The beauty of a hardwood floor can quickly fade with inadequate care and improper maintenance techniques. To keep hardwood floors looking lustrous and new learn the proper techniques for cleaning hardwood floors. If you stick to a regular maintenance and cleaning schedule, your hardwood floor can last for generations.

Keep dirt and dust to a minimum by sweeping a hardwood floor with a broom with soft bristles. Don’t use a coarse or hard bristled broom as it could scratch the surface.

Plan on vacuuming the hardwood floor at least one per week and more often if needed. To avoid scratches, use the soft brush attachment feature that comes with most vacuums. Don’t ignore the corners, where dirt and dust tend to accumulate because they are less traveled areas.

Throw rugs and area rugs can protect your floor from getting dirty in the first place. Place them in high traffic areas, such as the entrance to the room and along hallways. They’ll trap a lot of the grit that gets tracked through the house. At least once a week, gather the throw rugs and carefully shake them outside.

Any spills should be wiped up immediately. Use a barely damp mop to wipe up spills. Water is the worst enemy of a hardwood floor, so never use a saturated mop on a hardwood floor. The moisture can seep into the cracks and cause the seams to swell, warp and eventually split.

To get the hardwood floor to shine, most installers use a polyurethane finish. This seals the wood and gives the glossy look that everyone loves. Use a neutral hardwood floor cleaner with the right balance of chemicals so that the polyurethane will not get waxy and dull-looking.

If a hardwood floor does get stained, try to remove the stain with some steel wool. Scrub very gently at the stain and wet it with a little rubbing alcohol, if necessary. If the wood gets stained beyond a simple clean up, you may need to consider stripping the area, sanding the stain away and resealing the floor.