How to Clean Engineered Hardwood Floors (and Some Mistakes to Avoid)

Hardwood flooring often becomes the pride and joy of homeowners who are lucky to have them in their homes! They create a feeling of warm hominess that can’t be replicated with many other types of flooring.

If you want to make sure that your engineered hardwood floors stay looking and feeling like they did when you first moved in or when they were first installed, keep reading.

We’re going to let you know how to clean engineered hardwood floors… along with a few common mistakes you should avoid.

Let’s get started!

Learning the basics of maintaining and caring for your hardwood floors doesn’t need to be super complex! You might see articles out there advocating for almost constant cleaning, expensive specialty products, and almost unattainable perfection with your floors.

At Tiles Plus More , we understand that your floors are important, but we also understand that you have a family and a life outside of them! Let us be the ones completely focused on your floors and give you tips that will keep them looking clean without taking over your life.

We think it’s better to keep things simple and consistent rather than complex bouts of intense cleaning. With all that being said, here are our cleaning tips for engineered hardwood floors:

One of the main things to note with maintaining and cleaning engineered hardwood floors is that consistency is key. Now, don’t worry, this doesn’t mean scrubbing on your hands and knees every day! 

What it does mean is semi-regular sweeping dirt and other debris from the floors with a broom, vacuum, or cloth. Make sure the broom or vacuum has soft bristles instead of rigid ones, as rigid ones could cause scratches.

How consistently you do this will depend on the foot traffic on the floors as well as your household. 

Do you have pets and children running around on the hardwood constantly? If so, daily or every other day sweeps would do your floors good. 

Lower traffic areas can go for a few days or a week between sweeps or vacuums.

Running a damp mop over your engineered hardwood floors will pick up any set in dirt or debris that your vacuum, broom, or cloth couldn’t get. However, be careful with this step. When we say “damp” we don’t mean sopping wet.

Overly wet mops or even too much water spilling onto hardwood floors can lead to serious water damage. 

Wood will absorb moisture, which can lead to the expansion of the planks, rot, and other damages. Engineered hardwood floors can handle a bit more water or moisture than solid hardwood floors, but that doesn’t mean you should go in with a soaking wet mop.

Dip your mop into water and wring it out before wiping it on the group. Once you’re done mopping, soak up any leftover water with a cloth to avoid any accidental damage.

High traffic areas should be mopped about once per week, while other areas should be mopped once per month.

Along those same lines, we do not recommend steam cleaning for hardwood floors. The steam can add too much moisture to the flooring, which can lead to long-lasting damage.

Want more specific advice particular to your home and flooring?

Our tile and flooring experts are ready to answer any questions you have. Contact us here!

Once in a while, it can be good for your floors to get a bit of a deeper clean. In these cases that you want to go all out, we highly recommend speaking with a flooring expert to choose the best products to use with your specific flooring type.

Our experts can recommend the best products and protocols for using those products on your floors. Many engineered hardwood floors have specific kits and cleaners that can be used to clean and maintain the floor over time. 

This only needs to be done every few months, perhaps about twice a year. 

No matter what you get, we do not recommend using ammonia or vinegar-based cleaners, as these can lead to damage to the floors and any sealant you used.

We hope that this article has been helpful for your understanding of how to clean engineered hardwood floors along with some key things to avoid while doing so.

We are always here to help answer your questions, provide expert recommendations, and help you out with your next design project. Our design experts are happy to talk to you for projects & questions big and small.

Contact us today for more information, help, and advice from Tiles Plus More!

The post How to Clean Engineered Hardwood Floors (and Some Mistakes to Avoid) appeared first on Tiles Plus More.