Polishing hardwood floors can be daunting work if you do not learn the right ways to go about it. Getting a clear understanding of how to polish hardwood floors correctly, and what you should do and not do will determine how perfect your hardwood floor will end up looking.
There are many benefits attached to polishing your hardwood floors. You will enable them to maintain their shiny appearances by reducing the chances of them getting exposed to scratches.
Polishing ensures total protection to the outer layers, thus making your floors last for an extended period. Here we will dive into the step-by-step guide and some considerations you need to pay attention to.
How to Make Hardwood Floor Shine Again?
It’s every cleaner’s goal to keep your hardwood floor shiny all the time. However, many of you don’t know what to do or do not understand the steps and the necessary preparations that could lead to this achievement.
Then follow the following steps to a successful get over it:
Before doing the job, collect all the cleaning detergents and other equipment such as a sponge mop, a broom, flathead mop, microfiber mop, wood floor polish, a dustpan, and hardwood floor cleaner.
Step 1. Carefully test the finishes of your wood floors
When you are not sure of the type of wood floor they have, how do you test the finish of your wood floor?
You can scrape off a small part of your wood floor from an inconspicuous area using a sharp knife blade; if you find out that the finish is smudged and the material is not clear means that your floor’s finish is penetrating.
You should stop there and avoid as much as possible not to polish them, and instead, they should only be waxed.
However, if the material is explicit, it means your flooring material has a finish; therefore, polishing these wood materials is possible. But you will still be required to test out the polish before getting into the main cleaning procedure.
Step 2. Remove dust and clean off the dirt from your wood floors
You make this look much easier, especially by emptying the room, remove all the furniture or any other house equipment available.
Thoroughly clean the floor and remove all the dirt and any accumulated dust; you can do this by sweeping or vacuuming, then start moping your hardwood floor using a commercial wood floor cleaner.
You have an option of using dish soap with some water to remove any stubborn like stains. Use clean water to finalize the cleaning together with a water-dampened mop to help you get rid of any cleaner residues.
Finally, you will be required to completely dry your floor using a clean piece of towel clothing or any other preferable material.
Step3. Polish your wood floors to shine
It is the most crucial cleaning step that will determine how shiny your wood floors will look like.
Start from the furthest back corner of your end room, come up with a polishing path that will enable you to end near your room’s main exit.
Do this by pouring small amounts of S-shaped wood floor polish on your floor. Here you will need to use a flat surface mop to distribute the polish evenly. Use the forth and back techniques to work on the polish solution, ensure you smoothen out any air bubbles that might appear on the surface.
To bring about perfect results, you should consider working on small surface areas as it enables you to control your polish and watch every move you make entirely.
For quick and easy drying, ensure you apply thin layers, and if you feel like they are not enough, you can add another thin layer if possible.
Step 4. Do not restore the room for at least 24 hours
To ensure that nothing goes wrong after polishing your floor, restrict any traffics for at least 24 hours; this will ensure that the polish sticks better and does not chip off easily.
Moreover, it will prevent scratches which might be as a result of getting your furniture in the house. However, even after those hours, restoring your room shall be done carefully.
Things You Should Avoid for Polishing Hardwood Floors
You might be wondering what makes your hardwood look dull; here are some things that can make your hardwood dull, and you will need to avoid them to achieve the best texture for your floor:
1. Dirt redistribution.
This always happens when one uses a dirty mop, forgets or does not sweep, vacuum, or dust mop the floor before beginning the whole cleaning process. Dirt will be redistributed and even end up sticking hard on the floor, thus making your floor look dull.
2. Use some toxic cleaning materials.
Not all cleaning detergents and materials should be used on all kinds of floors. Most of them promise to make your hardwood floor look shiny, but they end up creating whole messes.
Before installing your hardwood, ensure you inquire about the best cleaning methods that work best with that type of floor.
3. Half doing your cleaning.
It is essential when you start cleaning to ensure that you do not leave it halfway. Ensure you do good buffing to prevent streaking; you can avoid this by using your choice’s microfibers buffers.
4. Low hardwood floor refinishing.
most hardwood floors always need proper finishing to last long. If your foot is poorly done, you can be assured of it being dull no matter how hard you try cleaning it. You can avoid this by adequately refinishing your floors.
Tips for Polishing Your Hardwood Floors
Getting your hardwood floors thoroughly cleaned means everything. It is part of their maintenance, and therefore it is essential to learn simple tricks that will always guide you in doing the right thing when cleaning.
The following are the steps you should follow when cleaning your hardwood floors:
1. Remove rugs and furniture in the house.
Find someone to help you remove the floor surface furniture you want to clean.
If you are cleaning alone, consider placing furniture pads under your furniture and push them smoothly to avoid scratching the floor. If there are any rugs, roll them up and remove them too.
2. Vacuum or sweep your floors.
This step enables you to get rid of dust and any other debris; before you start vacuum cleaning with robot mop, confirm whether your vacuum has any rough or plastic parts in the bottom and, if it does, remove them before you continue cleaning. You can, however, use a broom or any other thing to sweep over your floor.
3. Find out your floor’s finish.
It is among the most important things to focus on because it guides how you are going to clean your floor. If your floor has a hard finish, consider using less water to clean it, and if it is lacquered, you should wax it instead of using water and other detergents.
