Floor cleaning and protection is part on the ongoing maintenance of your home. No matter how hard you try, you’ll always bring in some dirt and grime on your shoes to the inside of your home.
This dirt eventually spreads out, accumulates on your floors and causes potential damage. So, if you want to protect your floors and keep your home clean, you must learn proper floor cleaning methods for specific surfaces and how to maintain them. This will save you a lot of money and time on renovations.
Since every type of flooring needs to be cleaned, maintained and protected in different ways, here are some of the most common floor types and most effective floor cleaning methods for them.
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Linoleum and vinyl
In order to make your linoleum floors shine, you must use wax. After you’ve waxed your floors, you’ll only need to use a vacuum and an occasional damp mop to maintain them. You can also use a homemade solution of white vinegar and water to mop the floor and make it nice and shiny.
If your linoleum floor has heel marks, you can remove them by applying liquid floor wax on the mark with a fine steel wool piece, then finish off with a damp cloth. One thing you should avoid when floor cleaning is using solvent-based products, as they can damage the linoleum.
When it comes to vinyl, you have to be careful with water. As soon as you spill anything, use a mop to clean it up. Never pour water on the floor, because it can cause the adhesive to loosen and vinyl to detach from the surface. The best way to clean vinyl is to use a neutral floor cleaner.
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Ceramic or porcelain floors
These are probably the easiest floors to maintain, except for the grout lines which are a bit tricky. One thing you should never use on ceramic floors is an abrasive cleaner, as it can scratch and remove the glaze.
Using a damp mop and neutral floor cleaner is the best solution. Do this weekly and your tiles will look like new. If you want your grout lines to stay clean and white for a long time you can seal them, but make sure the grout is thoroughly clean before sealing, otherwise, it won’t hold properly.
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Wood floors
Nothing brings the style and glamour to a space quite like wood. However, it requires some more floor cleaning maintenance if you want it to look great. The most important thing when cleaning wood floors is the type of sealant you use.
For instance, if you use polyurethane you only need a damp mop to keep it clean. On the other hand, if you use varnish, lacquer or shellac, you should use solvent-based cleaners and polish on your floors in order to keep them sparkling clean (before applying the cleaner, vacuum the floors to get rid of dust and dirt).
You can also use outdoor mats to prevent dragging in excess dust and dirt into your home, thus damaging your wood floors.
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Concrete floors
Concrete tends to absorb a lot of stains quite quickly because of its porous surface. The best way to protect your indoor concrete floors is to apply a commercial sealer that will seal all holes and save you a lot of time on cleaning.
You can maintain your unsealed concrete floors by sweeping it with a broom to remove debris, and then washing it with an all-purpose cleaner.
Also, if you have a concrete floor in your garage, there’s a possibility it will get soaked with all kinds of motor oils and grease. In order to prevent staining, sprinkle kitty litter on the spillage and wait for the litter to absorb the oil. Clean the litter with a broom or with running water.
Generally, you can handle all of this cleaning by yourself, but if your floors are heavily damaged, you might consider calling a professional who will repair them and make them look like new.
About The Author:
Catherine is a passionate home design consultant from Melbourne. She loves making homes beautiful and buildings sustainable, but she also like sharing her advice and knowledge with people. That is why she is also a regular contributor to the Smoothdecorator blog. Besides all this, she loves reading and enjoys a superhero movie from time to time.
