Spring Clean Your Floors

Spring is just around the corner and with that comes spring cleaning. As we all start to venture outdoors, we are most likely leaving behind a house full of dust and dirt that has built up over the winter months. Read on for the best ways to clean your floors this spring.

Hardwood Floors

It's no secret that hardwood floors are at the top of the luxury scale when it comes to flooring. With that status, comes the work of keeping them nice. Hardwood flooring is known for getting dents, scratches and stains overtime. With everyday dust, combined with foot traffic, dirt and other particles they often get lodged in seams and crevices. Start by moving your furniture out of the room you plan to deep clean. Be sure to have felt pads before you start dragging furniture across your beautiful floors. Thoroughly sweep or vacuum your wood flooring - don't use a beater head on your vacuum as it can damage the wood. Once all the furniture has been moved and floors have been vacuumed or swept, it's time damp mop. When deciding on a cleaner, it's best to go with one that is designed for hardwood and is recommended by the floor manufacturer. Avoid using a vinegar and water solution as it can cause damage to your floors. When using the damp mop technique, dilute your approved cleaner with water, wet the mop and completely wring it out before using it on floors.

Luxury Vinyl

Luxury vinyl plank flooring is one of the tougher and more resilient flooring options out there. That doesn't mean they don't need a good deep clean once in a while. Even though vinyl flooring has been designed to replicate hardwood - it definitely is not. Never use buffing or polishing on luxury vinyl. Use the same damp mopping as you would with hardwood, only this time use a cleaner designed to remove build up on luxury vinyl. Another great option is a non-sudsy ammonia.

Carpet

Since carpets are the flooring type that attracts and collects the most dirt, hair, dust, etc. it is important to vacuum regularly, especially high traffic areas. Stay on top of spills and quickly treat them as they happen - either with a spot treatment product or baking soda and water. You will want to watch how long the spot treatment stays on for it can alter the colour of your carpet. This flooring choice can absorb odor and often those smells can be difficult to get out. Check out these great products for helping to eliminate various odors. To preserve the look and life of your carpet, it's recommended to deep clean it down to the foundation at least once a year. Depending on how much manual labour you personally want to put in, you can either hire a carpet cleaning company or rent a steam cleaner and do it yourself. Before fully committing to steaming, make sure your carpet can handle moisture. If using shampoo, it's recommended to do a spot test first.

Tile

Since tile is so resilient, it's not necessary to use any specific product to clean this flooring type. Warm water is one of the best options for cleaning tile. The best thing to clean ceramic tile only needs warm water to clean the surface. When deep cleaning natural stone, focus on the grout. A simple way to clean grout - mix equal parts of vinegar and water in a spray bottle. Spray directly on grout, once the solution stops bubbling, use a wire brush (or toothbrush) to scrub clean. If your grout still looks a little dirty, feel free to make a baking soda and water paste and scrub with a toothbrush. Once you are satisfied with how the grout looks, go ahead and wash the whole floor with warm water. It definitely isn't necessary to deep clean your floors multiple times a year, but it's recommended to do it at least once. If you need more information on the best way to clean various types of flooring, stop by your local End Of The Roll and speak with one of the Flooring Advisors.