Everything You Need to Know About Cleaning Hardwood Flooring

There are many benefits to installing (or uncovering) hardwood floors in your home- from its longevity to its durability; it’s hard to go wrong with hardwoods. Refinishing your flooring is inevitable with how long hardwood floors can last. So, whether you’re facing that project now or later, we’ve got the details on refinishing hardwood flooring (and we’re here to share them with you). It can be daunting, so we’ve broken the process up into various steps for you below.

Cleaning and Set-up

Before you begin, it’s important to check the entire floor first. If there are any gaps in the floor where nails are visible, don’t bother trying to refinish it at all. You’ll also want to take a look at the thickness of the wood. Some newer hardwood floors are only about ¼ inch thick. If you have a floor like this, it can’t be sanded at all or you might wear through the whole floor!

First thing’s first- if you’re removing carpeting or another flooring on top of your hardwoods you’ll want to cut the flooring into sections to remove it. Then clean the floor thoroughly, removing as much dirt and debris as possible. Make sure there are no protruding nail heads that could tear the sandpaper.

Sanding

Cover up any doors or areas of the house that dust could fly into while you’re sanding. Then, attach a 20-grit sandpaper to your sander and begin sanding the entire floor thoroughly. Then, go over your work again with the edge sander, and finally with a power buffer. After you’ve sanded the entire floor three times, use an industrial-grade vacuum to get rid of the dust particles.

The Finish

Now that you’re done sanding and cleaning, it’s time for the big finish. Choose whatever sealant you prefer for the job, and start applying it all around the perimeter of the room. When the perimeter is finished, apply the sealant to the rest of the floor. Allow the sealant to dry for 24 hours, buff it with the power buffer, vacuum, and then finally, apply a second coat of sealant with the same procedure as before. Wa-la! You’re done!

While DIY’s can often be effective and save you money, it’s also important to remember that no one can do the job quite like The Steam Team!