4. Mop over the polyurethane floors.
It is a straightforward process that only requires you to mix a little amount of dishwashing soap with warm water. Then wring out your mop until it is damp, then mop your floor gently. You can start by applying smooth strokes, wipe off excess water and liquid and dry the surface.
5. Gently buff the floor.
You can use a microfiber piece to polish the floor; it needs one to carefully use their hands and do the buffing process in circular movements. You can choose to use a buffing machine if there is any.
6.Finally, you can get the right polish for your floor.
Do the polishing to achieve any hardwood floors’ shiny appearance.
Dos and Don’ts When Buffing Hardwood Floors
Buffing is a crucial stage for cleaning hardwood floors; it ensures that no extra water of cleaning products remains or stagnates on the floor.
Buffing helps your floor bid a goodbye to the worn out and tired appearances, enable removal of scratches and other minor imperfections.
Therefore, here is what you should do and not do when buffing your hardwood floors:
The Dos
- Use a buffer or rotary machine to carry out your buffing process; consider using microfiber clothing if there is none. Before getting into it, remove all foreign materials on the floor that might hinder your buffing process.
- Remove all the wax finishes that might be remained on your hardwood floor when you were polishing. You can do this by applying a wax stripper to your floor and have all the wax removed within a short period.
- Ensure that your floor is properly cleaned before you buff over it. This can be done by running a mop all through your floor surface to get rid of dirt, and you had already removed dust by vacuuming or sweeping. The cleaning process enables you to achieve the best and shiny appearance on your floor, ensure the polish you apply after cleaning spread out uniformly, and looks perfect.
- Wait for your hardwood floor to dry up before you continue with buffing and polishing more if you let your hardwood dry properly, your buffing process as easy as you didn’t expect.
- Handle your buffing process with care, as any small mess can lead to the worst experience.
The Don’ts
- Avoid buffing hardwood floors with wax remains after polishing.
- Do not buff dirty floors; this will lead to an increment of scratches and other unwanted appearances.
How to Make Your Wood Floors Shine Longer?
Having your wood floor shining for as long as you want makes you proud and more responsible. The following are things you should do to keep your feet always shinning for longer:
1. Always perfectly clean your floor
Proper cleaning is the first key to making your wood floors shine for longer; make sure you eliminate all the dirt on the floor. They will remain maintained as care is always provided to them; ensure your floor is completely dry before you get to the next step.
2. Use revitalize
As per the package instruction, apply enough revitalizer to your wood floor; it ensures clear drying and minimizes the chances of scratches appearing on your floor. You can use a mop to spread the revitalizer evenly.
3. Allow proper revitalizer drying
When the revitalizer dries, you can now move in all your furniture and other kinds of stuff; this should take about 45 minutes after your application and distribution. Always do this when cleaning regularly, and all the shiny appearances will be maintained.
FAQs
1. How to Polish Hardwood Floors with Buffer?
It is possible to use a buffer for polishing your wood floor in place of floor polish, which is simpler and less procedural. You should follow the following:
– Remove any waxes from the floor before you buff. Waxes can inhibit the buffing process on the hardwood floor; you can get rid of them using a mineral spirit or any other recommendable substance of your choice.
– Keep your floor buffer ready and the polishing pads for buffing, install the buffing pads on your buffer machine, and start controlling the device. Avoid applying too much pressure when polishing the floors.
It is always a two-step process that does not consume much of your time, however it needs some experience to use the buffer machine properly.
2. How to Polish Hardwood Floors without Sanding?
Many people tend to ask how it is possible to polish your hardwood floor without sanding. Here is the trick most of you should know:
– Make use of the store-bought chemical abrasion kit. Find the best DIY kit from any of your local hardware that perfectly suits the type of your hardwood floor. All the brands have the same cleaning procedure; therefore, you will not have to be so picky. The solution is meant to prepare your floor to easily make the old finish fade off and embrace the new polish.
– Consider buffing and coating your floors.
– Finally, you can use a revitalizer to make the finishing process more successful and enable you to maintain a shiny appearance like a polish.
3. How to Buff out Scratches on Wood Floor?
Scratches can make everything worst on your hardwood floor; the following steps should be followed to make it easy for one to buss scratches on the wood floor:
– Identify and try repairing any superficial scratches affecting your floor’s finishes; you can get over this by applying a DIY solution and letting it dry after some time.
– Identify any minor scratches, and repair them before they become intense and hard to deal with; use a protective solution to overcome that; wax is another way of preventing minor scratches.
– Refinish your whole parts and whole parts of the floor; it is wise if you choose to refinish the components or the entire wood floor by sanding to remove the scratches and keep your foot safe and well appearing.
When trying to remove scratches, you should avoid waxing sticks of polythreane floors; instead, apply wax coating to them.
4. How Much Does It Cost to Buff Hardwood Floors?
Refinishing hardwood floors is always affordable as much as you can afford to install them, then maintaining them should not stress you out.
The process is still done depending on the measurements; in most cases, one square foot average costs $3.25 to $5. However, the costs tend to vary due to the task’s difficulties, the total surface area to be covered, and your floor’s conditions.
Each stair thread costs averagely about $40 to $75; the high costs are due to so much time and high skilled need to work on those staircases.
Conclusion
Polishing your hardwood floors will lead to you using them for a very long period to maintain their quality and standards. Hardwood floors are the current trends that everyone is installing, they are cost-efficient, and their maintenance procedures are not tiresome.
