I just returned from 7 weeks in Asia and really liked the wood floors in my hotels. My wife and I are considering ripping out the carpet and tile in our 3000 square foot home and putting in wood floors. We liked the look and feel of wood floors.
Is it hard to clean wood floors? Is the care and upkeep hard? We live in Florida - just the two of us in our 50s. It is my job to keep the house clean.
Our home is on a concert slab - but it is high enough and never gets water on it.
Harry
We removed all the carpet on the main floor of our house and have NO regrets. I find the laminate flooring that we installed to be very easy to clean. Wood floors would be equally easy to clean. Most of the time I just use a Swiffer mop. I generally just attach a microfiber cloth to the mop instead of the Swiffer cloth just to save money and I find it to be satisfactory. You could use any type of dust mop you like. When the floor need to be cleaned (as opposed to dusted), I use a steam mop. I have the Eureka deluxe steam mop but there are a variety of such devices on the market made by companies like DeLongi, etc. I like the steam mop because it is self-contained like an upright sweeper, uses only water - not chemicals, has no moving parts, makes no noise, and leaves the floor practically dry. The cloths can be tossed into the wash and reused. For spot cleaning, you could use a Swiffer wet mop or the Wet-Jet mop (or similar product).
It is very easy to keep a wooden floor clean. I use a swivel-head dust mop twice a week. However, if you live in the strand tracking in sand can be a problem. In that case, removal of shoes before entering the house can be the solution. Wooden floors are often recommended for people with allergies.
Initially I loved my wooden floor. It was hard work sanding it and I put four coats of varnish on. A few years on it looks a mess. Despite felting every chair and table leg the floor is scratched badly in that area. Maybe I should have sat the table and chairs on a rug. Where the computer chair sits it is even worse. My dogs ruined the finish with their claws and the kids had a disco on it and 'someone' had stilettos on. So I need to re-sand and revarnish. With just the two of you your floor will be ok but for the heavy traffic of my home I find it hard work.
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