{"id":538,"date":"2025-11-11T12:00:05","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T10:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tapyom.com\/?p=538"},"modified":"2025-11-11T12:00:05","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T10:00:05","slug":"keep-your-wood-floors-pristine-four-cleaning-mistakes-to-avoid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tapyom.com\/?p=538","title":{"rendered":"Keep your wood floors pristine: Four cleaning mistakes to avoid"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"cb-itemprop\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Wood floors are a big financial investment and a key design element to the interior of your house. The proper cleaning maintenance is essential. Using the wrong cleaning solutions and tools can affect the surface of the wood, strip and dull the finish, eventually causing warping. These are the four things you should never do when cleaning your wood floors.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Excessive amounts of water<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Using excessive amounts of water and over-mopping are some of the biggest mistakes to avoid when cleaning wood flooring. Wood and water aren\u2019t the best of friends. Whether your floors are sealed or unsealed, wood remains highly<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0susceptible to moisture. So using too much liquid during the cleaning process can warp and, over time, damage your wood floors. <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Since wood is a porous material, always wring out excess water when using a mop and never let water sit on the floors for <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">long<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> periods <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">of time<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-51621\" class=\"wp-image-51621 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gardenandhome.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/pexels-liliana-drew-9462167-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"pexels-liliana-drew-9462167\" width=\"1707\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.gardenandhome.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/pexels-liliana-drew-9462167-scaled.jpeg 1707w, https:\/\/www.gardenandhome.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/pexels-liliana-drew-9462167-200x300.jpeg 200w, https:\/\/www.gardenandhome.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/pexels-liliana-drew-9462167-683x1024.jpeg 683w, https:\/\/www.gardenandhome.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/pexels-liliana-drew-9462167-768x1152.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.gardenandhome.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/pexels-liliana-drew-9462167-1024x1536.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.gardenandhome.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/pexels-liliana-drew-9462167-1365x2048.jpeg 1365w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1707px) 100vw, 1707px\" \/>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image Credit: Pexels<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h4><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Avoid harsh cleaning chemicals<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Always avoid using harsh chemicals or any abrasive cleaners when cleaning and polishing wood floors. You should never use cleaning solutions like bleach on wood flooring, as they strip the finish of the wood. Bleach substances leave your floors dull and vulnerable to scratches. Not only do surface scratches and a dull finish take away from the wood floor\u2019s visual appeal, but they can also cause further damage.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Using the wrong vacuum <\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Vacuuming before mopping your wood floors is <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">an important<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> step <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">to<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> maintaining <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">your floors<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">.<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> It removes crumbs, dirt, and debris so you don\u2019t spread them around when <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">cleaning<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">. But using the wrong vacuum attachment can be a problem. <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The key is to use the correct vacuum attachment, as <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">there are<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> some <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">that<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> can scratch the floors and cause permanent damage.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-51623\" class=\"wp-image-51623 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gardenandhome.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/pexels-liliana-drew-9462132-copy-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"pexels-liliana-drew-9462132 copy\" width=\"1707\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.gardenandhome.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/pexels-liliana-drew-9462132-copy-scaled.jpeg 1707w, https:\/\/www.gardenandhome.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/pexels-liliana-drew-9462132-copy-200x300.jpeg 200w, https:\/\/www.gardenandhome.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/pexels-liliana-drew-9462132-copy-683x1024.jpeg 683w, https:\/\/www.gardenandhome.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/pexels-liliana-drew-9462132-copy-768x1152.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.gardenandhome.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/pexels-liliana-drew-9462132-copy-1024x1536.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.gardenandhome.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/pexels-liliana-drew-9462132-copy-1365x2048.jpeg 1365w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1707px) 100vw, 1707px\" \/>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image Credit: Pexels<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h4><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Never use steam mops<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Steam mops may seem like the better solution, but they\u2019re one of the worst things you can use on your wood floors. The combination of heat and moisture can damage both the finish and the structure of the wood flooring. These steam mops can create residue buildup, making the floors slippery, and even interfere with the finishes of the wood.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gardenandhome.co.za\/decor\/flooring-showdown-comprehensive-comparison-carpets-hardwood\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>ALSO SEE: FLOORING SHOWDOWN: A COMPREHENSIVE COMPARISON OF CARPETS AND HARDWOOD<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"8qpl2PNUvh\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gardenandhome.co.za\/decor\/flooring-showdown-comprehensive-comparison-carpets-hardwood\/\">Flooring showdown: A comprehensive comparison of carpets and hardwood<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Feature Image: Pexels<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gardenandhome.co.za\/decor\/keep-wood-floors-pristine-four-cleaning-mistakes-avoid\/\">Keep your wood floors pristine: Four cleaning mistakes to avoid<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gardenandhome.co.za\/\">SA Garden and Home<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wood floors are a big financial investment and a key design element to the interior of your house.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":539,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-1"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tapyom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tapyom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tapyom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tapyom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tapyom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=538"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tapyom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tapyom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tapyom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tapyom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tapyom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}