Keep in mind that water is usually the enemy of timber floors. The last thing you want is puddles of water seeping into your floorboards, warping and discolouring the wood. To avoid this, use a good quality mop, never steam your timber floors, and wipe up messes as soon as they appear. Keep the fan on while cleaning to dry your mopped floors as quickly as possible.
Have a nasty stain on your stunning timber floors? Add a tablespoon of methylated spirits to your warm mopping water, or use timber floor approved products. Remember that timber floors can scratch easily, so never scrub with a coarse brush or anything too abrasive.
Laminate Floor Cleaning
Just because laminate now looks as great as timber flooring, doesn’t mean you can clean them exactly the same way. As laminate flooring is developed differently depending on which brand and type you choose, the best option is to follow the manufacturer’s cleaning instructions. Overall, a gentle mop with very slightly soapy water is usually a safe bet, but be careful not to scratch or soak the floors.
Vinyl Floor Cleaning
For vinyl floor cleaning, similar rules as those for timber floors apply. Keep them as dry as possible, clean spills as soon as they occur, and give them a mop every so often for a deeper clean than your regular sweep or vacuum. Instead of methylated spirits, try mixing in a touch of vinegar into hot water. You can also add in some soap as you would with laminate floors.
Carpet Floor Cleaning
Now for the toughest floor to clean. Carpet. While all those luxurious fibres are soft and cosy underfoot, they can also trap plenty of dirt and bacteria that we don’t want in our homes. Frequent vacuuming should be your first line of defence, but this will only remove loose dirt and dust. Water is, of course, to be avoided as it can cause mould.
It’s good practice to give your carpet a deep clean every few months at least. Start by removing any furniture and vacuuming, then spot treating any stains. You can do this by blotting carpet stain remover onto the carpet as per the instructions. Then, give your entire carpet a good steam clean. It will lift any nasty bacteria that are hiding in the fibres, leaving you with fresh clean carpet from wall to wall.
Hybrid Floor Cleaning
Finally, we have hybrid floor cleaning. One of the best things about this type of flooring is that it’s waterproof. This means that you don’t need to worry as much about over-wetting your floors as you do with timber, vinyl, and laminate.
Being waterproof doesn’t make them stain proof, so make sure to clean up messes and spills as soon as they happen. To give them a deep clean, a simple mop will do. Avoid abrasive materials and acidic cleaning solutions to keep them scratch and damage-free.