Hardwood flooring has a timeless look that goes well with any decor, is easy to keep clean, and will warm up the interior appearance of your home immediately. However, when you have pre-finished hardwood flooring, it is necessary for you to know how to care for it and keep it looking its best for the best enjoyment and to protect your investment. Here are some tips to help you keep your pre-finished hardwood floors looking their best and maintained for many years of use.

Understand Your Hardwood Flooring Lifespan

As soon as your hardwood floors are installed in your home, their pre-finished surface is perfect, shiny, and durable to make your home interior look warm and beautiful. Pre-finished hardwood floors are a durable flooring product because they have been treated with several layers of finish, whereas traditional hardwood floors that are stained and finished after they are installed are only coated in two to three layers of finish.

Because your pre-finished hardwood planks are coated with more finish, they will last longer and remain protected for longer. However, it is important to know that they will need to be sanded down and refinished, though not as frequently as site-finished flooring. Check with your hardwood installation company to know how often they recommend refinishing your floors.

Keep Them Clean

As part of the regular upkeep to your hardwood floors, you will need to be diligent about keeping them free of particles that can scratch the surface and make them look dull. Dust, dirt, and other particles on your hardwood floor will cause damage to the surface of the finish if you leave it sitting on them for too long.

For this reason, it is essential that you keep up a regular sweeping schedule. At least once a day you should use a dust mop on your floors to collect and remove dust and dirt, including any other particles that have coarse edges to them. If your home has a lot of foot traffic from children, pets, or a lot of household members, you should seriously consider using a dust mop several times each day, especially in high traffic areas.

Keep Them Shiny

Along with keeping your floors clean, which will protect them from scratches, you can also use specific mopping tips to keep them their shiniest each day. When you mop your hardwood floors, you can use a commercial hardwood floor cleaning product, though avoid it if it contains wax. The wax will build up on your floors to make them dull over time.

You can also use a solution of vinegar and water on your floors to mop them. To help provide natural shine to your floors, add a couple tablespoons of olive oil to your vinegar and water mixture. Just be sure you only use this once a month or so; more frequently can make your floors slippery.

For more information about pre-finished hardwood flooring, contact a local flooring company.