Five Step Carpet Care of Asheville NC provides rug and carpet cleaning services at the most affordable price in Asheville NC.

The Long-Term Benefits of Professional Wood Floor Cleaning Services

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wood floor cleaning

Wood floors are a timeless and elegant addition to any home, offering both beauty and durability. However, maintaining their pristine condition requires more than just regular sweeping and occasional mopping. Professional wood floor cleaning services provide comprehensive care that can significantly extend the life and enhance the appearance of your floors. Here are some long-term benefits of investing in professional wood floor cleaning services.

Enhanced Longevity
Professional wood floor cleaning involves deep cleaning methods that go beyond the surface, removing embedded dirt, grime, and debris that regular cleaning might miss. This thorough cleaning helps prevent the buildup of particles that can scratch and damage the wood over time, thereby extending the lifespan of your floors.

Preservation of Natural Beauty
Over time, wood floors can lose their luster due to accumulated dirt and the natural wear and tear of daily use. Professional cleaning services use specialized equipment and solutions to restore the natural shine and beauty of your wood floors. They can effectively remove stains, scuffs, and dullness, bringing back the floors’ original elegance.

Improved Indoor Air Quality
Wood floors can trap dust, allergens, and other pollutants, affecting the air quality in your home. Professional cleaning removes these contaminants more effectively than regular cleaning, contributing to a healthier indoor environment. This is especially beneficial for households with allergy sufferers or pets.

Prevention of Damage
Using improper cleaning techniques or products can cause damage to wood floors, such as discoloration or warping. Professional cleaners are trained to use the right methods and products for different types of wood flooring, ensuring that your floors are cleaned safely and effectively. This expertise helps prevent potential damage and preserves the integrity of your flooring.

Cost-Effective Maintenance
While professional wood floor cleaning services might seem like an additional expense, they can actually save you money in the long run. Regular professional cleaning can prevent the need for costly repairs or premature replacement of your floors. By investing in proper maintenance, you protect your initial investment and avoid more significant expenses down the line.

Convenience and Peace of Mind
Professional wood floor cleaning services offer convenience and peace of mind. Experienced technicians handle the entire process, from moving furniture to applying protective finishes, allowing you to focus on other important tasks. You can trust that your floors are in good hands and will be treated with the utmost care.

Investing in professional wood floor cleaning services provides numerous long-term benefits, including enhanced longevity, preserved beauty, improved indoor air quality, prevention of damage, cost-effective maintenance, and added convenience. By entrusting your wood floors to the experts, you ensure they remain a stunning and valuable feature of your home for years to come.

 

The Do’s and Don’ts of Using Water on Wood Floors

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Wood floors add timeless elegance and warmth to any home, but maintaining their beauty requires careful attention, especially when it comes to cleaning. Using water on wood floors can be tricky; while it’s essential for cleaning, improper use can cause damage. Here are some do’s and don’ts to keep your wood floors looking pristine.

The Do’s

  1. Use damp mops. When mopping wood floors, always use a damp mop, not a soaking wet one. Excess water can seep into the wood and cause swelling, warping, or discoloration. Wring out the mop thoroughly before use.
  2. Use the right cleaning solution. Opt for a cleaning solution specifically designed for wood floors. These cleaners are formulated to effectively clean without leaving residues or causing damage.
  3. Wipe up spills immediately. Liquid spills should be wiped up promptly to prevent moisture from penetrating the wood. Use a soft, dry cloth to absorb the spill and ensure the area is thoroughly dry.
  4. Maintain humidity levels. Wood floors can expand or contract with changes in humidity. Keep indoor humidity levels between 40% and 60% to prevent wood from warping or cracking.
  5. Dust and sweep regularly. Regular dusting and sweeping removes dirt and debris that can scratch the surface of your wood floors. Use a soft-bristle broom or a microfiber dust mop for best results.

