How To Deep Clean Hardwood Floors So They Sparkle - PureWow

Deep cleaning vs. regular cleaning of hardwood floors

Aside from their obvious aesthetic appeal, hardwood floors also have the benefit of being particularly easy to keep clean—there’s no grimy grout to scrub and, unlike carpet, you needn’t worry if your kid spills a cup of fruit punch on the floor. Plus, you don’t even need to bother with the whole bucket-and-mop ordeal, since water and wood don’t really mix anyway. For day-to-day cleaning of hardwoods, all you need to have handy is a dry mop (microfiber is your friend) or vacuum cleaner to give the floors a quick once-over, plus a roll of paper towels so you can quickly clean up any spills that might occur.

While it’s really not recommended that you introduce moisture to your hardwood floors on the regular, they might start to look a little lackluster after a while of exclusively dry-mopping. The solution? Give your floors some extra love with a deep clean every couple of months. This more involved process removes stubborn debris from the crevices of the floorboards, lifts old stains and restores the attractive sheen of your finished floors.

TL;DR: Regular cleaning tackles surface dirt so your floors look and feel clean underfoot, but deep cleaning periodically actually restores floors to their former glory by banishing build-up.

What you need to deep clean hardwood floors

Before you roll up your sleeves and start deep cleaning, make sure you have all the necessary supplies handy. Here’s what you’ll need to get the job done.

• Vacuum: You’ll need this to prep your floors for deep cleaning—you know, so you don’t just end up pushing around a bunch of grit. Here are some of our favorite vacuums that are up to the job.
• Dry/Wet Mop: You can have a dry mop and a wet mop, but we strongly suggest you invest in a two-in-one spray mop that allows for both dry wipe downs with a microfiber pad and light spritzing with floor cleaner when it comes time to deep clean. We like this one from Bissell.
• Microfiber pads: Make sure you have enough spare microfiber pads for your mop to take care of business. (Hint: You’ll need more than one.)
• Putty knife: If your floors have cracks between the boards, a putty knife will help you loosen up the debris that has collected there.
• Wood floor cleaner: Although they’re fairly easy to maintain, it’s important you choose a premium cleaner (either liquid or paste) that’s made specifically for wood flooring, as generic cleaning solutions often contain chemicals that can damage the protective finish of your floors. Murphy’s Oil Soap is an excellent pick.