Spring Cleaning Tips for Your Flooring
Spring cleaning are two words that are either music to your ears or two words that make you want to jump in bed, hide under the covers, and not leave for a good while.
Spring is a time where we throw away the short days of winter and welcome in the longer, sunnier, happier days. It’s time to store away those winter boots– the same winter boots that have been walking all over your beautiful floors all season long through the long, dirty, cold, and unforgiving months of winter.
Winter not only pummels the outdoors, but mud, snow, and salt is tracked all over your home, leaving a mess on your floors. With spring comes everyone’s favorite springtime activity– spring cleaning.
Yikes!
It makes perfect sense to throw away the dirt, dust, and clutter that have built up over the winter months and freshen up your home to match the fresh air outside.
It’s not as drab as it sounds, because Builders Flooring Source is here with some spring cleaning tips to get your floors back in tip-top shape, so you can enjoy the inside of your home just as much as you will enjoy the warm sunshine outside!
Spring Cleaning Tips for Your Floors
Hardwood Flooring
Ah, hardwood floors– often the most beautiful but most needy of hard flooring! But no need to fret, spring cleaning your hardwood floors can be relatively simple!
It’s as easy as sweeping often– vacuuming your hardwood floors can cause scuff marks and scratches, therefore it’s important to use the soft bristles of a broom to do that job.
When it’s time for a good cleaning, remember to never use abrasive cleaning products on your hardwood floor to avoid discoloration, erosion of the sealants, etc..
Always check with the manufacturer of your hardwood floor for recommended cleaning agents. There are, on occasion, some professional services that can clean your hardwood floors as well– it’s recommended to do this at least once a year, so why not for spring?!
Tile Flooring
When it comes to tile flooring, the first step to cleaning them is much the same as hardwood flooring– ridding it of dirt, dust, hair, and crumb particles!
Tile is much less finicky than Hardwood, so you could sweep or vacuum those particles right up without having to worry so much about scuffing and scratching.
Ceramic tiles only need warm water to properly clean them, but you can also seek out a manufacturer recommended cleaner. It’s often best practice NOT to use a sponge mop as it can push that dirty water right into the grout tracks of the flow, causing blackened, dirt-attracting residues.
Try using the traditional mop and bucket, or one of those shnazzy steam mops they make now-a-days!
Just like hardwood, it’s recommended that you have your tile floors professionally cleaned once a year as well. This will also undoubtedly brighten up and clean out those blackened grouts, without having to hunker down on your knees with a toothbrush!
No one wants to do that, am I right or am I right?
Vinyl Flooring
Vinyl flooring can be cleaned by occasional mopping as well. It is recommended to find a manufacturer’s recommended cleaner to remove dirt built up.
At the risk of saturating underneath the vinyl, you most likely don’t want to use the mop and bucket method of cleaning. Your sponge mop or fancy steam cleaning mop is the way to go for vinyl flooring!
As a safe bet, you can always try a few cap fulls of clear, non-sudsy ammonia and water as a safe cleaning solution when spring cleaning vinyl flooring.
Again, a yearly professional cleaning for vinyl is recommended as well.
Laminate Flooring
When cleaning laminate floors, it’s best to vacuum the floor using the wand attachment or a dust mop. For general cleaning, you may want to hunker down and clean those floors by hand with a damp cloth and some electrolyzed water, to keep your flooring in tip-top shape!
It’s important to wipe up wet areas an allow them to properly dry, as laminate flooring can be extra slippery when being cleaned.
If worse comes to worse, have your laminate cleaned by the professionals so you don’t have to do it yourself by hand! *shivers*
Carpet
Spring is the perfect time to get your carpets into shape, and vacuuming regularly is a key component as well.
All of the dirt, dust, and mud that comes with winter can cause a real beating on your carpets. Just as your house needs a bit of airing out after the winter, so does your carpet.
Whether you have stains that have resurfaced from holiday parties or if your cute pup has tracked in all the mud from the backyard into your home, a good ol’ professional carpet cleaning will get rid of those stains so you can focus your energy on other parts on your home.
Spring cleaning can be overwhelming when you think of all the things in your home that could use a good scrubbing. The most important thing to do when you are starting your spring cleaning is to take it bit by bit– and of course, take Builders Flooring Source’s advice!.
Break down the tasks into smaller doable actions. This will help you feel less overwhelmed and increase your chances of actually cleaning your home.
Often times, we have a lot on our plates so don’t feel discouraged if you are only able to clean a few things in your home.
Don’t become too overwhelmed with the cleaning part of spring that you forget to get outdoors and enjoy all that spring is really about!