The Broom Scrubbing Hack You Should Never Use On Wood Floors

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There are many tricks and hacks for cleaning floors, but since not all floors are created equal, blindly picking any one technique and using it on whichever flooring material you have can be a big mistake. For example, have you heard of the broom scrubbing hack? It's like wet mopping, but instead of using a mop, you use a stiff-bristle brush to scrub the floor before rinsing with a squeegee or a mop. While reaching for your broom could be the solution to scrubbing your dirty tile floors, when it comes to real wooden floors, it's a no-no.

By using the broom scrubbing hack, you're essentially saturating the floor with soapy water. This softens any caked-on grime, while scrubbing with a stiff-bristle broom works on the tough stains and lifts them off the floor. The reason this technique is a disaster waiting to happen if used on wood flooring is that it involves two of the most common mistakes everyone makes when cleaning their hardwood floors: cleaning with water and using a broom with stiff bristles. Since wood is sensitive to moisture, saturating the floor will eventually lead to the wood panels swelling or warping. As for using an abrasive scrubber like a stiff-bristled broom (whether for preliminary sweeping or during the mopping), it can create unsightly scratch marks.

Wood floors are delicate and generally require extra care when it comes to cleaning compared to synthetic floor materials such as laminate or vinyl. The first time or first few times you use water to clean with the broom scrubbing hack, you may not see immediate changes. That's because the water seeps into the wood little by little, and the finish coating gets stripped away slowly. It's after a while that you'll begin noticing the wood panels have started swelling, warping, or staining. Once this happens, the only remedy is to repair the floor or completely replace it.

Now, with regard to scrubbing wooden flooring using a firm bristle brush, the damage to the protective coating on the wood exposes your panels to more damage down the road. Similar to the effects of excess moisture, the stripped finishing on the wood panels will result in ugly marks and eventually stains. Again, these issues will eventually require repairing or replacing the floor, which can put a huge dent in your wallet.

So, what's the right way to clean your wood floors? The secret is to avoid using excess water. Begin by vacuuming the floor to remove any loose dirt and debris. This is to prevent scratching the floor. Then dip a microfiber mop in soapy water and wring it out properly so it's damp and not wet. Use that to clean the floor, then follow it up with a dry mop. Do this at least once a week (or more for high-traffic areas) if you want hardwood floors that look brand new.