 

The Don’ts

  1. Avoid standing water. Never leave standing water on wood floors. It can cause significant damage, including warping, discoloration, and mold growth.
  2. No harsh cleaners. Avoid using harsh chemicals, abrasive cleaners, or vinegar on wood floors. These substances can strip the finish and damage the wood.
  3. Don’t use steam cleaners. Steam cleaning can inject too much moisture into wood floors, leading to warping and damage. Stick to traditional cleaning methods.
  4. Don’t soak. When mopping, avoid soaking the floor. A lightly dampened mop is sufficient for cleaning without causing harm.
  5. Avoid over-waxing. If your floors are waxed, avoid over-waxing them. Too much wax can lead to a buildup that dulls the finish and attracts dirt.

Proper care and cleaning are essential to maintain the beauty and longevity of your wood floors. By following these do’s and don’ts, you can ensure your floors stay in excellent condition and continue to enhance the charm of your home for years to come.

 

 

How to Prevent Scuffs and Scratches on Hardwood Floors

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prevent scuffs

Hardwood floors add warmth, beauty, and value to your home, but they are also susceptible to scuffs and scratches from daily wear and tear. However, with a few preventive measures and some care, you can keep your hardwood floors looking pristine for years to come. In this blog post, we’ll share effective tips to prevent scuffs and scratches on your hardwood floors.

  1. Use protective furniture pads. Attach felt or rubber furniture pads to the bottom of chairs, tables, and heavy furniture. These pads act as a buffer between the furniture and the floor, preventing scratches when furniture is moved or bumped.
  2. Keep shoes at the door. Implement a “no shoes indoors” policy. Shoes can track in dirt, sand, and small rocks that act like abrasives on your hardwood floors. Consider having an entryway or designated area for shoe removal.
  3. Use area rugs and runners. Place area rugs or runners in high-traffic areas, such as hallways and entryways. These can help protect your hardwood floors from scuffs and scratches and can also add a touch of style to your space.
  4. Regularly trim pets’ nails. If you have pets, keep their claws trimmed to prevent scratches when they run or play on your hardwood floors. A pet’s nails can leave marks and cause damage, especially during enthusiastic moments.
  5. Sweep and vacuum regularly. Dirt, dust, and small debris can act like sandpaper on your floors. Regular sweeping and vacuuming prevent these particles from scratching the surface. Use a vacuum with a hardwood floor attachment to avoid damage.
  6. Use soft broom heads. Choose broom heads with soft bristles rather than stiff ones. Softer bristles are gentler on your hardwood floors and won’t scratch the finish.
  7. Regularly refinish and maintain. Consider refinishing your hardwood floors as needed to restore their protective finish. Proper maintenance, including periodic resealing or refinishing, can help keep your floors looking new.

Preserving the beauty of your hardwood floors involves a combination of preventive measures and consistent care. By using furniture pads, removing shoes indoors, adding area rugs, and following a regular cleaning routine, you can prevent scuffs and scratches while enjoying the timeless elegance of your hardwood floors. Remember that prevention is key to maintaining your investment for years to come.

How to Clean and Maintain Hardwood Floors for Long-Lasting Beauty

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hardwood floor

Hardwood floors are a beautiful and timeless addition to any home, but they require proper care and maintenance to protect their beauty and durability over time. Here are some tips for cleaning and maintaining your hardwood floors for long-lasting beauty.

  1. Regular Cleaning: Sweeping or vacuuming your floors regularly can prevent dirt and dust from scratching the surface. Use a soft-bristled broom or a vacuum cleaner with a hardwood floor attachment to avoid damaging the finish. Avoid using a wet mop, as excess water can damage the wood.
  2. Deep Cleaning: Deep cleaning your hardwood floors every few months is essential to remove dirt and grime that regular cleaning can’t reach. Use a cleaning solution specifically designed for hardwood floors and follow the instructions carefully. Avoid using undiluted vinegar or other acidic cleaners, as they can damage the finish. Use a damp mop and dry the floor thoroughly after cleaning.
  3. Preventive Measures: Prevention is key to maintaining the beauty of your hardwood floors. Place mats or rugs in high-traffic areas to prevent dirt and debris from scratching the surface. Use felt pads under furniture legs to prevent scratches and dents. Avoid walking on hardwoods with high heels or shoes with sharp edges that can scratch the surface.
  4. Refinishing: Over time, the finish on your hardwood floors can become worn and dull. Refinishing your hardwood floors can restore their beauty and protect them from damage. The process involves sanding off the old finish and applying a new one. It’s best to hire a professional for this task, as it requires specialized equipment and expertise.
  5. Humidity Control: Humidity can cause hardwood floors to warp and buckle. Maintain a constant humidity level in your home–ideally between 35% and 55%–to prevent damage to your hardwood floors. Use a humidifier in the winter to add moisture to the air, and a dehumidifier in the summer to remove excess moisture.

