If the finish manufacturer is known, follow the manufacturers recommended cleaning procedures and products.
However, if the manufacturer is not known…

For surface finishes, including urethanes:
Keep grit off the floor, dust mop or vacuum regularly and keep doormats clean. Wipe up spills promptly with a dry cloth. Use a slightly dampened cloth for sticky spills.

For general cleaning (if the manufacturer is not known) use a generic hardwood floor cleaner, available at your local retail wood flooring store. If the luster does not return to traffic areas, the floor may require recoating. Consult your wood floor professional for this process.


Do NOT wax a urethane finished floor. Waxing a urethane finished floor will cause the wood floor to be slippery, requiring continuous waxing as your maintenance, and any re-surfacing will require a full sanding process.

Acrylic impregnated floors require a spray and buff system as recommended by the manufacturer.

For waxed floors:
Keep grit off the floor, dust mop or vacuum regularly and keep doormats clean. Wipe up spills promptly with a dry cloth or dry paper towel, use a slightly dampened cloth for sticky spills and buff with a dry cloth to restore luster. When the floor looks dull, buff first to see if luster can be restored before waxing. When areas of heavy use no longer respond to buffing, wax only those areas and buff the entire floor to an even luster.

When the whole floor needs attention, clean the floor with a solvent based wood floor cleaner and then wax. Your floor should only need to be completely rewaxed once or twice a year depending on traffic.

Cleaning a waxed floor with water will leave white water marks.

The most accurate and useful information we can provide you about Hardwood and the Hardwood industry can be found at NWFA. (more...)