Tips For Improving The Appearance Of Your Hardwood Floors

If you live in a home that has hardwood floors, you might worry about how they are looking. If you have not been doing a lot of regular maintenance, your floors may have lost their shine and fallen victim to the damage that kids and pets can do over time. Here are some relatively easy tips for improving the appearance of your hardwood floors so that you can feel proud of them and how your house looks in general.

1. Choose a Cleaner Based on the Type of Finish Your Floor Has

The first thing that you should do is give your floors a thorough cleaning. This is going to mean that you will need to choose a commercial cleaner in order to get rid of the stains that might have built up on your floor over time. In order to make sure that you are choosing the right cleaner, find out what type of finish your floor has and choose a cleaner that matches the finish. Then, spot-test the cleaner by applying it to an inconspicuous part of your hardwood floors. Allow it to totally dry. If it does not stain your floor, then start by applying the cleaner to a rag and wiping your floor down in smooth motions, applying even pressure throughout.

2. Fix Grooves

Next, fix any deep grooves that you might have in your floor by using fine sandpaper to sand down the area of the floor where the groove is. Make sure that you are rubbing the sandpaper in the direction of the grain in order to prevent unnecessary scratching. Then, fill in the grooves with wood filler that relatively matches the color of your floor. Cover the area with the same finish that the rest of your floor is done in. Because there is a lot of variation throughout a wooden floor in the tone and intensity of the finish, don't worry too much about your groove-fixing job matching the area around it perfectly.

3. Remove Wax and Then Reapply

If your floor has a wax finish, you will need to completely remove the wax using a commercial wax stripper. Make sure that you do this on a nice day when you can open the windows in order to make sure that the potentially toxic fumes leave your home. Allow your floors to completely dry. Then, reapply a new coat of wax.

For more information, talk to a company that specializes in hardwood flooring or check out websites like http://www.towneinteriors.net.

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