- 1). Sweep your hardwood floor daily to reduce the amount of dirt or sand that gets brought in from outside. Use a fine broom that features exploded or frayed ends.
- 2). Vacuum along baseboards with a hardwood flooring attachment. These brushes may feature natural bristles to dust and vacuum simultaneously, and is 12 inches across in length.
- 3). Nourish wood and clean at the same time using a dusting mop. Use a mop that holds dusting pads, and spray a hardwood floor treatment that contains lemon oil onto the pad before swiping the floor. Lemon oil moisturizes wood for a shiny look.
- 4). Deep cleanse finished hardwood floors biweekly by using a regular mop in high traffic areas like the kitchen or entryway. Mopping will clean the dirt and grime from the wood surface without damaging the wood. Dip the mop in a bucket of water and wood washing cleaner, and wring out thoroughly until it is slightly damp.
- 5). Maintain the shine and gleam of hardwood flooring by waxing, buffing and re-waxing the floor yearly. Wax will prevent scratches and damage to flooring.
- 1). Rub a water stain area with a No. 2 medium coarse steel wool pad in the same direction as the wood grain. Re-wax to restore color and shine. For deep water stains, buff out with a light-grain sand paper and re-wax.
- 2). Buff out shoe marks or slight pet scratches with a fine steel wool pad in the wood grain direction, and moisturize with a floor cleaner that contains lemon oil. Wipe area dry and polish entire area with floor wax.
- 3). Fill deep scratches with waxy wood filler sticks to match the color of the floors.
- 4). Remove long scratches that appear across multiple floorboards by taping off a square around the damaged area, hand sand using a light-grained sandpaper and buff the area down to remove the scratch. Reapply finish and wax sealer to the area and allow to dry.