Effective Tips for Cleaning Hardwood Floors

The 10 Day Spring Cleaning Challenge is wrapping up and one of the final items on the checklist is cleaning your floors! I’m sharing my favorite way of cleaning hardwood floors.

This post is sponsored by The Libman Company but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

Cleaning Hardwood Floors

Spring is here and it is time to tackle some home maintenance inside the home before we head outdoors! If you have been following along on our spring cleaning challenge, you might notice that cleaning your floors is one of the last items on the list. While I wash our floors pretty frequently, I give them a little extra attention when I am spring cleaning. I like to wash the floors last when I am cleaning. It is a finishing touch to all of the hard work that you put into cleaning. I find that dust and dirt accumulate when you are cleaning, so there is not point in washing the floors until you have done all of your other work.

After a winter season of snow and salt, a lot of grime has been tracked into our home. While I’d love to tell you I stay on top of the floor care, cleaning hardwood floors is not something I do enough. I’m excited to share my new favorite cleaning tool that will help keep me on top of my floor cleaning game! The best part is that it is so easy to use!

First things first, here’s my game plan for cleaning my hardwood floors in just three simple steps!

Remove everything off of the floor

I start with picking up everything off the floor. I’m sure to remove all of chairs, rugs and small tables. This is not a step on always take when I am taking care of routine floor washing. But it is a step I definitely take for spring cleaning!

This really allows you to get into spot that rarely get noticed. Don’t skimp on this step. Trust me, I am guilty of mopping around furniture and rugs instead of removing them. But if you really want to deep clean, this spring, you need to take the time to focus on the details. 

Sweep or Vacuum Floors

Next, I remove all the dust and debris by vacuuming or sweeping the floors. It is really your preference if you use a broom or a vacuum. I sometimes use a broom for the kitchen and hard to reach corners but then use the vacuum for wide open spaces. This is a really important step to do before you mop!

Time to Mop

Now, the fun part, mopping the floor! The key with mopping your hardwood floors is to be sure you do not get them too wet! You can damage your floors if you get too much water on them.

My favorite floor cleaning tool is the Libman Freedom Spray Mop. This spray mop is the perfect way to get your floors wet without saturating them with too much water. No bucket full of water required!

You can add your favorite wood cleaning solution right into the mop’s cleaning compartment. I do a mix of cleaning liquid and water to dilute the solution a little.  Close up the lid of the compartment and you are ready to go!

I love that the mop uses microfiber cleaning cloths. You can wash these cloths up to 100 times before you need to replace it.  

It always makes cleaning more fun when you have a very willing helper! Mopping is a perfect activity for the kids to help with! My six-year-old had no trouble using the mop and he sure enjoyed seeing the solution spray out onto the floor.

Also, your family will not have to wait for the floors to dry! (Somehow, my family always seems to need to be exactly in the spot where the floors are wet!) When I used the Libman mop, my floors dried so quickly!

With the Libman mop, you are done after this step! No need to go back and buff or shine the floors!

Ready to get started on your floors? You can grab a $3 off coupon when you sign up for the Libman newsletter. All the details here!

I’m excited to check spring cleaning off the list soon! I still have a few things to do but hopefully I’ll finish up this weekend. Then, we can get started on the rest of our spring fun list.

Spring Cleaning Challenge

We are nearing the end of the 10 Day Spring Cleaning Challenge! If you were not able to join, you can still grab the spring cleaning checklist and work on your own pace. Maybe you schedule one weekend to tackle the entire list or maybe you devote a few hours each week! Any plan will work! Just be sure to finish before spring weather hits. That way, you can be outdoors enjoying the nice weather and not stuck inside cleaning!