Hardwood Floors do deserve a lot of credit for being the most serviceable and at the same time an alluring element of our home decor, However, despite all the beauty and benefits, they are still, much likely to go bad real soon, if not taken care of the right way. And you certainly wouldn’t want all your massive investment to go in vain or even look even a bit dull or unattractive.
Pro Flooring Guide has come up with a definitive set of maintenance techniques as well as those super effective measures with which you can not just prolong the life of your hardwood floors, but also upkeep all of their beauty.
How To Care For Engineered Hardwood Floors
Ahead are both those particular factors that you need to adopt as well as to avoid, when the concern is about the sustenance of your Engineered Hardwood Floors.
This will then be followed by a number of other maintenance hacks, effective DIYs and ways to deal with some of the major engineered hardwood concerns.
So let’s get started with those hardwood yays and nays, in the first place.
Dos And Don’ts Of Engineered Hardwood Cleaning
It goes without saying at this point that you need to be very particular with what you settle for, when it comes to dealing with your engineered hardwood floors. And certainly the fact that you can’t possibly make use of anything and everything, as well.
What To Avoid With Engineered Hardwood Cleaning
When up for cleaning and maintaining your engineered Hardwood Floors, you must consider staying away from:
1. Harsh And Heavy Chemicals
These include Ammonia, oil and wax-based cleaners and oil soaps since such elements always end up causing severe damage to the hardwood floors.
2. Steam Cleaners And Mops
Steam cleaning is definitely the worst thing you can do to your engineered hardwood floors. And while you might think that steam will help get rid of the stubborn buildup, you must not overlook the fact that the end result of steam is nothing but moisture.
Besides, hardwood floors contain a number of adhesives which end up getting weakened as soon as the moisture reaches them. In addition to that, moisture penetration through the flooring planks has the highest possibility of causing warping since the moisture content will sit in the planks and there is no possible way to restrain this from happening.
3. Contact With Excessive Moisture
Never go for any of the cleaning methods that involve a lot of water since it’s wood that you’re dealing with, at the end of the day, (or maybe at the start, as well!).
This does apply to when you mop your hardwood floors, i.e. your mop or cleaning fabric must always be well-wrung when you’re about to begin the cleaning. Never let even the slightest amounts of water sit on your hardwood floors.
4. Rough Scrubber And Applicators
This includes steel wool brushes and those scrubbing brushes with way too stiff bristles, as those always result in floor scratching or at worst, shedding off of the protective sealer or coating.
This goes the same for applying excessive effort while cleaning/ scrubbing the floors, as you’re doing nothing other than causing surface damage to your floor, in the very attempt of getting rid of stubborn staining.
What To Go For With Engineered Hardwood Cleaning
You can literally consider this part the vice versa of what not to do with the Hardwood Cleaners. However, there are always some of the recommendations, too.
1. Cleaning Materials
Always go for soft and mild cleaning elements, so as to sustain the floor construction. And the best and most fool-proof approach in this regard is to make use of the dedicated professional cleaners, as those are specifically meant for hardwood floors. Murphy Oil Soap and Bona are some of the popular recommendations.
2. Mopping Or Cleaning
Mopping or cleaning with any of the equipment that has dripping water is certainly one of the worst things that you can do to your hardwood floors. Whether you use a scrubber of some sort or something fabricated, such as a mop or cleaning cloth/ towel, always ensure that it’s got the minimal amount of water in it, i.e. it should be damp AND NEVER WET.
3. Cleaning Equipment
Last but not least is the fact that you need to be very careful about the kind of equipment you make use of, with your engineered hardwood floors. Beginning with the brooms, they must have soft bristles, in order to not harm the hardwood surface.
As for the mop, try getting a microfiber one or at least a woolen one. Lastly, if you find using a vacuum much easier, then do look for an upright one with soft bristles and which should be turned off, as well.
Simple Yet Effective Engineered Hardwood Cleaning
You can consider these maintenance procedures for both day-to-day cleaning as well as for the detailed ones too, that you can carry out, preferably on a daily basis.
