Those who have homes with hardwood floors understand the challenges involved in keeping the flooring clean during the winter months. Holiday time calls for cleaning, mostly because all types of moisture are tracked into your home during these wet, drippy months. When approaching the cleaning task for wooden flooring, remember that the type of finish determines how you should clean it. The type of wood makes little difference in the cleaning job. Surface-sealed floors should be cleaned differently than all other types, though there are about a half-dozen common floor finishes in use today. You need to maintain your wooden flooring in order to make it last a long time and shine as it should.

Most modern flooring is finished with urethane, polyurethane, or polycyclic. If not, then it is likely a penetrating-seal-treated or oil-treated floor. Finally, if your floor does not fall into one of those categories, then it must be lacquered, shellacked, or varnished. Otherwise, you are dealing with an unfinished floor, which requires very special care. Not to worry, however, because unfinished floor are as rare as hen’s teeth these days so you will probably never see one. Whatever kind of finish your floor has, be certain to take regular care of hardwood flooring.

When it is time to clean, remember to avoid furniture sprays, waxes, and oils on surface-sealed floors. They will damage the sealant and ruin the shine. In addition, they can make the floor dangerously slippery. Use what you care manual recommends, or what you local flooring pro tells you to use. Flooring is tricky when it comes to cleaning, so be ready to avoid using even water or vinegar, which will dull the surface shine.

Winter cleaning your flooring can be a challenge, especially with all the snow, ice, mud, and salty sleet that comes in on kids’ shoes and pets’ paws. Use a damp mop to do routine maintenance jobs. You should try to sweep once every day, and wet mop once per week. In areas that get nearly no traffic, however, you can just do a quick mopping every thirty days or so. Never use a soaking wet mop on a wooden floor, even a sealed one. Wood and water are enemies, so it’s best to keep them apart at all times. Instead of a wet mop, use a slightly damp one to get up light dirt and grime. Regular maintenance is the key to a great wooden floor.

When you have small cleaning jobs like scuff marks, just use a slightly moist sponge with a pinch of baking soda. You do not need to rub very hard. Just let the baking soda do its job and the mark will come up in a minute or two. With other, more resistant stains, it is okay to use a commercial cleaner as long as you check the ingredients. If it has no chemicals that would void your warranty, then by all means, use it to get the stains out. Hairline cracks typically fill in during the more moist summer months.

So this holiday season, get your floors looking like new before guests arrive just in time for that special day. Be safe and happy holidays to you and yours!