Recognizing Cleaning Challenges

Do you have a variety of different flooring materials in your home, and you are unsure of the best way to clean them? If so, it will help to follow these tips to know the basics 

Natural Hardwood Flooring

The key to keeping hardwood flooring clean is to keep debris off the flooring surface because it can dull it over time. Consider using a broom, vacuum, or electrostatic mop. If you are using a vacuum, make sure that you turn off the spinning roller and set the vacuum to hardwood settings that raise the vacuum off the floor. You can mop the surface of the wood with a damp mop. Just make sure it's not very wet so it doesn't cause water to seep between the boards. 

Laminate Hardwood Flooring

Laminate hardwood is a bit different to clean than natural hardwood. You can actually use a mild soap solution on hardwood because the floors are protected with that laminate layer. Once again, you cannot soak the floors because you do not want water to get into the floorboards. 

Porcelain Tile Flooring

The nice thing about tile flooring is that it is very easy to clean. You are able to mop these floors by using a commercial cleaning solution that is diluted with water in a bucket. The trick is to switch out the bucket of cleaning solution once it is dirty, rinse it with water, and then towel dry the surface. This will keep those porcelain floors shining. 

Natural Stone Flooring

If you have some sort of natural stone flooring material in your home, such as granite, know that the material will absorb water if it does not have a good seal on it. If the floors are sealed, it is perfectly fine to use a cleaning solution to mop the floors, since you don't have to worry about water getting into the flooring material. Not sure if the floors are still sealed? Test it by putting some water on a portion of the floor and see if it absorbs into the stone.

Carpeting

While regular vacuuming is an easy way to keep the carpet clean, there will come a point where you want to do a more professional job. A carpet cleaner works by injecting a cleaning solution into the carpet fibers, agitating them, and then sucking it out. This process helps lift the dirt out of the carpeting, rather than just remove the debris on the surface.

For more information, contact a floor cleaning service such as Peninsula Apartment Cleaning & Janitorial Service.