Our advice on how to clean engineered hardwood floors can help you achieve maximum shine with the least amount of work, whether you’ve recently installed a brand-new engineered hardwood floor or you’re wanting to freshen up a floor that’s beginning to show its age.
Tip #1: Vacuum or sweep every day.
Our best advice for bringing out the best in engineered hardwood floors is to put in a little daily effort. The best advice for maintaining engineered hardwood flooring is to regularly sweep or vacuum away dust, grime, and debris. Doing so will stop these pollutants from being ground into the floor surface by your feet, producing scratches and premature wear.
Tip #2: Use a little water and vinegar
White vinegar and lukewarm water are the ideal cleaning solution for engineered hardwood floors for light daily cleaning (1 cup per 2 gallons of water). Vinegar’s inherent acidity aids in removing pollutants and debris while being safe for your engineered wood floor and the environment. Use a moist mop or towel rather than anything that is completely wet, and clean up any standing water right away. Mop in the same direction as the grain of the flooring for optimal results.
Tip #3: Use an approved cleaner for heavy-duty cleaning
When your engineered hardwood floors were placed, the manufacturer most likely gave you cleaning instructions. Any type of engineered wood flooring cleaner should be tested first in a secret location to ensure that it won’t harm the finish. Steam mops and vacuums are not advised for use during intensive cleaning.
Tip #4: Protect high-traffic areas
One of the easiest ways of caring for engineered hardwood floors is to use rugs, runners and welcome mats in high-traffic areas like entry points, hallways and kitchens. These coverings can help prevent the grit on the bottom of shoes from grinding into the floor and damaging the finish.
Tip #5: Refinish to repair significant damage
Sometimes protective coverings and cleaning procedures are simply insufficient to shield a floor from harm. You might need to sand and refinish your engineered floor to restore its attractiveness if someone accidentally dragged a piece of furniture over the boards and scuffed it. This choice is based on the caliber and finish of your floor. Carlisle engineered flooring has a thick top layer and can be refinished as frequently as our solid wood floors, in contrast to other engineered floors that only employ a very thin top layer that permits it to be refinished once. To avoid an uneven look, however, you might need to replace boards depending on the floor and the finish.