Cleaning Waxed Hardwood Floors

While modern hardwood floors have an easy to clean polyurethane finish, older hardwood floors are actually waxed. The cleaning products that you use on modern floors can actually damage your waxed hardwood floors. If you have recently purchased an older home, make sure you know what type of floors you have in order to avoid damaging them the next time you clean!

Tip: You can generally tell if your floors are waxed by running your finger over top of them. If you can feel the grain of the wood they might be waxed. You can also drop a few sprinkles of water on hardwood floors. If the water leaves white spots behind you most likely have waxed floors.

While it might be tempting to mop your floors with some sort of water-based solution it is important to fight the urge. Water (and most liquids) can actually damage your waxed hardwood floors. For regular maintenance purposes you should rely on a dry mop such as the Swifter to remove any debris.

Every six months you will want to remove the wax on your hardwood floors. There are many products that will strip away the old wax. Ask a salesperson at your hardware store and they should be able to point you in the right direction. This process really is not as bad as it might seem. Generally the stripper is just rubbed on your floors until the wax has been removed.

Once the old wax has been removed you will need to apply a fresh coat. You can typically find wax in two forms: liquid and paste. Both options are acceptable, but it is a good idea to read the application directions. One may seem easier to you than the other!

There is no denying it – maintaining waxed floors is much harder than modern hardwood floors that are sealed. Once you have stripped and wax your floors the first time, later efforts will not be as painful!