Naturally, hardwood floors are not known for being slippery or having slick spots. However, various reasons could account for a slippery hardwood floor, such as moisture, grease, or excessive polishing.
This brings us to a vital question: how to get rid of slick spots on hardwood floors. Slick spots can easily be eliminated with vinegar or baking soda.
Remember that the best way to get rid of slick spots is by preventing them from happening by keeping your hardwood floor clean and dry.
Read on as we provide you with proven ways to get rid of slick spots on your hardwood floor.
Read: How to remove black spot on hardwood floor
What Causes Slick Spots on Hardwood Floors
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As mentioned earlier, there are various reasons why your hardwood floor is slippery. Below are some of these reasons:
1. Excessive Moisture: this is probably the first cause of slippery hardwood floors. Thus, there is a need to keep your floor dry at all time.
2. Grease: A little experiment will prove that floors exposed to oil are more likely to be slippery. It follows that the hardwood floor installed in your kitchen and garage are more likely to have slick spots.
3. Dust or talcum powder: Sounds ridiculous, right? But leaving dust or talcum powder on your hardwood floor makes it more slippery, especially when water pours on it.
4. Too much floor polish or wax: Over polishing your hardwood floor in a bid to make it shiny might just be why your floor is so slippery.
6. Soap residue: the need to always rinse your floor after mopping has always been emphasized. This is because the soap residue from the cleaning agent used can easily make your floor slippery.
Read: How to remove white spot on hardwood floors
How to Get Rid of Slick Spots on Hardwood Floor
There are proven ways of getting rid of slick spots on your hardwood floors. And most importantly, some of these methods involve using household items that are easily accessible to you. Below are some of these methods:
1. Use of Vinegar
Most homeowners have duly noted the use of vinegar as one of the best cleaning agents. In this case, vinegar can be quite useful in getting rid of slick spots on your hardwood floor.
Start by sweeping the affected surface with a microfiber mop, then mix 1/2 cup of vinegar to 1 gallon of warm water.
Use the mixture to mop the floor using a soft or microfiber mop. Ensure not to use excessive moisture when mopping, as too much moisture can damage the wood. Allow the floor to air dry after mopping, then rinse with clean water.
2. Use Degreaser
Degreaser becomes increasingly useful when the hardwood floor is installed in areas exposed to greases, like the kitchen or garage. At this stage, using just vinegar to clean the floor might be ineffective. Always go for a degreasing agent that is compatible with your floor type.
3. Baking Soda Mixture
Baking soda is also a great, natural household cleaner. After cleaning your hardwood floor with a broom or mop, mix the baking soda with water until it forms a thick baking soda paste that’s not too watery. Spread the mixture over your hardwood floor and let it sit for at least ten minutes or so. Then wipe it away with a clean rag and mop with your usual cleaning agent.
4. Use Hot Water
Sticky residue on your floor can easily be removed when you mop the affected surface with hot water. Start by boiling a pot or kettleful of water and then pour it into the mop bucket. Use the mop to clean the affected surface, making sure you wring as much water out of the mop as possible. This is because excessive water can damage your hardwood floors.
Read: How to tackle slippery wood floor
Preventing Slick Spots on Hardwood Floors
As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure. Thus, it makes more sense for you to take active steps to prevent your floors from having slick spots.
1. Always keep floors dry at all times as a wet floor is just an accident waiting to happen.
2. Always mop high grease areas like your kitchen and garage with degreasing agents compatible with your hardwood floor.
3. Get the right kind of cleaner and polish that is compatible with your hardwood floor. To get a compatible agent, you can start by testing the agent on a small portion of your floors
4. Always rinse your floor after mopping and dry.
Read: How to make laminate floor less slippery
Conclusion
There is a need to keep your floor dry at all times because slick spots on floors have been the cause of many accidents both at home and in workplaces.
Summarily on how to get rid of slick spots on hardwood floors, you now know that vinegar and baking soda are quite effective in getting rid of slick spots on hardwood floors.