Tips on How to Make Your Hardwood Floors Shiny

It is a known fact that hardwood floors increase the value of a home. If you are thinking of selling your home you will want them to be as shiny as possible. If you are tired of looking at their dingy and worn appearance, you want ways to get them back as close to their original shine as possible. Browse through these tips on how to get those hardwood floors back to a beautiful shine.

A general rule of owning things is the more expensive they are, the more maintenance they will require. Since hardwood floors tend to be on the high end of the price-value equation, scheduling time for regular maintenance is important. This is mentioned here for two reasons:

1. If you want to keep your floors shiny, create a maintenance schedule if you don’t already have one.
2. If you restore your hardwood floors to their preferred shiny state, you definitely want to get a maintenance schedule together.

The first question to ask is if you are mopping a dirty floor. A casual cleaning is not in the best interests of a shiny hardwood floor. Like some people they are high maintenance, and require additional, more detailed care. Using a broom can scratch the surface, while the wet mop should be used only after a thorough dust mopping. If a halfhearted effort is done then the dust can mix in with the water and create a film residue.

Next in line is the common problem of wax buildup. If you are a violator of this maintenance task you are not alone. The recommended number of times you should be waxing your floor is twice a year, done under the best possible climate conditions. As a rule of thumb you should strip the wax off the floor every other year, but if it starts to lose its shine then tend to it sooner than later.

Using the right cleaning product for your specific hardwood floor type is critical. This is not a one-size-fits-all purchase and should be looked into before deciding on getting a home with hardwood floors. As was mentioned earlier, the more expensive an item the higher the maintenance costs. The place to start is the manufacturer of the hardwood. You can minimize the use of the cleaner (and save money) by not allowing shoes of any type on the floor as they carry all kinds of dirt that will require cleaning more often.

We will end the cleaning and maintenance part by asking you if you are using too much cleaner. When dealing with hardwood floors you have to be sure to understand the right amount of cleaner is something learned over time. Some people say it is an actual skill. Too much cleaner is like using too much soap that you don’t rinse off when you get out of the shower. Check to see if you have the type of hardwood floor that gets damaged when it gets too wet. This is another layer of caution to add when learning the right amount of cleaner to use on your flooring.

A quick note before an important question. It is possible to buff your floors at the wrong time. Right after mopping is the right time in order to avoid streaking that will definitely dull the shine.

Finally, you may be at the point where you have to ask if your floors need to be refinished. It is possible. A simple test is to see if water beads up on the surface. If not, you likely have to consider refinishing, especially if there are whitish or grayish spots that appear as a result of water drops.

The best way to keep your hardwood floors shiny is twofold. One is to carefully consider the type of hardwood you have or are considering. All hardwood floors will be higher maintenance than your average floor. The second consideration is to stay on top of maintenance by creating a regular schedule of cleaning. As a general rule, the more open space there is in a hardwood floored room, the more maintenance will be required. Finding the right balance between beauty and practicality will go a long way to keeping your hardwood floors shiny.