Condition bare wood floors by filling a bucket with warm water, adding a few drops of olive oil and mopping the solution onto the floor. Do this once a week to keep wood hydrated, especially during dry weather.
WOCA Hardwax Oil – Often used by professionals, this high-quality hardwearing oil is more expensive, but it provides a more effective result. Bona Hardwax oil – One of the most popular waxes available. Bona dries quickly, is easy to apply, and provides excellent coverage.
Something that is often overlooked, however, is wood floor maintenance. To keep your floors protected and looking their best, you should regularly add a fresh coat of oil to your boards.
Oil base poly is a thicker product, and will build up a thicker layer of protection for your hardwood floors. It is a great choice for longevity and high traffic areas. We generally recommend and apply 3 coats of oil based polyurethane. Water based finishes will lay out thinner, but are slightly harder than oil based.
Here's a secret: Tea's tannic acid makes for an excellent surface shine, according to HGTV. Boil a couple of teabags in some water and dump the tea into a bucket. Wring out a rag or mop in the solution and use it to mop the floors.
Buffing a hardwood floor with a buffer is an easy and efficient way to restore its shine without sanding. Make sure that all areas are dry before you begin buffing. Put on the appropriate protective gear and attach the buffing pad to the buffer. It's important to give each area equal attention for a uniform shine.
Olive Oil, White Vinegar, & Water: Mix all three of these natural ingredients together and you'll know how to make hardwood floors shine naturally. This mixture is one of the best ways to restore the natural shine back to your solid hardwood floor.
Vinegar and Ammonia: Cleaning products that have a base of vinegar or ammonia eat away at the dirt on your floor - and also the floor's finish itself. Overtime, the acid will wear down your hardwood, leaving you with splotchy patches that are difficult to revive.
Don't use vinegar or baking soda.
Many DIY home cleaning solutions involve the use of vinegar or baking soda, but these are, in fact, the worst things you can apply to your wood floors. They actually damage and dull the polyurethane, which can irreparably ruin them.
Spraying WD-40 or any other lubricant on the floorboards
People believe that spraying a lubricant on the floorboard will help them move more freely and stop the annoying squeaks. However, this method does not work. The WD-40 will eventually evaporate, and the wood floor will start making noise again.
Since vinegar is an acid, it will actually break down the finish on the surface of your floor, and over time it will reduce the shine, and leave a dull appearance.
Olive oil naturally hydrates and polishes wood floors without leaving behind the dirt-attracting film common with store-bought products. It can clean and polish your floor at the same time or allow you to quickly buff dull areas back to a stunning sheen.
Murphy Hardwood Floor Polish
Murphy's Oil soap wood cleaner and polish kit are specially designed to clean both finished wood and non-wood surfaces so they maintain their beautiful shine at all times. This product aims to bring out wood's beauty in a gentle and natural way.
How to clean wood floors. Remember: Water is wood's worst enemy (even on sealed floors!), so use a damp mop rather than a soaking wet one. "You don't want to let any water sit as you're cleaning your hardwood floors, so be sure to work in one small area at a time," Wise said.
DON'T: Clean with hot water. If letting water stand on real wood flooring is bad, using hot water to clean does the same amount of damage. Hot water can dissolve over time the luster of your floors finish and penetrates the wood a lot easier than cold. DON'T: Use oil, wax or citrus based cleaner.
Don't Use Abrasive Products or Materials
Abrasive cleaning products or materials will damage the finish of your oiled wooden floor. They might also damage the wood underneath causing issues with the durability and the aesthetics of your floor.
A dry Pure Tung oil finish will provide a deep rich color to wood floors. It does not, however, provide a gloss or even semi-gloss finish. To make a semi gloss surface you would need to wax the surface or buff when the floor is dry. Any type of finishing oil can go over Pure Tung Oil at a later date.
The waxed surface makes the wood floor more resistant to chemicals and wear than an oiled floor. It can be difficult to see and feel the difference between a waxed and an oiled floor. Often a waxed wood feels a bit softer and a little more slippery than an oiled wood floor.
The best solutions for mopping a floor include using white vinegar, dish soap, window cleaner, or rubbing alcohol methods. These floor cleaners are easy to make at home and keep your floors clean.
You can even clean your wood floors with apple cider vinegar to add an extra shine and leave your floors looking brand new and polished. All you have to do is sweep or hoover the floor first before making a cleaning solution of apple cider vinegar and water (typically 1 cup to 1 gallon) and you'll be ready to go!