How to clean parquet wooden floors

Parquet flooring can be a stunning addition to anyone’s home, but it does require some TLC to keep it looking its best — doesn’t everyone? After all, our floors can face some difficult challenges (we’re thinking muddy paws, messy shoes, the occasional red wine spillage…) 

So if you want to show your floors some love, whether that’s cleaning old parquet floors or giving new ones a freshen up, our guide has the answers. Ready to learn how to clean parquet floors? Let’s get started! 

1. What to do before you start to clean parquet floors

Parquet floors can be a little bit sensitive (again, like the best of us), so there are a few things to check before you start to deep clean or wash parquet floors:  

• Identify what your floor is made of. It turns out ‘floor’ isn’t the correct answer here. Wipe a little rubbing alcohol in an inconspicuous area and inspect your cloth: if some colour comes off and/or it feels a little sticky, it’s varnish or shellac; if it’s clean, you’ve got a polyurethane floor. 
• Choose your cleaner. Once you’ve identified the material, you can choose an appropriate specialist solution to clean parquet floors: oil-based for varnished or shellac, and wax-based for polyurethane. After you’ve chosen, make sure you do a patch test in a hidden area. Tied-dyed parquet floors might not be a great look. 
• But remember, you won’t always need a specialist cleaner. Often warm water will do, especially if it’s cleaned regularly.   

2. What you need to clean parquet floors

Now you’ve got your cleaner sorted, you can assemble the rest of the items you need to clean parquet floors: 

• Floor sweeper, vacuum or brush
• Mop and bucket with warm water
• White vinegar
• Strong and extra-absorbent Plenty kitchen paper

3. How to clean parquet floors step-by-step

Now you’ve got everything together you can get onto the process of cleaning parquet floors. If anyone else is around the house, get them involved with moving furniture and prepping the floor. After all, you are all going to appreciate the results! 

Here’s how to clean the parquet floor:  

1. Dust, brush and vacuum your floor to remove dirt and residue. If you have one on your vacuum cleaner, a hard wood floor attachment is your best option.  
2. Double-check everything has been cleared – leftover grit or particles might cause scratches if not removed. 
3. Then, use a moistened piece of plenty kitchen paper to remove dust and particles that are wedged in the corners of the floor.
4. Now it’s time to grab your mop and wash the parquet floors. Regular floors should only require a little warm water. However, if there is a little more decoration than you anticipated, you can add half a cup of vinegar. For this step, it’s important to reduce the risk of water damage to your floor, so wring out the mop really well before using it, and mop up excess water immediately after washing.    
5. If there are any bits of crusted-on dirt that the mop can’t quite pick up, use a moistened piece of kitchen paper to remove them by hand.
6. If that doesn’t work, consider using that specialist cleaner we talked about – (after the patch test).  
7. Once you’re happy with the results, rinse with clean water and use a towel or kitchen paper to completely dry the floor – if water is left it could leave marks.

Now you know how to clean parquet floors you can put some loud music on and get started! Clean regularly and your floors will maintain that lovely luxurious finish. Don’t forget to get the whole clan involved – not only will it save you time, you might find that the number of spilled drinks or dropped ice creams suddenly reduces…