How to Treat and Clean Hard Flooring

March 12, 2017 by admin

With so many different types of flooring these days, it’s hard to know which you polish, use detergent on or simply sweep. Here’s our quick guide to treating your hard floors:

Ceramic Tiles

Sweep and wash, but don’t polish

Quarry Tiles

Sweep and wash. Remove white patches by wiping with a solution of 1 tablespoon of vinegar in 500ml of water. Leave it to dry and then repeat if necessary.

Marble

Never use abrasives on your marble flooring. Use a damp mop with washing liquid and clean in sections before rinsing well. Shine the surface with a silicone wax or specialist marble polish. Use very sparingly or thin with turpentine and make sure you always choose a product which provides a non-slip surface.

Wood Block

Sweep and use a damp mop. Sealed wood block responds well to an occasional use of an emulsion polish. To treat an unsealed wood, polish the floor regularly with wax polish.

Varnished and Unvarnished Floor-boards

Sweep and damp mop for everyday care. Occasionally use an emulsion polish which has a non-slip finish on varnished boards, and wax your unvarnished boards.

Vinyl

Sweep and damp mop with a detergent solution. Rinse well with clean water to prevent a film of dirty suds drying on the surface. Sheet vinyl can be treated with an emulsion polish. A top tip for removing scuffs is to use a regular eraser, and a gentle rub with steel wool works well on stains.

Lino

Sweep and damp mop. Use a solvent-based polish to give a soft sheen. Remove shoe marks by scrubbing with fine steel wool dipped in turpentine or white spirit.

Rubber Tiles

Sweep and damp mop with warm water and a mild detergent solution. Polish with an emulsion polish every six weeks. Strip off the old polish once or twice a year using a solution of one cup each of a floor cleaning powder and ammonia in half a bucket of cold water. Scrub and rinse with fresh water before re-polishing.

Sealed and Vinyl-Coated Cork

Sweep and wash with a detergent solution. Occasionally use an emulsion or solvent-based polish to give it a shine.

Slate

Clean by mopping with a solution of washing soda and water, scrubbing where required. Maid My Day call also give you some useful guidance on how to treat your slate flooring.

Stone and Brick

Sweep and wash with a mild detergent solution.

Laminate

Sweep and vacuum but avoid using a wet mop in case water gets under the planks. Spot mop areas and never polish your laminate floor. If the finish looks damaged, you’re better off replacing the plank.

Bamboo

This sustainable flooring is prone to nicks and scratches so be sure to sweep up dirt and debris regularly. Use a tennis ball to gently buff out marks and mop with a warm water and mild detergent solution.