Many homeowners are moving towards hardwood floors because of exquisite appearance and easier cleaning. Some other benefits of hardwood floors include better air quality, cost effective, durable and offer low maintenance. Homeowners having hardwood floors ask this question quite frequently; How to clean my hardwood floor? How to vacuum my hardwood floor without scratching? If you are one of those end users and seeking some tips to prevent hardwood flooring from scratching or want to enhance the life of floors; you may read our complete article. We will be discussing few tricks and ways for protection of hardwood floors and will also recommend the best vacuum cleaner types for your classy hardwood floors.
Should I vacuum or use sweep for my hardwood floor?
Many people are concerned about their exquisite hardwood floors and ask questions on different forums regarding ways to clean and protection of flooring. One such question frequently asked is should I use sweep or vacuum over my hardwood floor? Well, sweeping is old technique although easy and it may not clean properly through edges and corners. Further, it may become the reason of spreading allergens in environment which were previously settled on the floor creating problems for allergy sensitive individuals. If you use broom to sweep, the hard bristles will scratch your classic floor and will destroy its classy appearance. However it is pertinent to mention here that you may use soft bristle broom or microfiber mop; if you want to stick on sweeping the hardwood floor. Conclusively, sweeping is an old technique and it consumes so much energy and time; and people nowadays have become quite busy in their routines.
Having discussed the results of sweeping on hardwood floors, now we will shed some light on use of vacuum on hardwood floors. Vacuum cleaners are great home appliances that help us in cleaning of floors, carpets and above flooring. The initial investment may be higher but it will add value to cleaning and also ease the way you clean your house. Hence using a vacuum cleaner for your hardwood floor is best alternative over sweep. Best vacuum cleaners for hardwood floors provide deep cleaning and will suck all the accumulated dirt particles from edges effectively. As previously discussed that sweeping can aggravate allergy induced problems; vacuum cleaners that use HEPA filters are recommended for such issues. You may search a best vacuum cleaner for hardwood floor with hepa filter according to your budget.
How frequently should you clean your hardwood floor?
The cleaning frequency for hardwood floors or any other surface is a relative thing and is dependent on daily traffic it witnesses. A floor with high traffic, kids and pets would definitely require a more frequent cleaning. For high traffic areas you may vacuum clean your hardwood floor twice a week and light traffic areas may require cleaning once a week.
In case of a liquid spill or some other mess you may use microfiber cloth to clean the mess instantly otherwise your floor would lose its shine and classy appearance. Nowadays vacuum cleaner and mop are available in market that are multi-purpose vacuums and perform mopping and vacuuming function. If you want to know more about wet and dry vacuum cleaner; read our article wet and dry vacuum for hardwood floors.
It is imperative to mention here that appropriate cleaning of hardwood is mandatory if you want to maintain the shining of floors and also want to extend the life of floors.
Best type of vacuum cleaner for Hardwood floors to prevent scratching
Vacuum cleaners are available in variety of types including upright, canister, handheld, stick, wet and dry, vacuum mop combo and robotic vacuum cleaners. Each type has its own pros and cons and each type is best suited for a specific type of surface.
The most common type of vacuum cleaners is upright specifically in American region. They are comparatively more powerful and versatile type of machines. But, upright vacuum cleaners are not a first priority to clean hardwood floors; particularly if you intend to prevent floors from scratching. Upright vacuums feature rotating brushes that can damage your hardwood floor. In case you want to use an upright on hardwood; always look for a model that offers the provision of switching off the rotating brush or beater bar.
Another popular type is canister type of vacuum which is more common in European region. This type of vacuum cleaner is best suited for hardwood floors. Canisters consist of a body containing motor, filters and dust cup, this body is connected to cleaning head via hose. The long hose allows you to clean tight corners and edges. Moreover, the cleaning head of canisters is usually padded preventing scratches on hardwood floorings.
Wet/dry vacuums and vacuum mop combo are more versatile type of machines. These machines are versatile and perform 2 tasks making them universal. Sweeping, mopping and vacuuming is carried by this single vacuum combo vacuum cleaner. You may read our article best vacuums and mop combo; it covers best machines for your hardwood floors.
Robotic vacuum cleaner is the latest and advanced type of vacuums available. They perform the assigned cleaning jobs automatically by navigating using sensors. They are bit costly and are not recommended for thorough cleaning of heavy traffic areas. If you are looking for a robotic cleaner to clean your hardwood floor, then it is recommended that you look for a robotic vacuum cleaner with soft bristles and brushes.
Few considerations to prevent Hardwood floor scratching
- Your first choice for hardwood floor should be canister vacuum cleaner.
- Use rugs, it will help in protecting hardwood floors from getting scratches.
- Always use a recommended type of cleaners for your floor. Avoid use of water on hardwood; it may cause swelling of wooden floors.
- Liquids spills should be cleaned immediately with a microfiber cloth. Otherwise, the spills marks will become permanent and will be difficult to clean.