How to Care for Your Hardwood Floors

Don't Make These 3 Mistakes with Your Hardwood Floors

1. Don’t use vinegar

Vinegar works great as a natural cleaning solution on various household surfaces. However, this solution will quickly eat away at your floor’s finish! Do not use vinegar or ammonia-based products on your hardwood floors, even if cut with water. We recommend that you use products that have been created specifically for your floors, like this Bona hardwood floor cleaner. When it comes to cleaning solutions, remember this simple rule when applying the liquid, less is always more.

2. Don’t let moisture sit on your hardwood floor

Spilled water, melted ice cubes, the mist from a plant sprayer, and many more sources of moisture can ruin parts of your hardwood floor if not cleaned up quickly. Avoid leaving damp towels, clothes, or wet material of any kind on your hardwood floor. Avoid moisture-heavy cleaning methods (steam mop, bucket method, foamy soap, etc.). These cleaning methods can potentially cause your wood to absorb the liquid and warp — needing replacement.

3. Don’t leave crumbs, dust, or debris on your hardwood floor

We get it. Sometimes it’s hard to immediately clean up messes. However, it is a good habit to clean up floor messes quickly. When food drops on the floor and hardens, it can act like sandpaper to your floor’s finish when stepped on or moved. We’ve found that it’s easier to clean up quickly when you have an accessible tool at hand. Check out the best cordless hardwood floor vacuums on the market for 2022. 

3 Simple Ways to Help Your Hardwood Floor

Do these three simple tasks to help your floor live a long and happy life. 

1. Use felt protectors on the bottom of your furniture

Even if you don’t rearrange your furniture, applying felt protects helps protect your hardwood floor. Your furniture can easily be moved unintentionally by accidentally bumping an armrest, kids jumping on the couch, or simply sitting down with force — possibly scratching your floor. Felt furniture pads are easy to come by and easy to apply! 

2. Use floor mats at entryways

Walk-off floor mats help protect your hardwood floor from outside debris and, most importantly, moisture from your shoes and clothing. Various types of waterproof mats are available to help protect your floor. Remember, water is your hardwood floor’s greatest enemy! 

3. Trim your pet’s nails

It’s common for pets to have moments of running, jumping, and sliding inside the home. When their nails are long, especially for bigger/heavier pets, they can leave scratches in your floor’s finish — sometimes scratching down to the wood. Keeping their nails trimmed and rounded will help mitigate scratches and gouges.

A Little Hardwood Floor Care Goes a Long Way

These are relatively simple tasks that go a long way to help your floor’s health. Remember, if you give your floor just a little bit of TLC, it will give back in beauty and durability for generations. If your floors need to be refinished, head to our refinishing and repairs page to learn more about how we can bring your hardwood floors back to life.

Noble Hardwoods — Crafting Kansas City’s Best Hardwood Floors

At Noble Hardwoods, craftsmanship and relationship go hand-in-hand. We craft beautiful, noble hardwood floors that will last generations, and we strive to walk away as friends with the families we serve. Our mission is to provide the people of Kansas City with the best hardwood floors through craftsmanship, honest work, passion, and a joy that can be felt by those who interact with us. We love what we do, and we love the people and families we meet along the way.