Hardwood Floor Vacuums Tips
Read these 7 Hardwood Floor Vacuums Tips tips to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Each tip is approved by our Editors and created by expert writers so great we call them Gurus. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about Vacuum tips and hundreds of other topics.
A Vacuum for Floors with a Wet/Dry Option
In the case of spills, it is, of course, necessary to wipe them up as soon as they happen. I'ts important to know that standing water can warp a floor's surface and must immediately be dealt with to prevent further damage. When it comes to choosing a vacuum for hardwood floors, it is always a good idea to have a hard surface vacuum with a wet/dry option. This allows you to clean up a mess without damaging a vacuum's motor and costing you money in repairs.
Area Rugs Help Keep a Wood Floor Clean
To further protect a hardwood floor from wear and tear, use area rugs to trap dirt along major traffic routes of the house, such as entrances and hallways. Be sure to choose a vacuum that will not only keep a hard wood floor clean but that can also adjust to clean the area rugs. A vacuum with settings for hard surfaces, as well as carpet are a wonderful idea in these cases. This will enable the rug to get the cleaning it needs and save the hardwood floor from being damaged by the vacuum's roller brush.
Choose a Canister Vacuum to Clean Hard Wood Floors
While a stick or lightweight vacuum is easier to move around while cleaning, choose a canister vacuum when 50 percent or more of the home's surface is wood or other hard surface flooring. A hard surface vacuum is also likely to come with many other cleaning features to help tidy up hard wood floors, such as wand attachments and crevice tools. These will allow for cleaning around the perimeter of a room and the ability to fit easily behind TV cabinets where dust likes to congregate.
Choose a Hard Wood Floor Vacuum that Won't Scratch a Finish
Since a hardwood floor vacuum is going to be moving across a somewhat delicate finish, it is important that the unit has casters or wheels that will move when you do and not scratch the floor's surface. The head of the unit that will keep the wood floor clean should also have casters and/or soft bristles. Units with roller bars should adjust or be switched off to avoid making dents in the floor's surface.
Vacuum to Keep a Wood Floor Clean Longer
Wood floors are beautiful, but their finish can be broken down over time quite easily by dirt and debris. In order to keep from scratching the floor's finish with brooms and dustmops, it is better to use a hard surface vacuum with soft bristles to thoroughly get a wood floor clean. Hard surface vacuums can usually be found in upright form or as a stick vacuum.
Use a Hard Surface Vacuum to Clean Floors Before Mopping
To prepare a wood floor for mopping, many manufacturers suggest that the surface be vacuumed first to pick up any dust, dirt or sand that could damage the finish. Sweeping not only leaves behind floor matter but the bristles of the broom themselves can also damage a finish. A hard surface vacuum that can clean wood floors effectively and thoroughly is a much better choice.
A Hard Wood Floor with Attachments Make Short Work of Pet Hair
Pet hair is somewhat easier to deal with on a wood floor than on carpeting; however, it will often collect along baseboards or in the corners of a room. Choose a hardwood floor vacuum cleaner with wand attachments that will allow a quick sweep of a room's perimeter with a crevice tool. This will allow one to make short work of cleaning up pet dander and dust that may have collected throughout the home.
