Keeping your floor shiny shouldn’t be a hard task to do. Before you roll up your sleeves and get down on your knees, make sure to be up-to-date about how you can keep your floor shiny, regardless of the materials it’s made from.
- If you have laminate flooring, good news — it is not high maintenance. They are pretty hardy and very few things can actually do any damage to it. The nice thing about laminate floors is that it may resemble wood planks or stone but you only need to care for it as a laminated flooring. Make sure to keep your floor looking clean and fresh preventing any water from seeping through the planks. This will prevent any damage to your floor. Just dry mop your laminated floor. If you want to use your vacuum, make sure it is on tile mode. It might be tempting to polish your laminated floor but don’t. If it also looks old, worn, or does not sparkle like it used, this just means it is time for it to be replaced.
- Hardwood floors can have two finishes — it can be either wax or polyurethane. To check if your hardwood floor has a wax or polyurethane finish, swipe your finger across the floor. If any smudge appears, then your floor has a wax finish. To keep waxed floors clean (and to prolong their lifespan), stay clear of any water or liquid. Simply sweep or dry mop the floor on a regular basis. For hardwood floors with a polyurethane finish, mix a pH-neutral soap with a bucket of water and then damp-mop the floor. Make sure to remove any excess water from the mop by wringing it first. Mop floors that are frequently stepped on once a week, while floors that hardly see the light of day (or your footsteps) should be mopped once a month.
- Corks looks very attractive what draws people to it is also what makes it quite high maintenance — its porous material. Water damage is its number one enemy. Cork flooring sealed, but still proceed cleaning with caution. Vacuuming frequently to prevent scratches, spills should be wiped off right away, and a wash once a week will lengthen the lifespan of your cork floor. Avoid using commercial soaps and instead use a vinegar-soap-water mixture. Don’t mix the solution as it will create suds. The vinegar will break down the dirt and kill bacteria. Work one section at a time and wipe clean as you go.
- If you have gotten into bamboo flooring, then you know how resilient yet beautiful this wood is. However, it can be quite prone to damage like scratches and nicks since it is not as hard as other wood. For maintenance, do the same technique as you would with hardwood. For any marks, use a tennis ball to buff them our.
- Linoleum is made out of cork, sort of, and should be treated as such. Simply spritz on a mixture of a few drops of soap and water to floor and wipe clean. It should air dry within seconds but if it still feels sticky to the touch, wipe it down again with another piece of clean cloth.
- Vinyl floors needs weekly cleaning and here is a handy mixture that you can use to make it spotless again – combine 1/4 cup vinegar with a drop of dish soap and warm water in a 16 ounce spray bottle. Spray the combo on the floor one section at a time, wiping it with a microfibre cloth as you go along. Got a steam cleaner at home? You are in luck! Deep cleaning your vinyl floors should be easy. The steam gets rid of the grout and any bacteria build-up in your vinyl floor.
- Stone flooring look pretty but keeping it clean can be tricky. Stay away from any acidic liquid, and that includes vinegar, bleach and ammonia. Mop your stone floors with a pH-neutral cleaning agent if it is sealed. For unsealed stone floors, simply using hot water is enough. Any chemical can damage the stone. For hard-to-remove dirt, a steam cleaner will do the trick.
- Porcelain flooring needs to be cleaned weekly using the same mixture as you would use for vinyl floors — ¼ cup vinegar, warm water and dish soap. As you spray along the floor, mop the area before moving on to the next section. A steam cleaner for deep cleaning is also recommended. This will get rid of grout and bacteria that might have been building up in between the flooring.
Elbow grease can be a thing of the past with these simple tricks to keep your floor shiny and new. It is all a matter of maintaining its cleanliness so you won’t have to be doing one big task all at once. If you’re looking for more great advice on how to keep your home clean, check out these home cleaning tips too.
