The spring season is a time of renewal and regrowth, and in our homes, it’s a time to clean and shake off the dreary winter in exchange for something much more vibrant. When it comes to taking care of your flooring, spring is an excellent time to do some deep cleaning and take stock of the state of your home’s flooring.
How Winter Hurts Your Floors
Winter fills our boots with rock salt, which can be very destructive to flooring. So cleaning your floors thoroughly and efficiently matters the most in the spring when it comes to preventing long-term damage. Salt negatively impacts every type of residential flooring, from carpeting to linoleum, but hardwood floors are most susceptible.
Salt is very coarse and can be incredibly abrasive on hardwood, removing finish and creating visible scratches. Sand used to treat icy walkways and roads can also cause scratching on hardwood floors. Additionally, the chemicals in rock salt can cause staining to the wood and actually strip the finish off if not quickly removed. You can mitigate this issue by cleaning your shoes in a mudroom with more salt-resistant flooring, as well as thoroughly cleaning the floors as often as possible.
Residential concrete flooring is also especially weak to the chemicals in rock salt. These chemicals can quickly weaken the structure of the concrete because they’re acidic. Rock salt is designed to create and retain water, which then erodes the weakened concrete even further. Small dents, divots, and potholes can form on concrete floors where rock salt isn’t quickly removed. Even with good safety measures in effect, your floors will still need a good, long cleaning in the spring when the threat of rock salt subsides. This ensures that any lingering salt is removed, because even without visible crystals, salt can still be all over.
Spring Cleaning Your Floors
Spring cleaning dates back centuries, meaning people have always felt the urge to rejuvenate their homes alongside nature. Winter dormancy gives way to new growth in nature and in the home. Cleaning your home’s floors after winter is unique for a few different reasons. Spring brings rain and mud to Nashville, and in combination with melting snow and ice, things get messy. So how do you best clean your floors in the spring? And what do you clean first when spring cleaning?
Hardwood and laminate floors are often grouped together whenever cleaning advice is given, and that’s because they can both be cleaned similarly. While some floors especially benefit from a deep steam clean (like concrete floors), wood and laminate should not be steam cleaned. The heat can very easily dull the finish and damage the wood and laminate. Instead, use a mop that can dry easily, as leaving standing water on hardwoods or laminate can damage them as well. The best way to make sure your mop won’t leave too much water behind is to opt for microfiber material and avoid using any scouring or acidic cleaners. A microfiber cloth mop should be at the top of your spring cleaning list because it is the safest and most effective way to clean most types of residential flooring.
For concrete and tile floors, steam cleaning is usually acceptable. Using a steam mop or a mop with harsher chemical cleaners like bleach on concrete or tile is perfectly fine, and it can help get stubborn dirt and salt cleaned up once and for all. Tile and concrete are harder than wood and laminate, but they can still be scratched by abrasive materials. Make sure any floor cleaner you use is safe for your floors by testing in an inconspicuous area, thus ensuring that if the cleaner can damage your floors, it’s limited and easy to repair.
When it comes to carpets, you can use wet vacuums and carpet steamers to provide them with a deep, refreshing clean. This can help to reduce odors and target stains or other problem areas as well. As with any of the cleaning advice outlined here, you should always consult the experts when in doubt.
Freshen Up Your Floors This Spring
Ozburn-Hessey provides a number of flooring installation services in the Nashville, TN area that can help you revitalize your space this spring. If you’ve previously installed floors with us before, don’t hesitate to ask for cleaning advice and recommendations for local cleaners we trust. And if you’re in the market for new flooring or refinishing existing hardwood floors, Ozburn-Hessey can get you a reasonable quote and estimate for free. Give us a call today for information on the types of flooring we install and the other services we provide like hardwood refinishing.
