Spring Cleaning: Bona Floor Care Tips

Moving has given me lots of inspiration lately! There are so many things I want to blog about our home before we move, but I also want to show you all how excited I am to be moving to a new house! We love our current neighborhood and our little old house for so many reasons, so it's important for me to find the things I'm going to love about our new house - so I don't cry too much over this one. One of our favorite things in both houses - the wood floors. We are currently living in a 75+ year old house with the original pine floors. After we bought this house, before we moved in, my husband, dad, cousin, father-in-law all helped to refinish the floors that are in every room of this house except the kitchen and bathrooms! They just sanded them down and finished them. So they are their natural beautiful color with no stain. They are small traditional planks and have had their share of wear and tear for sure. I wish we would have done more to protect them over the past 4 years, because when spring cleaning time rolls around, I always want to refinish them again! Giving them a good cleaning though always makes me love them again! 

So, one of the things I'm falling in love with over at our new house is the heart pine floors! They are so beautiful and I'm so happy that they will be in my kitchen as well. I currently loathe the peel and stick tile in my kitchen. Nothing wrong with peel and stick - this stuff is just fugly. We will have carpet in our bedroom, but I won't complain because it's still a beautiful room!

Wesley and I have been discussing though how to keep our floors from getting scratched up and looking dull. He even told me about some rubber something you glue to your dog's toe nails (more research is needed if he's going to sell me on that)! 

I did find some great tips over on Bona's site on preventing scratches on your wood floors and thought I'd share what I've learned! They have lots of great tips and products too. We got to try this mop and it's pretty awesome! 

Here's a little more from Bona on how to keep your floors maintained and damage free!

1. Clean the Outside of Your Home. Be sure to pay special attention to high traffic areas like entryways, garages and patios. Scratches on hardwood floors can be caused by dust and dirt particles. Unwanted debris can get tracked by guests, pets, or even a strong breeze. 
2. Removing surface scratches from hardwood floors won’t be an issue with the right protection. Rugs and mats are great ways to protect your floors while offering an extra bit of style. Use a mat or rug wherever your floors get the most stress. Be sure to use mats inside and outside main entrances to eliminate as much dirt as possible from getting on your floors. Avoid rubber backed mats since they can lock in moisture and damage floors.If you do wind up with minor surface scratches you can remove them with Bona High and Low Gloss Polish and here's a $3 Off Coupon.  
3. Take Off Your Shoes. While I understand this isn't always realistic, shoes with hard heels or points can be very dangerous for floors. High heels and sports shoes do not evenly distribute weight, making scratches on hardwood floors a very real risk. Even shoes with soft bottoms can still track and grind dirt into your floors. 
4. Protect Your Floors from Furniture Fabric pads and glides are excellent ways to guard your floors from surface scratches on hardwood floors due to furniture. Plan your selection of pads according to how often the furniture is moved. Avoid plastic wheeled furniture since they can easily scratch and mar floors.
5. Trim Your Pet’s Claws While nails and claws are a source for scratches on hardwood floors, you don’t have to choose between having an exquisite floor and having a pet. Make sure pet nails are properly groomed and maintained. Use caution and care when trimming pet claws because improper techniques can harm your pets.
6. Plan and Follow a Cleaning Schedule A clean floor is protected floor. Knowing how often to clean your floors will further aid in preventing major damage. Here’s a quick schedule to follow for keeping your floors in their best condition:

Sweep - Daily      Mop - Weekly      Polish - Monthly      Deep Clean - Yearly

We also have to be aware of what we use on our floors because we do have pets and little ones. Ezra is already rolling around so much you can't keep him off the floor and we all know how toddlers eat and what they track in. Bona Hardwood Floor cleaners are non-toxic and GREENGUARD certified.

Ps before I go, you may have seen on Facebook where I took the Cleaning Personality Quiz. I got Multi-tasker... SO true! Tell me in the comments what you got!  When you enter you get a chance to win a Bona® Hardwood Floor Mop Express INSTANTLY! Registering will enter you for the chance to win a year of cleaning services for your home and the Grand Prize: a trip for 4 to Hawaii!