Over the years there have been many opinions and warnings about cleaning – especially for hard surfaces. A couple good rules of thumb for hard surface flooring cleaners still apply;

“If you can buy it in a grocery store, don’t use it on your floor!”

“Water and wood don’t mix”

Whether it’s laminate, wood flooring, or LVT, simply sweep or vacuum using a soft brush (no beater bar). For a deeper clean use an alcohol based cleaner applied to a cloth mop (available from your professional floor covering dealer). For spills and “minor disasters”,, wipe up with a damp cloth and dry the area immediately after,  then follow up with the alcohol based cleaner.

Why do we want to stay away from these other “cleaners”?

Everyone’s water supply is different.  Hard or soft water contain different amounts of chemicals and salts,  which with regular use will eventually build up on the surface of your floor leaving a dull film.

Water reacts with wood in different ways depending on species and construction, so best just to avoid it whenever possible (think discoloration, edge swelling,  finish damage at edges etc…).  Hot steamy water under pressure… well, we won’t go there! …  No steam cleaners! … Ever!

 Oil soaps leave a film which is not only difficult to remove (once it builds up and starts looking horrible), but it prevents you from ever refinishing a floor if required.

Windex contains ammonia and silicone.  This dynamic duo dulls the finish and guarantees someone will fall down your stairs or worse – very slippery and dangerous in certain situations.

Happy Cleaning!