How to Clean Urethane Hardwood Floors
- 1). Prepare your flooring for a thorough cleaning by removing rugs and movable furniture to make the job fast and efficient.
- 2). Sweep or vacuum up all of the dirt and dust, to avoid clumps of soil settling on the floor and sticking. Don a pair of disposable paper shoe covers. Carpet-care and floor professionals count on these to keep dirt transference to a minimum during mopping.
- 3). Choose from these cleaning agents: a product formulated for urethane-sealed floors, oil-based soap or grease-cutting liquid dish soap. Dilute with water per the instructions on the bottle, or use a ratio of 1 tsp. of liquid dish soap per filled bucket of water. Avoid the temptation to add extra soap, or you risk leaving behind a dull residue.
- 4). Before you begin to mop the room, check the floor for stubborn dirt clumps, sticky residue and other hard-to-remove dirt. Dip a towel into your floor-cleaning mix and gently loosen and remove these clumps.
- 5). Begin at a far wall and mop the floor with the soapy mix, in even strokes. Keep a second bucket of clear water on hand for wringing out the mop so you don't dilute the soap mixture with dirt.
- 6). Re-mop the floor using clear water after you have made a complete pass using the soap mixture. Once the floor is thoroughly dry (you can use large floor fans to speed the job), buff it with clean, dry towels, rags or chamois cloths.
- 7). Move the furniture and rugs back into the room and enjoy your clean floor.
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