how to clean gunk off wooden kitchen cabinets

If you think hardwood floors are delicate and command peculiar TLC, call up once again. It's quite the opposite really: Most wood floors are finished with polyurethane, making them united of the most durable floor options retired there. Like everything other in your home, it's best to clean hardwood floors well and often. Wood floors can be prone to wear and tear, especially in high-dealings areas, that's wherefore Carolyn Forte, director of the Good Housework Institute Cleaning Lab, has an easy-to-follow guide along nigh effective ways to rejuvenate your dull, dirty hardwood floors.

How to Speckless Hardwood Floors

Not every hardwood floor needs the same level of care. First, examine how much traffic your floors get and and so prove a cleaning docket that makes the most sense. As a general rule of thumb, hardwood floors should be vacuumed at least weekly and wet cleaned every one to two months (many or less oftentimes, depending on traffic). When it comes time to clean, follow the steps downstairs:

For surface-baked floors, wet-make clean with Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner Spray. Spray a elflike 3-foot by 3-foot area with the cleaner and pick up any dissolved dirt with a microfiber pout.
Work your way of life around the entire floor, cleaning one small area at a time.
If you come across a maculation that of necessity a quick touch-up, clean with a water-dampened paper towel and wipe dry.

How to Remove Scuff Marks from Hardwood Floors

Because dirt isn't always the important culprit. When you move article of furniture or wear shoes indoors, you may notice scuffs on your hardwood floors. Luckily, they can well be rubbed forth with some articulatio cubiti grease.

To remove light scuffs, buff IT out with a sock operating room a clean, fuzzy lawn tennis ball.
To remove heavier scuffs, apply baking soda to a moistness cloth and gently rub the mark until it disappears. Rinse with a damp paper towel and buffet dry.

Tried-and-Dependable Tips for Cleaner Hardwood Floors

Take out your shoes off.

"I am a firm believer in taking my place off as soon as I get along in the door, because this simple act goes a long way to eliminating virtually all of the tracked-in grunge that fire wreak havoc on a wood floor's finish," says Forte. Dirt and grit are abrasive, which can lucre floors over time.

Vacuum on a regular basis.

Nothing removes dirt and fine debris from the cracks and crevices of a wood floor like a good vacancy cleaner. The best superior is a canister vacuum because it has a prolonged, oval floor encounter attached to reach tiny spaces. "If you lone have an upright model, be sure to switch off the rotating brush to keep the bristles from scratching your floors," Forte recommends.

Straighten spills ASAP.

Spills are inevitable, just if you lease them humourous along the floor they'll dull the finish and attract additional dirt. Daub spills immediately with an absorbent cloth. "The worst thing you can do is let water addle on the deck," says Forte. Follow out with a dampen paper towel to remove any residue and buff sour.

What to Clean Hardwood Floors With

Hardwood Floor Cleaner Spray

Microfiber Mop

Microfiber Indiscriminate amazon.com

$39.98

For can't-miss news, expert beauty advice, genius home solutions, Delicious recipes, and piles more, sign up for the Good Housekeeping newsletter .

Sign NOW

Amanda Garrity Relate Lifestyle Editor As the Associate Modus vivendi Editor for GoodHousekeeping.com, Amanda oversees gift guides and covers home, holidays, food, and other modus vivendi intelligence.