Who can deny the authentic beauty of engineered hardwood flooring? Rich color, natural grain and character marks, and a stunning gleam make your hardwood floors an eye-catching part of the home. In addition to its remarkable beauty, hardwood flooring adds value to your property, making it a worthwhile investment for you and your family. Did we mention that your wood floors can last for decades? When it comes to beauty, value, and durability, engineered hardwood has it all.
However, your floors can’t do everything on their own. Sometimes, you need to lend a helping hand and give your floors the clean, elegant shine they need to stay in good shape over time. When that time comes around, it helps to have the right cleaner on hand. Wood flooring requires special cleaning products—not just any bottle you find beneath the sink will do. Equip yourself for success and keep those floors beautiful for a long time when you learn what qualities go into the best and safest hardwood floor cleaners.
Maintaining the Beauty of Hardwood Floors
There’s no overstating the beauty of real wood floors. The variety of gorgeous stains and grain patterns help you find the perfect flooring for whatever design you have in your home. The only thing more impressive than engineered hardwood’s beauty is its durability. You don’t have to work too hard to maintain your flooring.
A little bit of effort goes a long way toward keeping your floors beautiful for decades to come. Sweeping regularly will keep dirt and debris at bay, protecting the finish from small scratches that can harm your floors over time. You should also use a damp mop to give your floors the occasional shine. However, make sure your mop is just damp—not dripping wet. That way, the water will evaporate faster and you’ll prevent moisture from seeping into the wood.
Even with these cleaning measures, though, your floors can still dull over time. As dirt and grime build up, your wood floors might lose a bit of their shine. Never fear! This just means it’s time to pull out your wood flooring cleaner and give your floors a satisfying deep clean. The right cleaning product is gentle on the wood and finish of your floors. Harsh chemicals can damage the seal on your floors, but a wood-safe flooring cleaner will restore its shine and preserve the protective finish. Learn more about what to look for in the best and safest hardwood floor cleaners below.
What To Look For (And What To Avoid) In a Hardwood Flooring Cleaner
Hardwood flooring cleaners must balance gentle treatment with reliable cleaning. Consider these factors to look for—and avoid—when picking the right wood flooring cleaner.
Ingredients
First and foremost, pay attention to the ingredients of your flooring cleaner. Products that contain strong acids or bases can strip the finish on your floors. This destroys the natural luster and ultimately does more harm than good. Additionally, floor cleaners that contain wax can dull your floors and leave a dangerously slippery surface. Oil-based cleaners will also leave a sticky residue that doesn’t make your floors feel as clean as you want. Instead, look for cleaners that contain noncorrosive ingredients that are gentle on your floors.
Concentrated vs. Premixed
Another important decision when searching for a quality hardwood flooring cleaner is choosing between concentrated vs. premixed products. Concentrated cleaners don’t come diluted, which means they last longer and are more cost-effective. However, these products take more effort on your part, as you’ll have to dilute the mixture yourself before you use it. Premixed products often come in a spray bottle and are ready to go as soon as you open them. They won’t last as long as concentrated cleaners, but they’re far more convenient.
Air Quality and Eco-Friendliness
Air quality is another reason to avoid harsh chemicals in your cleaners. Even if a harsh product cleans your floors well, the fumes it leaves in your home can prove hazardous to your health. Cleaning products with gentler ingredients preserve the air quality in your home. Furthermore, these gentler cleaners don’t release hazardous chemicals into the air, which would add to the air pollution harming the environment.
Packaging
Different types of product packaging work better for different floors. A smaller spray bottle only releases a little bit of cleaner at a time, making it perfect for spot cleaning or taking care of smaller flooring sections. Squirt bottles, on the other hand, let you pour more cleaner onto the floor before you mop. This makes it easier to tackle larger rooms. You can also purchase a refillable bottle of hardwood flooring cleaner and use it to fill your own spray bottles or spray mops. While all of these options are versatile, it’s important to keep the size of your floors in mind when choosing the right type of cleaning product.
Hardwood Flooring Cleaner by From the Forest
With all these considerations in mind, how do you choose the right cleaner for your engineered wood flooring? From the Forest recommends our gentle, effective, and eco-friendly hardwood flooring cleaner. We design our pH-neutral cleaner to refresh your floors without harming the finish or wood. Moreover, our cleaner is biodegradable and safe for the environment. When you buy a bottle of our cleaner, you can rest easy knowing your floors are getting the most effective treatment possible.
Using Your Hardwood Flooring Cleaner
Once you have the best hardwood flooring cleaner on your side, you need to know how to use it. Even the best products can cause problems if you misuse them. Luckily, a few tips will help you make your cleaning routine as safe and easy as possible. The biggest rule is to never put too much liquid on your floors. If you use a mop, always keep it damp rather than wet. If you pour your cleaner directly onto the floor, take care to only pour a little bit at a time. Excess liquid can seep into your wood floors and cause moisture issues. Additionally, only use wood floor cleaners on finished floors. Using a cleaning product on unfinished wood—or on a finish that’s incompatible with your cleaner—can damage your floors.
At From the Forest, we want to do everything we can to help you keep your modern engineered wood flooring as beautiful as the day you bought it. Browse our collection of cleaning products, scratch concealers, and more to find the supplies you need to maintain your gorgeous flooring for years to come.
