Hard wood floors are versatile. They hold up to everyday wear and tear, hold value during a resale, and fit any decorating style. Their shine can add to their visual impact. However, you cannot avoid the floor from becoming dull, especially if they receive a lot of foot traffic. We devised a guide on how to make hardwood floors shine.
Steps on Making Hardwood Floors Shine
The process of how to make your hardwood floors shine is not as simple as wipe and go. You first need to make sure you are using the appropriate cleaning materials. Here’s a step by step guide:
Step 1: Identify the Type of Finish Applied on Your Hardwood Floor
The first step is to identify the type of finish applied to your hardwood floors. Doing so will help us better choose the method we can use to polish them.
There are two types of hardwood floor finish: polyurethane or polyacrylic urethane finish and paste wax. You can do a spot test to know which of these two are on your hardwood floor.
You can add a drop of water on a spot with regular foot traffic to do the test. If the hard wood absorbs the water or the water creates a stain on the hardwood, it means that your floors aren’t sealed with any finish. On the other hand, if the opposite happens, the hardwood floor is sealed with a polyurethane or paste wax finish.
If you want to know if it’s a paste wax finish, you may get fine steel wool and rub it gently on the floor in a corner. You will see a gray, waxy film on the bristles of the steel wool if your hard wood has a paste wax finish.
Step 2: Prepare the Cleaning and Polishing Materials
After identifying the type of finish used on your hardwood floor, the next thing that you should do is to prepare the appropriate cleaning and polishing materials. You will need a broom, sponge, dust mop or vacuum, and microfiber mop for the cleaning materials. Then, you need a cleaning solution, flat surface mop, and hardwood polish. You can buy any cleaning solution designed for hardwood flooring available on the market or make your DIY solution.
To make a natural, homemade hardwood floor cleaning mixture, you may use the following:
- Lemon juice and water
- Olive oil, white vinegar, and water
- Brewed tea
- Vegetable oil and white vinegar
You may find these ingredients readily available in your pantry. They have natural cleansing properties that will surely make your hardwood floors clean and shiny. In addition, they also have bacteria and germ-killing power that will help keep you and your family safe.
Step 3: Sweep with Your Broom
Use the broom to sweep any debris and dirt from your hard wood floor. This step is crucial in making your hardwood floors shine because dirt and dust can pile up and harden over time if you just apply a polisher without cleaning off first.
Step 4: Mop the Floor
Using your microfiber mop, wipe down any dust particles and beverage spills from your hard wood floor. Remember that it is essential to mop any spills right away to prevent watermarks.
Step 5: Vacuum
To ensure no leftover dust and dirt particles, you may use a vacuum to clean your hardwood floors.
Step 6: Apply the Hardwood Cleaning Mixture
Once the floor is clean, grab a sponge and hardwood cleaning solution. Spray it on your hardwood floor and gently wipe it with a sponge. Make sure to cover all areas of your hardwood floor.
Step 7: Polish Hardwood Floors to A Shine
Begin at the back corner of your house or room, then devise a path that will allow you to end up near an exit- this is important because you shouldn’t step over the polish until it is completely dry. Once you have your route, you can start pouring a small amount of floor polish.
With your flat-surface mop, work the polish back and forth in the direction of the wood grain. Smooth out any air bubbles to avoid ugly residues once the polish dries up. Moreover, make sure you spread the polish evenly throughout the whole area. You may also apply another coat if necessary.
Keep in mind that polish can stain baseboard and drywall. Therefore, you must avoid splashing on them, or else, they will require cleaning.
How Often Should You Shine HardWood Floors?
Now that you know how to make hardwood floors shine, you might also want to learn how often you should do it. Well, that will depend on how much foot traffic your floors receive.
You can polish them every two to four months if it gets regular foot traffic. However, if it receives a lot of foot traffic, you should polish your hardwood floors more often.
To keep your floors shiny and avoid having to extensively repolish them, make sure that you do regular weekly cleanings. Sweep regularly to prevent dust and dirt build-up and wipe up any spills to avoid watermarks.
Get Your Hardwood Floors Professionally Polished
If you think polishing your hardwood floors is a tedious process, then you can always reach out to professional cleaners for the best results. The Prestigious Cleaning Team is one of those that you can rely on.
We offer deep-detail house cleaning services and this covers polishing your hardwood floors to make them shine. We also offer other services such as moving in and moving out cleaning services and office cleaning.
If you want your hardwood floors professionally polished by the Prestigious Cleaning Team, don’t hesitate to call us at (770) 422-5326 or visit our website to get a free quote. We promise that we will send you our best cleaners and back up any cleaning job with our 100% satisfaction guaranteed.
