Sprucing Up Your Wood Floors After the Holidays

You’ve entertained, cooked and hosted dinners and parties. Once you take time to breathe, let us show you how easy your wood floors are to clean. You will find that regular cleaning and maintenance with rejuvenators and buffing every few years does wonders for even the best maintained floors. And, there is no better time to do this than after the holidays. Keeping your durable antique wood floor looking optimal for welcomed visitors takes a few easy, but necessary steps.

• First, vacuum all the loose dirt using a soft bristle head. Spot clean by hand with WOCA Natural Soap Spray, the recommended cleaner for all of Goodwin’s factory finishes, or other mild wood floor cleaners from reputable manufacturers to get up tough spots. Avoid using solutions that must be combined with water and avoid harsh cleaners on your floor.
• Next, use a quality cotton yarn twist mop with a little ‘soft’ water to clean any remaining dirt off the surface. You need two buckets to properly clean the floor: one containing the Natural Soap solution or other mild cleaner and a second bucket with pure water to rinse the mop. Change the water in the second bucket as needed to avoid a grayish gleam caused by dirty water. Wring out the mop vigorously. Mop in the direction of the grain. If you see water on your floor, your mop is probably too wet.
• Third, if you need further cleaning, use Natural Soap Spray or another quality hardwood floor cleaner. We spray ours onto a section of the floor at a time to avoid excess moisture from too much cleaner. On a flat mop head, use multiple terry cloth covers that can be reversed to collect more dirt and then later machine washed.
• Last, you may want to consider a quality maintenance refresher on occasion between cleanings. The WOCA Refresher can be mopped like the Natural Soap whereas some other products require applying and then using an orbital buffer. Different products have different set times so follow the manufacturer’s directions closely.

Remember, your friends at Goodwin are always available to answer any questions. Just give us a call