For best results, mop your high-traffic areas no more than once a week. Other areas that see less foot traffic can be cleaned once a month, or (prepare to put your feet up) even once a quarter. Too much mopping can wear down the seal on your floors or oversaturate them with water.
It is never recommended to wet mop a hardwood floor. No matter what you've heard, read, or watched, true experts are not trying to sell you something. Easily maintain flooring with a safe for hardwood cleaner and microfiber mop.
Bedrooms and home offices probably only need once a month, he says. This assumes you're sweeping and vacuuming regularly, so keep up with those tasks in between mopping. Pallares prefers mopping all hardwood floors — with an appropriate cleaner only — once a week.
Remember: Water is wood's worst enemy (even on sealed floors!), so use a damp mop rather than a soaking wet one. "You don't want to let any water sit as you're cleaning your hardwood floors, so be sure to work in one small area at a time," Wise said.
Cleaning hardwood floors with water, or using water excessively, is a leading cause of blackened, water-stained, warped and ruined wood flooring. It can also lead to mold.
Over-mopping
For best results, mop your high-traffic areas no more than once a week. Other areas that see less foot traffic can be cleaned once a month, or (prepare to put your feet up) even once a quarter. Too much mopping can wear down the seal on your floors or oversaturate them with water.
How Much Water Does it Take to Damage Hardwood Flooring? An acceptable or normal moisture content in hardwood flooring usually ranges between 6 and 12 percent, but flooded wood flooring can often have up to a 40 percent moisture content, which means there is severe damage.
Mix Water and Vinegar
Clean wood floors with vinegar by adding 1/2 cup white vinegar to a gallon of lukewarm water.
For periodic deep cleaning, you'll need to use a liquid cleaner. You can use a commercial wood-cleaning product, like Bona or Murphy Oil Soap.
Lightly dampen a microfiber mop and always clean following the grain of the wood and allow the wood to dry completely before walking to prevent spotting. If you live in an area with hard water, damp mop with distilled water. The excessive minerals in hard water can leave the floor finishes looking dull.
The best way to clean hardwood floors and keep them in shape is to stick to a regular schedule of maintenance. Sweep, dust or dry mop daily. Vacuum weekly. Clean heavy-traffic areas with a damp mop twice a month.
Mop Frequently
High-traffic areas, like kitchens, bathrooms, hallways, and entryways, require weekly mopping. Infrequently used rooms, such as formal living areas or guest rooms, can be mopped every other week, or even once a month, so long as they're vacuumed once every seven days to remove dust and grit.
If you do not want to wait for it to air dry, you can dry your floors manually. You can do this by taking a dry mop head, squeegee, sponge, or towel and whipping it across your flooring. If you do this, make sure to go in one direction to prevent lines and missed wet spots.
The length of time depends on factors such as the volume of water, the specific type of wood used for the flooring, the materials used for cleaning, and other factors that determine how long it takes for wooden floors to dry. However, a wooden floor should be dry within 24 hours if the conditions are favorable.
Dry-mop at least twice a week using a microfiber head, focusing on corners. Avoid using water to clean your hardwoods, and never wet-mop, as the moisture can damage the material. To avoid staining and cracking, blot up spills immediately with a dry, clean cloth.
Mix one tablespoon dish soap and one quart of water in a spray bottle. Going with the grain of the wood, spray a light mist of your cleaning solution onto about a 3×3 area and start mopping. Remember, water and moisture can damage hardwood floors, so you only want just enough cleaner to get the job done.
What type of vacuum is right for your home? Paul says the best way to maintain hardwood flooring is by vacuuming or sweeping them. “Vacuuming is optimal, as sweeping makes the dust/pathogens go up in the air, only to come back down.”
It's easy to believe that, to make something clean, you need to use chemicals. Surely you can't clean a floor with only water - can you? The answer is yes: it's been proven that water is often enough to clean efficiently when used in conjunction with a good auto scrubber.
How long does it take for water to damage wood floors? According to the EPA, mold is capable of growing on most materials (including wood) within 48 to 72 hours. Other damage, such as staining or buckling, can show up in as little as two to seven days.
Warped Floorboards
As the wood absorbs water, it expands and softens, causing your floor to become more malleable and push up against other planks. Between the expanded size, malleability, and sudden overcrowding, the wood becomes disfigured and warps into a humped shape as it dries.
Using excess water
A common mistake is thinking that wet is clean! On the contrary, when cleaning a floor, you should try to use the least amount of water possible! After dipping the mop in the bucket, wring it out until it's almost dry!
Even if you live by yourself or don't experience frequent activity in your home, your floors still need attention if you want it to remain spotless. In this case, we recommend giving your floors sweep and mop sessions once a week. Dust and dirt can accumulate over time if no one is going in and out of different rooms.
Using Too Much Water
You can have too much of a good thing when it comes to wet mopping and water. You will know you are using too much water if it takes three or four passes to soak up the water you spread around. Under typical conditions, you wet your mop and then spread the water it holds across the floor.
Here's a secret: Tea's tannic acid makes for an excellent surface shine, according to HGTV. Boil a couple of teabags in some water and dump the tea into a bucket. Wring out a rag or mop in the solution and use it to mop the floors.