Engineered Hardwood Cleaning Supplies
These cleaning supplies are for when you opt for the store bought engineered hardwood cleaners.
- Lightweight Vacuum or dustpan and broom (the one with soft bristles)
- Wool/ Microfiber Mop
- Bucket and Water (Preferably lukewarm)
- A mild and suitable hardwood floor cleaner
Homemade Supplies
Home cleaning hacks and DIY recipes do work with the same level of efficiency and often prove to be even more useful, such as when you need to deal with tough or old stains.
Let’s begin with the elements needed for a basic or more of everyday cleaning.
- White Vinegar around one-fourth cup
- Warm water up to one gallon
- Any essential oil of your favorite fragrance (optional)
You’ll require the ahead-mentioned supplies for when you need to revive the appearance and shine of your hardwood floors.
- Lemon juice up to half cup
- Olive oil around three-fourth cup
- Warm water up to one gallon
Engineered Hardwood Cleaning Methods To Work With
1. For Everyday Cleaning
Mild vacuuming or regular sweeping followed by a relatively light mopping are the basic ways of cleaning engineered hardwood floors and you can easily carry that out on a daily basis.
P.S. Maintaining a proper and regular cleaning keeps bigger issues from getting generated as the build up that gets stuck can lead to major damage over time.
2. Damp Mop Cleaning
- Start off with a lightweight vacuum and work your way through the entire space, while ensuring that it has the “bare floor” setting in function.
- Dip your mop in the cleaning solution (water + store bought cleaner) and wring it as much as you can.
- Make sure that your mop thoroughly reaches every bit of the area you’re working with. Moreover, you don’t need to exert a lot of force when you mop the floors as this is going to do more harm than good. And there is a higher possibility of floor surface damage or warping caused by you. So be considerate yet gentle when you’re treating engineered hardwood floors.
- Always wipe clean the treated area with either a microfiber cloth or any absorbent fabric or towel, so as to get rid of any of the possible residue and/or excessive moisture sitting on the floor surface.
3. Restoration Cleaning
Mix the above-mentioned restoring cleanup materials and go over the floor(s) with the mop after wringing it well. You should be able to cut down any of the present staining and also bring back life and beauty to your floors. Don’t forget to wipe the floors in the end, so as to not let any streaking or surface damage take place.
Stain Removal For Engineered Hardwood Flooring
Staining is probably the most common phenomenon and ultimately the greatest issue faced with hardwood floors. And while it might not seem that much of a big deal, not doing anything about staining immediately is meant to give rise to adverse and nearly irreversible consequences over time.
So for sure, you’d want to take care of all those spills and splashes then and there. Take a look at this simple yet effective remedy, which will help you make the most out of your floors.
- Start by soaking an absorbent fabric or towel in Hydrogen Peroxide, followed by placing it on the stained area. Let the soaked cloth sit there for the next 6 hours.
- After that time, take off the cloth and you should see that the stain has been pulled. Lastly, wipe off the treated area completely and gently, so as to not leave any residue or moisture.
Waterproofing Engineered Hardwood Floors
In the first place, it’s essential to know that it is, under any circumstances, technically impossible to waterproof hardwood floors. However, with that of the engineered floors, there is additional advantage gained, i.e. engineered hardwood floors are more resistant against water as compared to solid hardwood floors.
- As for the rest of waterproofing, you can easily achieve that by making use of a manufacturer-recommended waterproofing sealer.
- Polyurethane hardwood sealers are the best and most recommended waterproofing sealers. Besides, you can have them with both water-based and oil-based formulas, depending upon your requirements.
Essential Tips and Tricks for Maintaining Engineered Hardwood Flooring
Do ensure acting upon these ideas, in order to make your floors last long and most importantly away from any of the possible damage.
1. Go For The Recommended Cleaners
The best and most fool-proof approach to clean your engineered hardwood floors is to only consider the usage of the cleaners that have been recommended by your floor manufacturer. This way, there is no possibility left for the flooring to get damaged.
