Austin and it’s surrounding counties have enjoyed quite a bit of rain lately. To top it off the weather has stayed pretty cold when the rain was falling. So it is quite hard to ask our guests to immediately remove there shoes when entering our homes, when all the want to do is escape the cold. So most of our wood floors have suffered lately. When it comes to cleaning wood floors everyone thinks lets make it shine again. However when was the last time you saw a shiny tree? If you have wood floors with a shiny coat on them that is most likely because of what the manufacturer has added to the floors or your installers themselves. I can guarantee that most professional wood installers do not recommend using any wood cleaner with an added shine to it. Any cleaner that adds an added shine is really not cleaning at all. It is however adding a temporary shine to your floors which in the long run will be extremely costly and hard to remove. It is like adding a new clear coat of nail polish to your nails every time and not removing the last coat of clear polish. Basic buildup of polish with added dirt is not cleaning.
The longevity of your wood flooring will depend on your cleaning methods and the quality of the wood. We suggest reading the manufacturer guidelines for the woods specific cleaning instructions.
There are three simple steps in maintaing your wood floors.1. Understand the type of wood that is installed in your home.2. Vacuum your floors with a soft hair vacuum extension to remove the smallest particles of dust and debris that can settle into the grooves of the wood. If not removed on a regular basis these particles can act as sandpaper and harden in time causing more damage.3. Use a damp, not wet, microfiber cleaning mop head. If floors are left wet for more than 60 seconds they can buckle and warp over time.
We have used the power of steam on wood floors to remove some of the toughest grime. It dries in less than 15 seconds and cleans and disinfects better than any chemicals.
