High-quality flooring such as hardwood floors can cost thousands of dollars. After getting this kind of great flooring installed, many homeowners make the mistake of using the wrong cleaning products or cleaning techniques.
So what are some of the critical mistakes to avoid when cleaning floors? This floor cleaning guide tells you everything you need to know.
1. Using the Wrong Vaccum Settings
A layer of dust, grime, and hair isn’t a great look for your floor. If you’re living in a busy place, it’s likely you’ll reach for the vacuum once every couple of days to do a bit of house cleaning.
Unfortunately, lots of people don’t use their vacuum on the right setting. When cleaning a floor, choosing the correct setting can make all the difference. In general, vacuums have a setting for hard floors and one for carpets. Make sure you check your vacuum documentation to make sure you’re using the right one.
2. Not Following Instructions on Cleaning Products
One of the biggest floor cleaning tips is to make sure you’re using your cleaning products right. You’d be surprised at how many people use a floor cleaner that isn’t suited to their type of flooring.
Always make sure you read the instructions on the bottle before using a floor cleaner. If you use the wrong type of cleaner, you could be left with wax or soap buildup that’s very hard to remove.
3. Using Harsh Cleaning Products
While hardwood floors can be very resilient, certain kinds of chemicals could quickly do damage to them. For example, if you use bleach on your flooring this could cause discoloration and stains.
The solution here is to make sure you only use cleaning products specifically designed for the type of floor you have. If you’re not sure what the best cleaning products are for your floor, consider contacting your floor manufacturer.
4. Using Too Much Water
Since you need to avoid using harsh chemicals, water is a great way to clean your floors. With that said, there’s such a thing as overdoing it. While some flooring types like tile are virtually impervious to water, using too much water on material like hardwood could warp and damage your floor.
It’s best to use a moderate amount of water on materials like hardwood.
5. Using the Wrong Steam Cleaner on Your Floors
Finally, another one of the big floor cleaning mistakes is to use the wrong kind of steam cleaner on your floors. Generally speaking, you don’t want to use a steam cleaner on floors such as hardwood floors or laminate.
If you’re in doubt, check what your floor manufacturer says about using steam.
Avoid These Mistakes When Cleaning Floors
Floors such as hardwood or laminate can look fantastic, but you can easily ruin them by using the wrong cleaning products or by using the wrong cleaning techniques.
Make sure you always look up information about cleaning floors before putting anything on your expensive flooring. If you want to learn more about other home-related topics, check out the rest of our blog posts.