By following these five tips, you can enjoy the timeless elegance of your hardwood floors for years to come. If you live in the Asheville, NC area and you’re looking for quality professional hardwood floor cleaning, give Five Step a call at 828.237.3237.

 

Can You Spot the Error in These 4 Hardwood Floor Cleaning Myths?

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hardwood floor

When you’ve been cleaning hardwood floors professionally as long as we have, you encounter a lot of erroneous information about cleaning wood floors. Not all hardwood floor cleaning advice is created equal! Some of it is just…wrong.

In this post, we’ll address some common myths regarding hardwood floor cleaning. See if you can spot the error!

  1. A shiny floor is a clean floor. Not always. It is true that a clean floor should have a shine to it, but actually, the shine of your floor has as much to do with its surface texture as with cleanliness. Dull floors can result from tiny scratches or scuffs on the wood’s surface. To restore shine to a floor like that, refinishing is usually required.
  2. Wood floors must be cleaned or treated with oil. For most wood floors, this is outdated advice. The wisdom of applying oil soap to wood floors was perfectly fine when wood floors were sealed with wax, which dehydrated the wood. But nowadays, most wood floors are sealed with polyurethane, which does not allow moisture to escape. Therefore, for most wood floors, no oil is needed. Modern sealants create a barrier that prevents any oil from soaking into the wood itself. Applying oil soap to these floors only makes the floor slick, and, rather than keeping it clean, is liable to attract dirt and grime.
  3. Add vinegar to your wood floor cleaner. This is another bit of outdated advice. It used to be sensible in the old days, but not any longer. Time was, people used all-purpose, lye-based soaps for cleaning…well, just about everything. These lye-based soaps were corrosive. Much harsher than our modern, wood floor-specific soaps. So people added vinegar to the mop bucket, lowering the PH of the solution and thereby reducing the harshness of the soap. Modern wood floor cleaners are formulated to have the ideal PH level for cleaning wood floors, so adding vinegar is no longer necessary.
  4. Water’s just as good as cleaner. Water can work for a quick, superficial cleaning, but it really depends on how deep of a clean you need. You can damp mop most wood floors with just plain water. This will pick up dust and debris, and leave your floors looking cleaner than before. But for a real deep clean, you need a liquid floor cleaner formulated specifically for wood floors. We recommend Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner. No matter what cleaning agent you use, make sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions!

 

We hope this post helps to demystify the process of caring for hardwood floors. Of course, we’re here to help if you’ve decided DIY isn’t going to cut it. Check out some of our before-and-after pics to get an idea of what we can do with wood floors. If you live in the Asheville, NC area and are looking for professional wood floor cleaning, give Five Step a call at 828.237.3237 or get in touch via our contact form today!

 

A Brief History of Wood Floors

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wood floor

Humans have been building homes for at least 400,000 years, but it was only in the 1600s that we got around to making floors out of wood. Prior to that, the floors of most houses were made of bare dirt or stone.

The first wood floors in Europe were simple. Just a few rough-hewn pine planks supported by joists, or even split logs set into the dirt with the cut side facing up. These early wooden floors were nothing like the elegant, polished interiors we associate with hardwood flooring today. They were unfinished, and smoothing was accomplished through years of regular foot traffic, not by sanding and polishing. Think of how many splinters you might have gotten in your feet after installing a wood floor in your home if you lived in the early 1600s!

