How to Clean Hardwood Floors — Natural Methods and When to Hire a Pro

Hardwood floors don't clean like any other floor

Hardwood is a living surface: it breathes, expands with humidity, contracts in heat, and reacts to nearly anything spilled on it. Cleaning it the wrong way shortens its life by years, and the most common damage — swelling between boards, finish hazing, dark absorbed water marks — is often irreversible without professional re-sanding at CHF 25–40 per square metre. The good news is that the right rules are few and apply to every hardwood floor, once the difference between finishes is understood.

Knowing your floor

Before cleaning it, it's worth identifying the finish, because that's what separates the right routine from a costly mistake. Lacquered hardwood is around 90% of the modern market — smooth surface, even reflection — and tolerates water a bit better than oiled, while still being fragile compared to most other floor types. Oiled hardwood has a matte finish with visible grain and behaves worse with acidic products (vinegar and lemon juice in particular). Waxed hardwood is rare in new homes but common in period restorations: shiny, soft, tolerates only specific products. Laminate isn't true hardwood but a layered build with a photographic surface, and it tolerates more aggressive products without issue.

When in doubt, the maintenance booklet handed over at purchase has the answer; failing that, a 24-hour test in a hidden area — under furniture, behind a door — with the product you intend to use tells you whether it's safe.

Weekly ordinary cleaning

Stubborn stains: what to do as soon as they happen

On a localised stain the deciding factor is once again time. For fresh coffee or wine, a barely-damp cloth with neutral soap and gentle friction does the job. For oil or butter, a sprinkle of baking soda left to act for thirty minutes absorbs the grease before it penetrates the fibres, then comes off with a cloth. For ink — less frequent but feared — 70% alcohol on the cloth (never poured directly on the wood) and light circular motions removes most of the marks.

Dark water stains that have already dried are different: water has crept under the finish, reached the wood fibre and oxidised. They don't recover at home — local sanding is needed and, in the worst cases, board replacement. That's why drying spilled liquids immediately is the golden rule of prevention.

Periodic refresh oiling and recoating

For oiled hardwood, periodic oiling happens every 12–18 months with a hardwood-specific oil (CHF 30–50 per bottle, enough for 20–30 m²). It starts with a preliminary clean using neutral soap, the oil is applied with a cloth or pad following the grain, and 12–24 hours of drying are needed before walking on it. The most common mistake is applying too much oil — the wood absorbs little, and the excess stays sticky and attracts dust.

For lacquered hardwood, the equivalent intervention is the specific refresher product (Bona Refresher, Bauwerk Care) every 3–5 years. The procedure is similar but the interval is much longer, because the lacquer wears only in the walked zones.

What never to do

When professional intervention is needed

Some situations are beyond DIY. Diffuse deep scratches call for full sanding (CHF 25–40/m²) because they don't recover locally. Absorbed dark water stains need local sanding and, if the fibre is compromised, board replacement. Flooding or move-in damage opens the chapter of professional restoration. Hardwood that creaks or lifts is a structural problem, not just cosmetic, and needs to be assessed by a craftsman. Even full re-coating of a large space (over 50 m²) becomes difficult without experience: timing and uniformity are the real obstacles.

Honest comparison: DIY vs. professional

Prevention: the habits that make the difference

Hardwood prevention is worth ten times the cure. A good-sized doormat (90 × 60 cm minimum) cuts down the sand tracked in by shoes by 50% — the single most effective factor, plus a defence line for every other floor in the house. Felt pads under chair feet (CHF 5–10 per piece) protect against daily scratches; chairs with hard wheels should be replaced with sliding pads or paired with an under-desk mat. Ambient humidity between 40% and 60% avoids the contraction-expansion cycles that open up joints — in winter with heating it's worth considering a humidifier. And the final, banal but decisive rule: dry spills immediately — water, wine, milk. Thirty seconds saves a board; thirty minutes introduces the problem.

For the full calendar of small gestures that keep every surface in the house in order, see our tips for keeping the home clean.