The holidays are over, and things in your life are finally starting to slow down. As you look around your home, you might notice that your flooring took a toll from all of the holiday parties and visiting family members. Luckily, our years of experience in the flooring industry have taught us a few cleaning, brightening and restoring tricks that you can bring to the floors in your home to get them ready for the new year.
Take a look at some of our favorite tips sorted by flooring type below!
Porcelain Tile
Porcelain tile is sturdy, so after you give your floors a standard sweep and mop, the one thing you might still have to contend with is the grout. Grout is going to hold on to any grime, dust or spills, whereas the tile will not. When it comes to cleaning grout, scrubbing is probably the direction you will need to go. Depending on how long the grim has been stuck in the grout will depend on how tedious the scrubbing and cleaning process will be.
There are several ways to clean grout. While there are many grout specific cleaning products on the market (that may, or may not work) your best bet might be taking out an old toothbrush and using a grout-safe cleaner to clean the grout on your hands and knees. If your grout is extremely dirty, or if it hasn’t been cleaned in a long time, consider hiring a professional to give it an industrial cleaning – you might even want to schedule a yearly professional cleaning going forward!
Hardwood Floors
In this section we will be focusing on solid hardwood floors, not to be confused with engineered hardwood or other manmade variations. Hardwood floors require special care, as the gloss finishes are susceptible to scratching and wear. When it’s time to give them a thorough cleaning, start by sweeping or vacuuming and finish with a wet cleaning, like mopping with a soft microfiber pad using little water and only manufacture recommended cleaning services.
If your typical thorough cleaning isn’t giving you the new and fresh look from your floors that you hoped, you might consider polishing or waxing them. Before you start this process, you need to determine which type of hardwood finish your floors have. If your floors have a penetrating finish or they’re made of unsealed wood you should be waxing them. On the other hand, if your floors were coated with a protective or waterproof coating they should be polished.
Make sure you follow the correct procedure for your type of flooring so that you don’t ruin the hardwood! Polishing and waxing can be done DIY after you purchase the correct products and tools, or you can hire a professional to complete the job.
Sometimes your flooring might be beyond help, and if that’s the case, it is better to repair professionally or replace. If you’re unsure, give us a call today for a free flooring quote for either your entire house or a single room!
Millennium Hardwood Flooring
9705 Research Blvd Suite C1
Austin, TX 78759
512-351-2258