2. Cleaning Intervals
If your usage involves a lot of foot traffic or there are active pets around, you have to ensure a light mopping and sweeping done on a daily basis. On the flip side, if your floros don’t have to bear an intense usage, then twice a week cleaning is pretty good to go.
3. Watch The Water
Do keep checking your water bucket/container while you’re mopping and be considerate about changing the cleaning patch as soon as it starts becoming dirty or murky. Never clean with dirty water or solution as this is guaranteed to harm your floors.
4. Drying Time
Once you’re done with mopping your floors, do let them dry completely and strictly avoid beginning the usage (walking over) before that specific time. Walking or dragging stuff on damp or at worst wet floors (basically the just-cleaned ones) can lead to scratching, streaking and ultimately a huge surface damage.
5. Refinishing Reminder
Only go for engineered hardwood floor refinishing once during its entire lifespan. That’s too, when the situation is adverse enough to not be fixed by the application of any stain removals or even sealers.
6. Look For The Footwear
Avoid walking over with Stilettos or any of the pointed footwear, such as those with metal spikes. And at best, try keeping the shoes away from the floors, let’s say, out of the living space.
7. Spills And Scratches
Getting scratch-resistant engineered hardwood flooring is the first and foremost aspect to consider. And for the otherwise situations, you can either make use of scratch-concealers, wax-based repair kits or even a felt-tip marker of the same color. Moreover, try cleaning all the spills and splashes on the shortest notice, so as to not provide room for long-term damage.
8. Adding Protective Elements
Do consider putting protective mats at all the entrances and of course exists, in order to restrain the damaging aspects from reaching the flooring. Cover the feet of all your furnishing equipment with felt pads to keep scratching at bay.
FAQs | Frequently Asked Questions
How To Clean Engineered Hardwood?
Vacuuming or brooming work quite effectively for everyday cleaning and for getting rid of the day-to-day buildup. Besides, for carrying out a detailed cleaning or particularly for dealing with staining, you can make use of a cleaning solution of vinegar and water. As a starting ratio, you can mix one cup vinegar and two gallons of lukewarm water and use this solution to cut off all the stains as well as achieve a thorough cleaning.
How To Shine Engineered Hardwood Floors?
You can begin with a simple and basic cleaner meant for wood floors, by spraying it onto the floors and letting it rest for a couple of hours. However, you need to ensure that you don’t go for a wax or oil-based floor cleaner or restorer. Alternatively, you can make use of the DIY cleaning solution of vinegar and lukewarm water.
Can I Use A Steam Mop On Engineered Hardwood Floors?
Steam cleaning isn’t a good idea when it comes to engineered hardwood floors since the end result is meant to be moisture generation. Besides, the fact that most of the hardwood floors feature several adhesives and the steam is much likely to weaken them. Apart from that, the steam moisture can penetrate through the hardwood bonds, eventually affecting and ultimately damaging the flooring up to an irreversible extent.
Do Engineered Hardwood Floors Need To Be Sealed?
Engineered Hardwood floors come with a pre-done finishing most of the time, so there isn’t essentially any requirement for sealing them. Still, you can go over your floors with an additional protective layer of sealing, in order to keep the moisture damage at bay and to keep them intact for extensive periods of time.
How Do I Protect My Engineered Hardwood Floors?
Do not walk over with stilettos or any of the pointed footwear or those with metal spikes. Never drag furniture atop engineered hardwood flooring, rather always go for lifting it whenever needed. Abrasive mats must be placed at all entrances and all the furniture pads should have felt pads on the feet. Also, you can go over your floors with either a lacquer protection or some sort of maintenance oil for ensuring additional safety.
How Long Will Engineered Hardwood Floors Last?
The general lifespan of engineered hardwood floors is up to 20 to 30 years, however, engineered hardwood floors are highly prone to scratching. So if that’s a particular concern for you then you might want to place your hands over those engineered hardwood floors that come with a scratch-resistant top coating. And you can always ensure the rest of the longevity with careful maintenance.
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