How to Clean and Care for Engineered Hardwood Floors

​A hardwood floor is one of the most enduring investments your clients can make in a space. It ages with the room, absorbs its character, and when properly cared for, only grows more beautiful over time. But like any natural material, wood asks something in return: a little consistent attention.

Think of it the way you would care for your skin. Cleansing removes what doesn't belong. Nourishment restores what time and use take away. The routine doesn't need to be complicated. It just needs to be right.

This guide gives you the knowledge to advise your clients on how to clean and maintain their engineered hardwood floors, so the investment you helped them choose stays protected for years to come.

​Engineered hardwood is built to handle everyday life, but that doesn't mean every cleaning method is suitable. The most important rule: avoid excess moisture. Unlike stone or tile, wood is a living material that responds to water. Too much of it, applied too often, will cause swelling, warping, and surface damage over time.

Start with a dry or microfiber mop before any wet cleaning. This step removes the fine grit and dust particles that act like sandpaper underfoot and gradually dull the finish. Only once the surface is dust-free should you introduce any liquid.

For routine wet cleaning, dilute Hakwood Complete Clean at a ratio of 1:50 to 1:100 with clean, warm water — roughly 100 to 200 ml of Clean in 10 litres of water. Apply with a microfiber mop or lint-free cloth, working in the direction of the planks. The surface should be damp, never wet. We recommend using two buckets: one with the diluted cleaning solution and one with clean rinsing water. Rinse the mop head regularly during cleaning to avoid spreading dirty residue across the floor.

For more stubborn spots, sticky spills, or shoe marks, apply the diluted cleaning solution directly to the soiled area with a clean cloth and work by hand. For intensive cleaning sessions, increase the concentration to a 1:10 ratio, and finish by damp-mopping the surface with clean water to remove any residue.

What to avoid is just as important as what to use. Steam cleaners force heat and moisture into the surface and cause lasting damage. Ammonia-based cleaners, wax-based products, detergents, bleach, oil soaps, and vinegar all strip the finish and leave residue that builds up over time. These are not safe alternatives, regardless of how mild they may seem.

For spills, act immediately. Blot rather than wipe, and never let liquid sit on the surface. Dried stains are significantly harder to remove than fresh ones.

​Cleaning removes what the day brings. But keeping your floor truly healthy means going one step further: nourishing the surface that protects the wood beneath. This is where the skin analogy earns its place. After cleansing, skin needs moisture and protection, and so does your floor. What that protection looks like depends on the finish your floor carries.

Oiled Floors

​Oil-finished floors have an open, natural surface that breathes and develops character over time. That openness is part of their beauty, but it also means the protective layer needs regular replenishment.

After cleaning, apply Hakwood Complete Oil Care, a water-based oil and wax emulsion that replenishes the protective layer with what Hakwood calls a "topping up" effect. It renews the finish, restores depth of color, and guards against everyday wear. Dilute at a 1:30 ratio with room-temperature water and apply with a microfiber mop in the direction of the planks. The floor is ready to walk on again after 60 minutes. This is your bodylotion step: it feeds what the cleaner has prepared.

For floors showing more visible signs of fading or wear, particularly in high-traffic zones, Hakwood Complete Oil Care offers a deeper treatment. It revitalises color, seals the surface with a fresh top coat, and makes routine cleaning more effortless going forward. High-use areas — hallways, kitchen entrances, living room pathways — should be treated with Hakwood Oil periodically, even when the rest of the floor is holding up well.

Finished (Lacquered) Floors

​Lacquered floors carry a harder, more protective seal and require a different approach. Over time, that seal develops microscopic scratches and gradually loses its integrity — not always visibly, but structurally.

Hakwood Complete Finish Care is a water-based care emulsion that renews the protective film on lacquered surfaces. Diluted at a 1:50 ratio with warm water, it forms a dirt-repellent layer that fills in minor surface scratches, reinforces the seal, and restores the appearance of the floor. No buffing is required, and the floor is walkable again after 60 minutes. For more worn areas, increase the concentration to a 1:10 ratio or apply undiluted to even out the sheen and restore the finish where it's needed most.

​Consistency matters far more than intensity. A light, regular routine will always outperform occasional deep cleaning and much of a floor's longevity comes down to the small protective habits that happen between cleaning sessions.

Keep indoor humidity between 40% and 65%. Outside this range, wood can crack, split, discolor, warp, or delaminate over time, none of which are reversible through cleaning alone. Use felt pads under furniture legs and replace them when they wear out. Swap hard plastic furniture rollers for wider rubber ones, and use purpose-made floor mats under desk chairs. Place slip-resistant runners at doorways to reduce the grit, moisture, and debris tracked onto the floor. One thing worth knowing: area rugs protect the wood beneath them from UV exposure, which means the covered areas may develop a different tone over time compared to exposed areas. This is natural, but worth considering in rooms with strong sunlight.

Here is a practical cleaning and care schedule:

Daily
​Dry mop or sweep to remove dust, grit, and debris. This is the step most often skipped, and the one that makes the biggest difference over time.

Weekly to monthly
​Clean with diluted Hakwood Complete Clean using a well-wrung, lightly dampened mop. For residential use, routine cleaning is recommended one to four times per month. For commercial or high-traffic spaces, daily cleaning is advised.

One to two times per year
​Apply Oil Care or Finish Care depending on your floor's finish type. In commercial environments, these treatments are needed significantly more often.

Every one to two years
​A deeper cleaning session at higher product concentration, followed by an intensive application of Oil Care or Finish Care to restore the finish and even out sheen across the floor.

The logic is simple: a floor that is regularly cleaned and nourished rarely needs anything more. Prevention is always the easier path.

​It's a question that comes up often: can you refinish or sand engineered hardwood floors? The short answer is yes, but with important caveats.

Unlike solid hardwood, engineered floors have a top veneer layer that determines how much can be sanded away. Depending on the thickness of that layer and the type of finish applied, refinishing may be possible, but it is always finish-dependent and should be approached with care.

Refinishing is best understood as a last resort, not a maintenance strategy. It becomes relevant when a floor has been neglected over a long period, when the protective layer is entirely worn through and surface damage has reached the wood itself. At that point, refinishing can restore the floor to a workable state.But for a floor that has been consistently cleaned and treated, it should rarely, if ever, be necessary.

If you believe your floor has reached a point where refinishing might be the only option, the most important first step is understanding what finish was originally applied. The approach differs significantly between oiled and lacquered surfaces, and using the wrong method can cause irreversible damage.

Our advice: contact us directly. We can help you identify the original finish and guide you toward the right solution, whether that's a targeted treatment or a full refinish carried out the right way.

​Your floor was crafted to last. The care it needs to do so is simpler than most people expect: a rhythm of cleaning and nourishment, applied consistently over time. Clean what the day brings. Feed the surface that protects the wood. And when in doubt, reach out before reaching for the sandpaper.

Hakwood Complete is our full range of care and maintenance products, developed specifically for Hakwood floors and their unique surfaces and finishes. Everything you need to keep your floor looking its best, from daily cleaning to seasonal care.