New to wooden floors

[DecafSkinnySausage]

We have a lovely new house with lots of (so far) lovely and quite expensive-looking wooden floors. Not laminate, but the good stuff.

Now I feel under a lot of pressure to maintain the things which are throughout most of the downstairs - and I have to confess I don't really know how to look after them having previously had carpets or cheaper laminates.

Do I need a special hoover? They seem to need hoovering constantly! Ours is a bit old and rubbish but I worry the plastic end bit will scratch. And then mopping as well? Special cleaners? Polishing?? And what about the scratches that I am already seeing - toy-throwing, furniture etc - I have bought a scratch repair set from Homebase which should do for one-off big scratches but what about all the little ones that seem to be building up?

Grateful for any idiot-proof tips as housekeeping is (clearly) not one of my strengths...

Congrats on the house!
For ours, it's a thorough mop and vacuum once a week and a quick sweep several times daily.
Polishing is only done once every few months, except for a couple of patches the sun shines on, which get done more frequently. Also, I use a soak in type wax, rather than the type that will cause you to skid dramatically the length of the room.
No need for a special vacuum, but there should be a switch of some kind on the sucky-up bit (usually one you have to step on) that is for wood rather than carpet. It brings up extra bristles to reduce scratch risk.

I always think the bumps and minor scratches are part of the beauty of the wood as it ages.

Hi Decaf, I came on here to ask exactly the same question! We're about to move into a new house with lovely oak flooring throughout the whole downstairs & I haven't got a clue about caring for it either. Moonlight thanks for all your great tips - when you mop it do you just use plain water?

When mopping I use 'squirt and mop' made by method - the floor doesn't look too shiny afterwards, and it smells like heaven - its plant based and smells of almonds. Might do my floor now !

Thanks for all the tips, that is really helpful. Will look at the "wax" section in supermarket, not somewhere I have ever ventured before! Love the method range too, the bottles look great. Now just to get round to doing it...

WillSing - similar to teach, but mine's a lavender based floor wash. Doesn't need much either - think slightly more than damp, rather than wringing wet for the mopping.

And congratulations to you as well!

hi- jumping on as we have also just inherited some lovely oak floors. I noticed that the method squirt and mop isn't recommended for oiled floors, which is what we have- MoonlightandRoses- do you know if your method is okay for oiled floors- DecafSkinnySausage have you had a go yet? anything to report back? I have to say I am scared of putting any kind of moisture near the floor!

I have wooden floors - yes hoover but with a brush attachment things so it doesn't scratch.

Use as little water as possible - do NOT mop in the traditional way.

I use a micro fibre e mop from Lakeland and I just wring out the head in some warm water and Pledge for wooden floors then swish through.

I Hoover and steam mop.

I second a microfiber mop.

I also like the scrated in a bit, lived in look of oak...ut i do have an old house.

You need dfelt squares under urniture, esp chairs

Steam mopping is hit and miss -you can ruin your floor if you aren't careful!

Liquid Gold Wood Reviver from Lakeland for little scratches and an all over polish two or three times a year.

Good sweep every day.

Steam mop and clean with Method wood floor cleaner on a soft flat mop once a week.

Baby wipes as and when.

would someone mind adding the name of the floor polish they used every few months? mine is now desperately in need and i don't know what to use. i asked ages back but didn't get a suggested name of something to use and i'm scared of ruining it. Not used to such posh flooring!

Would love to know name of the floor polish Pootle mentions too!

Tootle and Happy, you want Liquid Gold from Lakeland.

Ordered some too!

Thank you! What polish do you use a couple of times a year?

Liquid Gold! I clean weekly each with Method wood floor cleaner and do "big" polishes with Liquid Gold.

Is the Liquid Gold ok for all floors? The review I read on Amazon said for untreated/unsealed wood.

I use it on a sealed engineered wooden floor, and it is marvellous. Maybe there are different types of LG for different types of floor?

Can you link to the sort you use please bike? There do seem to be a few different sorts, some are sprays which I don't like the sound of...