Soap and water, polish, wax or what?
Take the guesswork out of hardwood floor care and go from dull and grimy to gleaming and gorgeous in a few easy steps.
First Things First ‑- Determine the Finish
Before you grab a bucket of water and a mop, it’s best to find out how your wood floor is sealed ‑- if at all. Why? The finish, not the wood type, determines how you clean and care for the floor.
Surface-sealed floors: Most new wood floors are sealed with urethane, polyurethane or polyacrylic. Surface-sealed floors are stain and water-damage resistant and easiest to care for and clean: Sweep, mop and you’re done!
Penetrating-seal-treated and oil-treated floors: Also common, a penetrating seal or oil finish soaks into the wood grain and hardens. This type of floor must be pampered and protected with liquid or paste wax.
