How to Make Hardwood Floors Shine Using 3 Household Staples
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Reviewed by Katie BerryReviewed by Katie Berry
Durable hardwood floors enhance and add to the value of a home, and shiny, polished wood floors are a bonus. The trick to shiny hardwood floors is regular care and polishing.
Follow these tips to keep your wood floors gleaming for years.
5 Reasons Wood Floors Look Dull
You're just redistributing the dirt: Using a dirty mop or forgetting to sweep, dust mop, or vacuum the floor before cleaning will redistribute the dirt. All that grit, dust, and dirt getting trapped in the cleaning solution and staying on the surface of the floor leaves it dull.
Your cleaner is doing more harm than good: Many acrylic-based liquid waxes that promise to make your wood floors glow can actually make them look worse. Additionally, harsh chemicals such as chlorine bleach, ammonia, undiluted vinegar, or pine oil can damage floor finishes. Read labels, don't use too much of any cleaner, choose a commercial product like Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner formulated for sealed wood floors, and follow manufacturer guidelines for use.
Leaving the job half done: After damp mopping or polishing a hardwood floor, the job should be finished by buffing the floor to prevent streaking. Use a clean, dry microfiber mop to buff the finish and ensure a shiny floor.
Scratches are out of control: If you have pets with sharp claws, forget to put clean doormats inside and outside entrance areas, or frequently wear shoes with hard heels in the house, you're going to have scratches. Scratches and scuffs equal dull floors. Practice a little prevention to keep them to a minimum.
The floor needs refinishing: No finish on hardwood floors lasts forever if the floor has foot traffic. Solid hardwood floors can be refinished and resealed numerous times. Even engineered hardwood, which has a thinner veneer, can be refinished and resealed a couple of times before needing to be replaced.
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How to Make Your Hardwood Floors Shine
The Spruce / Margot Cavin
Clean the floor. A dirty floor can't shine. Establish a cleaning routine of wiping up spills immediately to prevent dulling watermarks, dust mopping daily, damp mopping weekly, and polishing floors every other month. Always use clean mops so dirt isn't redeposited on the hardwood.
Buff a freshly cleaned floor. After damp mopping, dry microfiber mop or cloths to buff the floor by gently working in large circles to polish every section. Buffing removes any residue that dulls the finish.
Use a commercial polish. A hardwood floor polish applied every other month adds shine, fills in microscratches that dull the floor, and protects the wood.
Protect the finish. Add felt pads under furniture legs to prevent scratches. Add mats at entrances and clean under them and area rugs regularly to reduce damage to the hardwood. Remove shoes when inside.
Refinish the hardwood. Depending on the amount of foot traffic and care, most hardwood floors should be sanded and refinished every three to five years to maintain a shine.
3 Ways to Make Your Wood Floors Shine Naturally
The Spruce / Margot Cavin
You can create one of these natural DIY floor polishes to restore the shine to dull hardwood floors.
Olive oil and vinegar. In a clean glass spray bottle, combine two tablespoons of olive oil, one tablespoon of distilled white vinegar, and two cups of warm water. Shake well and spray it on the mop. If you would like, you can add 10-15 drops of lemongrass or orange essential oil to the solution for a fresh fragrance.
Black tea. Bring two quarts of water to a boil in a large pot and add two family-sized black tea bags. Allow them to steep until the water cools. Remove the bags and squeeze well to add more tannin to the water. Pour the solution into a spray bottle and apply to the microfiber mop. The tannins in the tea will help hide micro scratches and make the floor shine.
Oil and lemon juice. In a spray bottle, mix two tablespoons of olive oil, two tablespoons of fresh lemon juice, and two cups of warm water. Shake well and dampen the mop to begin shining the hardwood.
After mixing the polish, follow these steps to shine the hardwood.
Remove area rugs and furniture and clean the floors.
Work in a small section at a time. Dampen a microfiber mop with the polish and apply it in an even layer. Keep the microfiber pad damp with the polish to avoid streaking.
Allow the polish to dry (may take up to 24 hours) and then buff the floor with a clean, dry microfiber pad.
Replace the furniture and rugs.
Read the original article on The Spruce.
