New hardwood flooring is an investment that adds life and character to the interior of your home. You’ll want to keep your floors looking good for years and years to come — and that starts with the proper maintenance.

Here are a few tips on how to care for your hardwood floors, straight from our team of expert floor care technicians.

1. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

It’s much easier to prevent issues from happening to your new flooring than it is to fix them. Take measures to protect your floors from as much as you can — you’ll thank us later.

For starters, place floor mats on the outside and inside of every door that leads out of your home. This reduces the amount of dirt that people bring in. Consider adding large rugs throughout your home to reduce the potential for scratches.

Set up a place for people to take off their shoes at all exterior doorways, and have a mop or vacuum handy for any spills and messes. Refrain from walking around inside with heels, cleats, and other types of footwear that could scratch your floors.

Although this does take some additional effort, implementing these practices will also make your regular cleaning routine go much quicker and smoother.

And speaking of cleaning...

2. Implement a regular cleaning schedule

A beautiful home requires regular, consistent upkeep. This is one fact of life that will never change.

In the case of your hardwood flooring, you’ll want to establish a regular cleaning schedule to ensure that your floors look great at all times. Plus, it reduces the risk of scratches from the random odds and ends that your household may leave behind.

We recommend sweeping your floor at least every other day (and every day if you have pets). You should also give your floors a thorough vacuuming once a week too. And when you really need to dig in and deep-clean your floors, choose a floor cleaner that’s made specifically for the kind of flooring you have. Otherwise, it will harm more than help.

Make sure to apply floor polish once every two to three months to add some much-needed shine.

3. Regular refinishing is key

After a few years, your hardwood floors may start to look dull. To maintain its luster, you may want to refinish it about every five to 10 years. Refinishing involves sanding down a very thin layer of your floors to reveal the new, unexposed wood beneath.

Although when to do it will be different from household to household, you can generally expect floors that experience a lot of traffic will need refinishing sooner than those that don’t.

Because of the work involved, consider handing this task off to a professional floor care technician. Otherwise, you may cause lasting damage to your floor in the process.

Book your appointment today

For beautiful hardwood floors installed and maintained by the best floor technicians in Brookfield, choose American Floor Care. We’ve serviced the Warren and Youngstown areas for over 20 years, so you can trust us with all of your flooring needs.

In addition to flooring installations, we also offer sanding, refurbishing, and maintenance, as well as tile floor stripping and waxing.

Contact us today to get answers for all of your questions or concerns. Otherwise, schedule your appointment now to get started on your new flooring project.