Why Your Hardwood Floors Look Dull Even After Cleaning Them

In the business of day-to-day life, cleaning is often the last task we want to do. So, when you finally find the time to clean your hardwood floors only to discover they still look dull, it may put you over the edge. To keep your sanity intact, you may need to consider a few different reasons why your hardwood floors may not be shining up as they should, and what you can do to fix that.

Hardwood floors are one of the most popular types of flooring out there. They're often a crowd favorite because of their elegant look, durability, and proclaimed easy cleaning. Even though this type of floor is supposed to be easy to clean, you can still run into persistent buildup.  If you want to know how to get a cloudy haze off of your hardwood floors, you need to know how it got like that in the first place. The most likely culprit is improper cleaning and maintenance. You could be using floor cleaning products that are adding wax and other unwanted residues to build up on your hardwood floors.

The first culprit of your hardwood floors' continued haziness could be poor cleaning habits. When you go to mop, it's not going to work well if you haven't first swept up all the tracked in dirt and debris. Instead, you'll just be mopping around a bunch of muck and sealing it in with your cleaner. Make sure you sweep thoroughly, not forgetting to get underneath furniture.

If you want to make your hardwood floors shine like they are wet when it comes time to clean, make sure you're using the right stuff. There are a lot of products on the market to use for cleaning hardwood floors, but not all of them actually work — and some may even be the cause of the persistent dullness you see. Cheap wood floor cleaners or wood renewal products often leave a waxy, hazy residue behind on your floors thanks to ingredients like polish, soap, and oil. To first remove heavy buildup from these improper cleaners, use an ammonia solution of one cup of ammonia per one gallon of water. Be careful as you do, because if you use too much, it can damage your floor. 

After, you can use a good cleaner to get the floor shining. Typically, one with a neutral pH is considered the best option (like this highly rated Bona hardwood floor cleaner). Follow these steps, and you'll get your hardwood floors' shine back in no time!