6 Common Mistakes That Destroy Your Floors

Purchasing new flooring can be, and is in most cases a major undertaking. Whether you choose tile, hardwood, or laminate, flooring can be expensive. It is very important that you understand how to care for your new floor. Cleaning is one of the most common mistakes made when it comes to your floor. It is not enough to just take a mop to it, particularly if you're using harsh chemicals. It is very important that you understand what specific needs your floor has. Hiring a floor cleaning service is one simple way to avoid improper floor cleaning. Taking that into consideration there are a lot of people and companies who take it upon themselves to clean and maintain their floors. Let’s take a look at some common things to avoid with floor cleaning.

Common Mistakes

• Using Harsh Chemicals – There are many harsh chemicals on the market today. It can be easy to think that the stronger the chemical the better the clean. That is not the case. In a lot of cases there is no need for harsh chemicals at all. The use of a soft detergent is more than sufficient. Harsh chemicals do nothing but strip the finish, effectively ruining your floor. Cleaning your floor with harsh chemicals will lead to a need to refinish your entire floor. A sure fire way to avoid this is to employ a reputable floor cleaning service.
• Not Using the Right Wax – In terms of hardwood flooring there are a large variety of waxes on the market. All of these products have the same purpose, to add a protective coating to the surface to prevent damage. Not all waxes are made equal though. It is important to do your research and make sure you are using the best product for your flooring. Or you can contact a floor cleaning service. If you have hardwood in an office or commercial building, you need to use a high traffic product designed to hold up to a lot of foot traffic. If you own a commercial building it may be a good idea to hire a floor cleaning service to care for your floors.
• Cleaning Hardwood with Hot Water – Hot water can be very damaging to hard wood. The hot water will soften the wax, resulting in it being worn off faster than usual. Without a protective coating your floor is susceptible to scratching, pitting, or water damage. Further dirt and grime can be ground into the floor causing permanent damage and staining.
• Letting Inexperienced Staff Clean Tile/Stone flooring – Stone and tile are both thought to be a hardy type of floor. Cleaning these flooring materials is however the most common way that they are damaged. It is very important employ a floor cleaning service if you have this type of flooring. This surface is hardy to foot traffic true, but if cleaned improperly the floor can become pitted. Replacing stone or tile flooring can be very expensive.
• Staining – It is very important that if there is a spill on your floor you get it cleaned up quickly. If you let spills sit on your floor, whether it is tile or wood, it can result in staining. Staining is in most cases irreversible damage. You must replace the floor. Cleaning up the spill quickly can prevent the damage caused by staining.
• Infrequent Sweeping – Dirt it the enemy of any solid surface flooring material, whether it is tile or hardwood. Dirt can do terrible things to your floor. From scratching and pitting, to staining, dirt will wreak havoc on your floor. Cleaning or sweeping your floor frequently can completely prevent this issue.

Again it is extremely important to make sure that you care for your floor. Cleaning or rather improper cleaning is the most common cause of damage. If you or your staff is inexperienced when it comes to caring for flooring your best bet is to hire an experienced floor cleaning service to maintain your floors.