Three Simple Ways to Wax Hardwood Floors and Restore Shine

Hardwood is a tremendous surface to use for the floors in your home. It’s durable, looks great and is easier to clean than carpet. There are a multitude of different varieties for every budget and every preference.

But like all the other surfaces in your home, your hardwood floors require some degree of maintenance. While sweeping is an easy way to clean off surface debris, you should really wax your hardwood floors. Floor waxing might be more involved than vacuuming, but the results are often more rewarding as well.

Here are three simple ways to wax hardwood floors and restore their shine.

Solid paste wax

This is an old-school type of wax, and it should only be used on floors that are true linoleum, unfinished cork, unvarnished hardwood or concrete. Avoid this type of wax if your floors are vinyl, no-wax or finished with urethane. You’ll be applying this wax by hand:

1. Take a soft, lint-free cotton cloth (an old T-shirt works), and get it wet. Wring it out until it is almost totally dry.
2. Refer to the package’s instructions, and softly and proportionately apply the wax to the floor using the cloth.
3. The wax may look murky as it dries, but this is ok. You can then use a clean towel, electric floor polisher or a sponge mop coated in terry cloth to buff it to a shine.

Liquid wax

Only use this on linoleum, unvarnished hardwood or unfinished cork. Refer to the package’s instructions before beginning, and refrain from using this if your floors are urethane-finished, vinyl or no-wax:

1. You can apply it with a moist cloth, as you do with solid paste wax, or use a mop or an electric floor polisher.
2. Apply the liquid wax delicately and uniformly. Watch it as it dries, as the solvent will dissipate, leaving behind the polish.
3. Once the polish has dried, you can buff it with an electric floor polisher, a clean towel or a terry cloth-covered sponge mop.

Water-based silicone polish

Avoid using this type of floor polish if your floors are unsealed wood, linoleum or cork. If your floors are urethane-finished, you can use water-based silicone polish on them safely. This process will involve the application of multiple thin coats as opposed to one thick coat. Be careful around your baseboards, as this type of polish may stain them:

1. Take a clean mop, and moisten its head with water.
2. Apply some of the polish to the floor and the mop.
3. Spread the polish on the floor as evenly as possible, taking care not to create bubbles.
4. After the polish has dried, buff it with one of the methods listed above.
5. Administer the second and third coats to any areas receiving heavy foot traffic. Make sure to buff the floor after each successive coat dries.

Call for floor cleaning service today

While waxing hardwood floors might not be the ideal way to spend your Saturday, as a reward, you’ll be able to bask in their newfound shine as you walk about the house. Whether you require floor waxing or carpet cleaning, give us a call at Lov ‘N Kare Carpet Center. We’re the industry experts when it comes to maintaining floors, and we’d be happy to help you, no matter what your floor is made of.

Categorised in: Floor Waxing

This post was written by Writer