Soon artisans began to refine wood flooring. By 1625, wealthy Europeans could pay to have intricate parquet floors installed in their homes. These floors were made by hand-cutting pieces of wood into small shapes that could be arranged together in repeating geometric patterns.

The abundance of timber in the New World made wood floors much more commonplace. But most American settlers and pioneers did not have much use for the impressive, artisan-crafted designs used in wealthy European homes. Early American plank floors were simply the most practical option in a country full of old-growth forests. The floors tended to be simple, with the boards cut at random widths and lengths and no stain or varnish applied.

The innovation of shiplap joinery made wood floors more durable and less prone to developing gaps, through which cold air, moisture, and small objects could pass.

In the 1700s, people began to apply painted designs to their wood floors. These could range in complexity from simple checkerboards to ornate vining or flowering patterns. Stain and varnish did not become common until the late 1800s.

During the Industrial Revolution, the process of making hardwood flooring became much less labor-intensive. Whereas before each plank would have to be sawn individually by no less than two men, now steam-powered lumber mills and woodworking machinery could process more boards in a day than two men could do in an hour. The technology meant wood floors could be produced more cheaply, and the finished product would be more uniform and attractive.

Still, the installation process was much more labor-intensive until the invention of the electric sander. Prior to that, floors had to be hand-scraped or have loose sand rubbed over them.

The 1940s and 50s saw a decline in the use of wood for flooring, as carpets and other flooring materials like linoleum grew in popularity. But nowadays, people are turning back to hardwood flooring for its simplicity, durability, and beauty.

Who knew the history of wood flooring could be so interesting? The history buffs at Five Step Carpet Care aren’t just here to regale you with factoids, though. If you live in Western NC and are in need of professional wood floor cleaning services, give us a call at 828.237.3237 or drop us a line today!

Best Wood Floor Cleaners in the Asheville Area

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Looking for the best professional wood floor cleaners in the Asheville area of North Carolina?

Even though you keep your wood floors clean through regular dust mopping and polishing, there will probably come a time when you want a deeper clean. Pine and hardwood floors require periodic polishing to maintain their original shine and luster. Even engineered wood floors benefit from occasional deep cleaning.

Our wood floor cleaning process is eco-friendly and sustainable, and can restore the beauty and radiance of your floor, making it look brand new. Our cleaning solutions contain no bleach, acids, enzymes, dyes, or colors.

And if cleaning alone isn’t enough to make your floor shine, we can remove old layers of urethane or wax costing and refinish your floor in a new gloss!

Homeowners in Asheville and across western NC call us for their hardwood, pine, and laminate wood floor cleaning needs. Our reputation for top-quality wood floor cleaning services can’t be beat!

It may sound like a dubious claim, but you can verify it yourself by viewing the photographic evidence! Check out these before and after photos of our work before you make your decision.

If you live in the Asheville area or anywhere else in western NC, and you’re looking for a top-notch professional wood floor cleaning service, give us a call today at 828.237.3237 or get in touch via our contact form.

 

4 Hardwood Floor Cleaning Myths – BUSTED!

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wood floor cleaning

In the years that we’ve been providing wood floor cleaning services in the Asheville, NC area, we’ve encountered a lot of persistent bad information about cleaning wood floors. So we decided to write a blog post to address all of the most common myths.

