How to Clean Prefinished Hardwood Floors

The prefinished hardwood floors are well-known for providing warmth and beauty to any space at a time. To enjoy its functionality and aesthetics for over 30 years, you must pay attention to its cleaning and maintenance. So, the concern is how to clean prefinished hardwood floors. If you also want to know the correct way to clean this floor, this is the right place for you. 

In this blog, we are going to cover some best practices for cleaning dirty refinished hardwood floors and some tips and tricks for their maintenance. So, without keeping you waiting, let’s start exploring them. 

What Are Prefinished Hardwood Floors

Prefinished hardwood floors are hardwood planks treated with a protective finish at the factory, ready for installation. This finish typically includes durable coatings such as urethane, enhancing resistance to wear, moisture, and damage. 

Unlike traditional hardwood that requires sanding and finishing post-installation, prefinished options offer convenience and immediate use, reducing installation time and eliminating the need for onsite finishing work. 

They provide a wide range of styles, colors, and finishes, catering to diverse aesthetic preferences and functional requirements. The choice of where you purchase your flooring also matters; the best flooring company in Dubai will always provide you with high-quality flooring that is both long-lasting and effective.

Best Ways To Clean Hardwood Floors 

To address the concern about how to clean prefinished hardwood floors, we have compiled some quick and easy ways below. Have a look at them:

• Daily Dusting

The one of the most reliable ways to protect and clean prefinished hardwood floors is daily dusting. This approach will remove almost 99.9% of loose dirt, debris, and dust. If you do not thoroughly dust your floor constantly for 7 days, then these contaminants will be ground to your hardwood and dull its shine. 

For the daily dusting, you can use sweeping, dust mopping, or a broom. No matter which method you choose for this concern, the bristle of cleaning equipment(broom, brush) should be soft to avoid scratches. 

For  3x speed of the cleaning process, you can also use a vacuum cleaner. Attach a soft brush attachment for cleaning the prefinished hardwood floor. Never use abrasive tools like steel wool, wire brushes, abrasive pads, and sandpaper to clean this floor. 

• Monthly Damp Mopping 

The second and most effective way for deeper cleaning of hardwood floors is damp mopping once a month. Do not mop more than once a month; otherwise, mold growth will affect the floor, and the color will be dull. Below are some tips to remember during mopping. 

• Do not soak your floor; always dampen 60% of the mop with water and clean it. If you go for the soaking, you will leave the streak over the floor.
• Always use hardwood cleaners recommended by the manufacturer’s guidelines. The recommended cleaners are Bruce Hardwood and Laminate Floor Cleaner ($8 to $15), Black Diamond Wood & Laminate Floor Cleaner ( $7 to $15 ), and Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner (  $7 to $20 ) 
• While mopping the floor, use the leading-edge cleaning method. In this technique, you have to walk backward through the place, working the mop side to side.

Always choose a microfiber mop. The reason is microfiber is extremely porous. This means its pads will be clean, rinse, and wring out easily. Additionally, microfiber mops clean the floor 2x faster and minimize the chances of streaks. 

• For The Streak Free Floor

More than 96% of the hardwood floor will be cleaned using the earlier steps. The remaining 4% will be cleaned by removing the lingering streak. Below are some tips to remove scuff marks, stubborn stains, and streaks for the prefinished hardwood floor. 

First of all, use a clean microfiber cloth and buff them. You can also use a powerful scrubber mop pad ( $10 to $20). After that, use the powerful floor cleaner over the stain (indirectly with the help of a microfiber cloth) to loosen the debris. Leave the area untouched for 15 to 20 minutes. After that, mop the prefinished hardwood floor with a microfiber mop. 

Things to Avoid During Cleaning The Streaks From The Prefinished Hardwood Floor 

Here are some wrong practices that most people follow, which make prefinished hardwood cleaning more tricky for them. 

• About 80% of people think using more soap will remove the stains quickly. It is a very wrong practice. Avoid using more soap than the requirement because it will saturate the mop pad more easily. 
• Not mopping the floor in 3”x3” sections. This will allow the drying of dirty water onto the floor. 
• Not rinsing the mop’s pad after every cleaning of the short segments of the hardwood floor. 

Additional Tips For Cleaning The Prefinished Hardwood Floor 

Here are some additional tips to help you clean and maintain prefinished hardwood floors. 

1. Always place the door mats or rugs on the entrance. This approach will minimize the incoming dust and debris through shoes. 
2. Daily vacuum the floor to remove dust from it. Daily vacuuming the floor to remove dust is the most important step. Whether it’s cleaning or fixing gap between floor and wall, you must perform this step diligently. Therefore, make it a part of your routine.
3. Wipe up the water spills promptly. The reason is excessive water will damage the hardwood floors quickly. 
4. You can also make your cleaner by mixing ¼ cup of white vinegar with one gallon of water. Then, dampen the mop and start cleaning the floor. 
5. Place protective pads under the furniture’s feet to avoid scratching. 

Final Words 

This was all the discussion about how to clean prefinished hardwood floors. Make sure to follow the ways as mentioned above to increase the lifespan of the floor. Besides all that, always buy hardwood floors from reliable shops that offer guarantees. If you still have questions about cleaning the prefinished wood floor, leave them in the comment section.