How you should care for your floors depends on what they are made from. Shiny, sealed floors take less effort to keep clean than unsealed ones, while delicate material such as wood or laminate requires special attention.
Here are some cleaning tips to follow:
- Use a microfibre mop for hard-to-reach corners.
- Sweep and damp-mop laminated floors. Too much moisture will make the material swell.
- Damp-mop sealed cork flooring and then rub dry. Apply wax sparingly twice a year and occasionally polish until shiny. You don’t have to dry cork flooring that is vinyl coated.
- You can best protect a stone floor by applying a cement sealer and wax. Clean slate and stone flooring with water and a sparing amount of household cleaner, but be careful because too much cleaner can remove the colour. After mopping and drying, apply some lemon oil to ensure the floor will shine like it’s new. Remove any excess oil with a dry rag.
- Wash polished limestone flooring with a low-pH all-purpose cleaner or it will become dull. Use a cleaner with as few detergents as possible (10-20%) and no more than 4% phosphate, as both are non-biodegradable.
- Don’t use vinegar for cleaning or washing natural stone floors, such as marble or limestone. They can dissolve when exposed to acidic cleaners.
- Remove stubborn marks from vinyl floors by rubbing with kerosene and superfine steel wool. Then wash with warm, soapy water, rinse and mop dry.
- Remove scuff marks and dirt from skirting boards covered with polyurethane or oil-based paint with a sponge and a grease-cutting, all-purpose dishwashing liquid and then wipe with a cloth dampened with tap water. You can also use household spray cleaner – spray it onto a clean cloth, not the skirting board, to prevent streaking and avoid getting it on the floor.
- If you find really tough stains on the skirting board, test an inconspicuous corner with scouring powder placed on an all-purpose, plastic scrubbing pad. If the test doesn’t cause any damage, apply the method to the entire skirting board.
Before mopping a parquet floor, make sure it’s free from dust and debris.
Removing scratches from wood
1. Rub out scratches with a mixture of equal parts lemon juice and olive oil applied on a soft, lint-free cloth.
2. Rub in some furniture wax, or mix a little medium-brown shoe polish with basic floor polish.
3. Rub the mixture into the wood until the colour matches the floor.
Floors -- and any part of your home -- need to be clean. Make your home look better with the help of the leading cleaning services in Australia.