  1. Shine=Clean. Not necessarily. Although it’s true that a clean floor should shine, the fact is that the shine of your floor has as much or more to do with its surface smoothness as with cleanliness. Dull floors can result from tiny scratches and scuffs on the surface of the wood. To restore shine to a floor like that, refinishing is usually required.
  2. Wood floors need to be treated with oil. It used to be true that wood floors benefitted from the application of oil soap. But that was back when hardwoods were sealed with wax, which dehydrated the wood, creating a need to replenish the wood’s natural moisture with oil. Now, most wood floors are sealed with polyurethane, not wax. Polyurethane sealer does not allow moisture to escape the wood, so no oil is needed. And besides, modern sealers create a barrier which will not allow the oil to soak into the wood itself, so if you apply oil to a modern wood floor it will just make the floor slick.
  3. Mix vinegar in with your wood floor cleaner. This is another piece of advice that used to be sensible in the old days but isn’t true any longer. In bygone eras, the all-purpose, lye-based soaps were much harsher than our modern wood floor specific soaps. People used to add some vinegar to the mop bucket to lessen the harshness of the soap. (What they probably didn’t know was that the vinegar lowered the PH of the cleaning solution, making it less harmful to the wood floors.) Modern wood floor cleaners are formulated to have suitable PH levels, so adding vinegar is no longer necessary.
  4. Just clean your wood floors with water. It depends on how heavy of a clean you’re doing. You can damp mop most wood floors with just plain water, but you must use a very small amount of water—just enough to pick up dust and no more. For actual deep cleaning, use a liquid floor cleaner formulated for wood floors (we recommend Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner), and make sure to follow the directions on the bottle to the letter!

Hopefully, this post helps to clear up some of the most common misunderstandings about caring for hardwood floors. Need more help? We’re here for you! If you live in the Asheville, NC area and are looking for high-quality professional wood floor cleaning, give Five Step a call at 828.237.3237 or get in touch via our contact form today!

 

How to Safely Clean a Hardwood Floor

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Deep cleaning hardwood floors is one of our specialties. We’ve cleaned a lot of wood floors and restored shine and beauty to even the most hopeless of cases. But in between professional cleanings, you still have to clean your floor! Our clients often ask our opinion about the best way to keep their wood floors looking clean and beautiful, so here are some tips.

  1. Remove dirt, debris, pet hair, and particulates from the floor first with a dust mop or the floor brush attachment of your vacuum.
  2. Once every two to four weeks, clean the floor using a liquid cleaner or oil soap specially formulated for hardwood floors. Follow the instructions on the container and make sure to dilute it sufficiently in water so as not to leave behind a sticky or filmy residue after you clean.
  3. Mix the cleaning solution in a bucket and use a sponge mop to clean the floors, wringing out the mop after each dip in the solution to ensure the floors do not get too wet. Once the entire area has been mopped with the cleaner, rinse the mop thoroughly and wet-mop the floor without cleaner.
  4. Leaving your hardwood floor damp may damage it, so make sure to dry the floor thoroughly using a dry towel.
  5. Prevent scratches in your floor by providing interior and exterior doormats and using protective pads or discs on the feet of tables, chairs, and sofas.

And there you have it! Follow these simple steps and your hardwood floors will stay bright and lustrous between deep cleanings.

If you live in the Asheville area, give us a call at 828.772.1824 or get in touch via our contact form today to schedule your wood floor cleaning! (And yes, we clean pine and laminate floors, too!)

 

 

 

Top Wood Floor Cleaning Professionals in Arden, NC

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wood floor cleaning arden nc

“Wait, you mean you’re a carpet cleaning company that cleans wood floors, too?”

Yeah, we get that a lot.

But it’s true! At Five Step, we clean more than just carpets. We’re also pros at cleaning your area rugs, upholstery, tile and slate, and yes! Even hardwoods.

Our reputation in Arden for high quality, professional wood floor cleaning services can’t be beat. But you don’t have to take our word for it. Check out these before and after photos to see what we mean.

If cleaning isn’t enough to restore your floors to their original luster, we can even remove old layers of urethane or wax and refinish the wood to a new gloss!

And as with all of the services we offer, our wood floor cleaning process is environmentally safe and sustainable. Our cleaning solutions are all-natural and contain no bleach, acids, enzymes, dyes or colors. They’re safe for you, your pets, and our precious waterways.

If you live in Arden or anywhere else in western NC, and you’re in need of some deep clean TLC for your wood floors, look no further than Five Step. Give us a call at 828.772.1824 or reach out via our contact form to schedule your appointment today!