Are you pondering a new flooring option for your family? Wondering how to keep your current floors in tip-top shape?  Either way, with the variety of floors in homes today, it can be confusing trying to figure out how to best care for each kind (and consequently, which is best for your homestead). With a little help from our friends at RNB Flooring, we would like to offer up a handy-dandy how-to for keeping every surface spick and span.

Hardwood Floors

• Sweep, dust, or vacuum the floor daily to prevent the accumulation of dir or grit that can scratch the floor finish.
• Weekly wipe the floor with a damp mop or cloth (Moxie Girl likes Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner). Before trying a new
  

  Are your floors clean enough for him?

  product, test on a small area to make sure it doesn’t leave a film on your floor.

• *Use a damp cloth to blot spills as soon as they happen. For tough spots, such as oil, paint, markers, lipstick, or ink, use acetone/nail polish remover on a clean white cloth, then wipe with a damp cloth. Always avoid allowing liquids to stand on the floors.
• DON’T use any oil based, wax, polish, ammoniated, or abrasive cleaners
• DON’T use a wet mop with any liquid cleaning materials. This could cause swelling, warping, and joint-line separation.
• Use rugs in entry ways, kitchens, and other high traffic areas.
• Once a quarter, use a product like Hope’s Floor Revive to restore gloss, minimize scratches, and protect from stains, spills, and heel marks.
• If you have dogs, make sure their nails are trimmed short enough to not scratch the floor and keep a microfiber floor duster handy to clean up drool drips often.
• Make sure to put felt pads on the bottom of all your furniture so it won’t scratch if the furniture gets moved.
• If the floors have lots of scratches or stains, it is time to call in a professional to sand and refinish the floor. We trust the guys at RNB Flooring for this.

Laminate

• Laminate flooring is virtually indestructible. Other than standing water, not much will harm these floors. They are a great option for families with active kids and pets.
• Since the floor is made out of melamine, a hard plastic, it is a better option for rooms with high humidity and high traffic.
• Care is the same as wood flooring:
  • Dust or vacuum weekly to avoid the unsightly dust bunnies
  • Use a microfiber floor duster and spray cleaner (like Bona) to get the spots cleaned up.

Ceramic Tile

• Clean up spills immediately, but if any hard food is on the floors, use a plastic scraper or butter knife to pop the crusty food up.
• Vacuum or dust often to avoid the unsightly dust bunnies
• If wet-mopped on a weekly basis, only water is needed. Fill a bucket with hot water, dip your mop in, and wring it out until it is just damp. If the floors become streaky, you may need to change the water or wash the mop head.
• If there is a greasy buildup on the kitchen floor, use a little dish soap to dissolve the grease.
• If the grout is getting dark, it can be easily cleaned, it just takes a little time. Dip a sponge in the water and wet a few lines of grout. Sprinkle a little non or light abrasive cleaner like Comet on to the grout line. Using a grout brush or old tooth brush, scrub the lines, rinse with a damp rag, and wipe with a dry rag. Keep moving until all the dirty lines are clean again.
• If you drip water on the grout and it absorbs (rather than beading up), it is time to reseal the grout. This typically needs to be done every 2-3 years to protect the grout from stains.

Stone Floors (marble, travertine, etc)

• The preventative care of these floors can save you hundreds, or even thousands of dollars.
• Dust mop or vacuum often to avoid the accumulation of dirt and dust that can show wear on the floors.
• Stone floors are porous, so they will absorb the cleaners that are put on them. For this reason, ONLY use hot water or cleaners specifically made for your type of floor when you clean them.
• Make sure the stone is sealed to protect it from spills and stains. You can do this yourself with products from Home Depot.
• If the floors are starting to look dull and/or chalky, or if something spilled on the floor and caused a stain, it is time to call in the professionals to hone and polish the flooring. We like Stone Touch here locally.

Carpet

• Carpet is actually the best option for houses with allergies. Its sole purpose is to absorb dirt from the air. This means that it needs to be vacuumed often to get that trapped dirt out.
• Manufacturers recommend vacuuming daily. If you have nothing else to do, go for it. For the rest of us, aim for at least once a week.
• If you have doors that lead from the outdoors straight to carpet, make sure to have mats to pull off excess dirt placed inside that doorway.
• Have carpets cleaned professionally once a year to keep them looking young and fresh. Go with a professional, not a rented machine, for this. They have different levels of cleaning that they can do depending on your individual needs. Even their most basic level will get your carpets cleaner than a rented shampooer will. 

We would like to thank RNB Flooring  again for providing the flooring samples featured in the video, which is posted on our Youtube Channel.