Traditional mopping with water and soap can damage unsealed wood flooring. Wood floors are usually prized by homeowners for the warm, natural look that they give to any room. However, if your home features unsealed wood flooring, cleaning and maintaining the surface can be a serious challenge. Many of the cleaning products typically recommended for sealed wood flooring can damage unsealed wood floors, so it's important to keep your cleaning routine as simple and gentle as possible to avoid ruining your floors. Don’t Use Water Unlike sealed wood floors, you should never use water to clean unsealed wood flooring. Without a protective coating of polyurethane, urethane or other top coats, the unsealed wood readily absorbs any liquid that is placed on it, which can cause the wood to swell. As a result, if you use water to clean unsealed wood, you will likely wind up with warped or cracked flooring. For the same reason, you should also avoid using liquid floor or all-purpose cleaners on your unsealed floor as well.

Sweep and Vacuum Regularly To keep your unsealed floor clean, it's important to sweep or vacuum regularly. However, because unsealed wood flooring does not have a protective top layer, you must be careful about the tools that you use to clean it. If you prefer sweeping, choose a broom designed for indoor sweeping to avoid unsightly scratches or marks on the wood surface. When choosing a vacuum for your unsealed flooring, opt for a canister model that has an attachment meant for bare floors to avoid damage to the wood. Sweep or vacuum as often as necessary to remove dust and debris from the flooring. Depending on where your unsealed flooring is located, sweeping or vacuuming weekly may be sufficient. If the floor is located in a heavily trafficked area, though, you may need to clean daily. Treat With Oil Even if you sweep and vacuum your floor regularly, residue may build up on the surface of an unsealed wood floor. While you can't use water or liquid floor cleaners to remove it, treating the floor with a natural oil like linseed or jojoba once a month can help remove surface residue and keep the floor clean.

Use a soft rag to apply the oil to the floor and allow it to sit for several minutes. Follow up with a clean, dry mop to buff the oil in and remove any dirt and residue. Wax Between cleanings, you can improve the look of your unsealed wood floor by waxing it. However, it's important to use the right type of wax or you may wind up damaging your flooring. Look for petroleum-based, waterless wax to avoid warping. air duct cleaning equipment chinaApply the wax in a thin, even coat with a clean rag, and allow it to dry for approximately half an hour. best way to clean venetian blinds at homeOnce the wax is dry, you can buff it in with a clean cloth. cheap dyson vacuum cleaners uk

Unfortunately, that can be a time-consuming process depending on the size of the area that your floor covers. Instead, consider renting a buffing machine from your home improvement or hardware store to complete the job more quickly. References Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Home: No-Nonsense Advice That Will Inspire You to Clean the DickensApartment Therapy: Thirty Hardwood Floor Cleaning Tip IdeasAP Products: Maintaining Wood Floors Photo Credits Jupiterimages/liquidlibrary/Getty Images Suggest a Correctionbest vacuum cleaners 2013 australiaAlthough it may be difficult to say which floor type is the best overall, hardwood floors are no doubt worthy contenders for the number one spot.best vacuum cleaners 2013 australia They are noticeably elegant to the eye, warm to your feet, safe for your kids and when carefully cared for, easy to clean.best way to remove duct tape from glass

However, after years of service, hardwood floors are bound to lose their spark and may appear dull and hard to clean due to the wear on the floor seal. They then become prone to damping and eventually rot away when water is applied on them. Similarly, hardwood floors which have not yet been sealed face the same misfortunes. So, how do you clean unsealed hardwood floors without experiencing any of these problems? Although cleaning unsealed vacuum floors requires extreme care and caution, simple cleaning principles also apply. Unsealed hardwood, especially ones with either wide or narrow gaps between the planks are prone to dust and dirt accumulation, thus sweeping or vacuuming it makes good sense. Make sure to use a broom with soft bristles to sweep. Alternatively, you can use a vacuum cleaner with additional tool attachments such as the crevice tool. Next up is setting up the water and the bucket that you will use. In the case of unsealed hardwood flooring, warm water would be the ideal water to use.

After warming it up, place it in a bucket and add vinegar to it in the range of 1/4 cup per gallon of water. Why, you may ask? Vinegar is an effective and safe to use home disinfectant that not only kills foul odors but kills molds that may build up on your unsealed hardwood floor. Alternatively, you can use ammonia but it is advisable to use it when the entire windows and doors are open since it may leave a not so good smell. Once you have everything in place, mop the entire room clean. But wait, won’t mopping with water cause the unsealed wood to dampen? Yes, unfortunately it will but there is a safer way to do this without it happening. First start by placing your mop in the warm water. Secondly, squeeze out almost all of the water on the mop. Now, start by checking whether the mop is wet enough by gently mopping the floor. If there are no drips on the floor, then you are good to go otherwise re-squeeze the mop. Now that you have mopped the entire room, don’t think you are out of the woods yet.