Not every hardwood floor needs the same level of care. First, examine how much traffic your floors get and then establish a care and cleaning routine that makes sense. Ideally, hardwood floors should be swept and vacuumed at least once a week and then wet cleaned every other week or more - depending on traffic.

When it comes time to cleaning your hardwoods, follow these three steps:

1. For surface-treated floors, wet cleaning will be needed, especially in the areas like the kitchen. Spray floor cleaner in a small 3-foot by 3-foot.
2. Use microfiber pads or microfiber towels on a flat mop to remove any dissolved dirt and dry. In the kitchen you might need bucket of warm water with one or two tablespoons of dish soap and vinegar. Work your way around the entire floor, cleaning one small area at a time. As you clean sections of the floor dry with a flat mop.
3. If you come across a spot that needs a quick touch-up, spay your cleaner and dry it with a paper towel or just use wet pads. The more often you clean your floors the less time it will take! And your feet will thank you for it!