your hardwood floors, make sure to take care of spills promptly.
Use the Right Cleaning Products
You can’t use the products that you use to clean tile or linoleum floors on hardwood flooring. Ottawa stores sell plenty of cleaning products that are designed for use with wood floors; invest in a selection of them so that you always have a decent product to use. Some cleaning products are designed to clean and disinfect wood floors; others are meant to give them shine and luster. Alternate between these two types of cleaning products to keep your floors clean and glowing.
Beware of Direct Sunlight
Many people don’t realize it, but direct sunlight can wreak serious havoc on wood floors. In order to keep the wood floor in your Ottawa home as like-new as possible, make sure that it’s not exposed to direct sunlight for too many hours per day. If it is, invest in shades or blinds to soften the impact. Otherwise, you will need to have your floors treated with special finishings that are designed to protect against UV sunlight damage. Of course, that’s a small price to pay for avoiding faded, unappealing flooring.
Enjoy High-Quality Wood Flooring for Years
You may wonder – is it possible to enjoy a wood floor for many years? Absolutely. The trick is to keep the preceding tips and pointers in mind. Regular cleaning, basic upkeep and a little bit of common sense all go a long way toward keeping the wood floors in your home in like-new condition.