How To Clean and Care For Hardwood, Laminate and Vinyl Flooring

Last updated October 17, 2022

Well maintaining your hardwood, laminate and vinyl floors will extend their life and keep them looking great for years. Here are some proper care and maintenance tips to ensure your hard surface flooring stays looking beautiful and fresh.

Protect Your Floors
To prevent scratches, scrapes, dents, and dings, use area rugs and runners to bear the brunt of daily traffic. Under rugs, include anti-slip rug pads to keep them in place and/or cushioning. Place floor mats inside and outside of entrances to prevent outdoor particles from being tracked indoors. Make sure to use felt furniture pads on furniture legs and clean up spills quickly to minimize risk of staining.
Choose the Right Cleaning Products
Use only water mixed with a PH neutral floor cleaner. Do not use products that contain wax, oil, soap, or varnish. Many popular cleaners on the market leave an acrylic coating behind harming your floors. At first, cleaning with these products will leave the floor shiny however they dull easily, causing people to soon repeat the use of the cleaner, adding another coat, and the cycle continues. The result is multiple coats of a thick build up on the floor. The best way to combat this situation is to hire a professional to strip off the thick wax film that’s been built up, and then deep clean the floor. Avoid abrasive cleaners that contain chlorine, bleach, or ammonia.
Less Is More
It may seem counterintuitive but when you are mixing floor cleaner with water, less is more! Too much cleaning product leaves residue behind which attracts more dirt and soil. Read the back of the cleaner solution bottle for the dilution ratio, and then we suggest halving or quartering the recommended amount of cleaner to start.
Routine Maintenance
It is important to remove crumbs, dust, and dirt frequently. Start from the corners of the room, working inwards, sweeping particles into a dustpan and dispose. Note, many hard surface floors cannot handle a vacuum without getting scratched, so we recommend sweeping instead of vacuuming to be safe. How often should you clean? Regularly based on where you live, the season and how much foot traffic your floors get.

At Crystal Carpet Care, we offer free phone consultations to discuss how we can assist in taking good care of your hard surface flooring to keep your home looking great. Reach out today!