Hardwood floors are beautiful. Their beauty is hard to match and even tiles and carpets cannot come as close to the beauty that comes with a nicely prepared hardwood floor. It is a look that adds more value to a home than almost any other flooring surface.
However, that beauty can be hard to keep clean. Area rugs and other household items can leave their mark on your beautiful floors. Those marks can ruin the look and the pleasure your floors have given you over the years.
To learn how to clean hardwood floors without leaving streaks just continue to read our article. It has the instructions you need to do a good job of it.
How Do You Get a Film Off of Hardwood Floors?
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This can be a bit tricky as the cleaning solutions may be as hard on your nice floors as the film can be. Some people have tried vinegar and have achieved an only partial success. They do this in spite of the advice telling them that vinegar is not a good hardwood floor cleaner.
You can try it if you are careful, but you may need to use a lot of elbow grease to get the job done thoroughly. Others have suggested WD 40, but that lubricant can prevent you from applying a new finish to your floor. It also may pull the finish off your floor.
Or you can use shaving cream but that is a wipe-on, immediately wipe off solution. You do not want the shaving cream to last long on the floor. Then you can try baby oil or an adhesive remover, but you have to be gentle with all of these solutions.
Once the moisture gets into the joints of the flooring, you start the deteriorating process. The final solution would be to fully strip your floors then refinish them but that can be expensive.
How Do I Clean a Cloudy Wood Floor?
This situation takes place through many different sources. The main source will be when the products you use start to build up. That build-up will cause the floor to look cloudy and it is hard to get rid of the issue. They may be cleaning products, but they can leave a residue behind.
If you do not have time to strip and refinish the floors, then you may search for many different options. One of the problems of using ammonia, Windex, vinegar, and similar cleaning products is that they have too much moisture in their ingredients.
Moisture is not good on hardwood floors. If you need to get rid of the cloudy look, then you might want to turn to a microfiber cloth. This is a glass cleaning cloth that does not leave any residue.
You may have to be on your hands and knees for a couple of hours rubbing away, but it seems to do the trick. Then you can try a hardwood floor cleaner that leaves no residue. Simply follow the instructions and you should be fine.
How to Clean Hardwood Floors Without Leaving Streaks
Step 1 – The first thing you need to know about cleaning these floors is that dust, dirt, grit, and water are hardwood’s deepest enemies. Their presence on your hardwood floors spells disaster sooner or later.
In order to prevent those dangers from taking root and causing you a lot of expensive floor repair bills, is to make sure you regularly sweep or vacuum the floors. If it is just the two of you, this can be done every few days. if you have a family, every day is advisable.
Step 2 – After you get the dirt off, you should mop the floors using the right cleaners. The mop or towels, etc., you should use only damp. They should not be soaking wet at all. Too much moisture will start ruining your floors.
Step 3 – Once you get the mop damp, then apply the right hardwood floor cleaner. Those cleansers made for hardwood floors are the best ones to use. Using ones that are not made for your type of flooring will also help damage the wood.
Step 4 – After you have finished the mopping and drying, you should buff those floors. Divide the floor up into sections and do one section at a time. Use a clean cloth and a little elbow grease and your floors should end up streak-free.
Some Final Words
Replacing high-maintenance carpets with hardwood floors may seem like you are saving on some work. In reality, though, it may just be exchanging one style of cleaning for another.
Hardwood floors can be hard to clean when you use the wrong cleaners and the wrong methods. Follow the advice above to help you get your floors nice and clean.
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