There are dozens of different products that are designed to help you clean your hardwood floors or to hide scratches. You’ll have differing levels of success with certain products. Some of the ones that are the most effective are also caustic or harmful chemicals. If you have a sensitivity to strong chemicals or just don’t want to use those volatile substances, you might opt for more natural cleaning agents. These natural cleaning agents are often not very effective or they are more expensive. However, there is a solution to both of those: black tea.

Cleaning With Tea

Black tea can be use to clean your hardwood floors and hide scratches. Black tea has tannins in it that help to deepen the rich colors of your floor. One of the reasons scratches show up so significantly is because they reflect life differently than the richly-colored surface wood. If you can enhance the color of the scratch, you can hide it somewhat.  Tea also has the benefit of containing some compounds that are anti-microbial. If you clean your floors with tea, they will help to slow down or prevent the growth and spread of mold and mildew in your hardwood. Here is how to clean with tea.

Brew the Tea

The first thing you need to do is simply brew the tea. It will last for few days before you need to replace it; in the refrigerator, it will last about two weeks. However, tea is an organic liquid, which means it will eventually spoil. So, you should only make as much as you’re going to use that day. Typically, floor owners will make about a half-gallon of tea. Bring the half gallon of water to a rolling boil. Turn off the heat and add eight to ten black tea bags. Let the tea bags steep for ten to fifteen minutes.  Since you don’t have to worry about it getting too bitter to drink, you can actually just leave the tea bags in the water until the water gets to room temperature. What’s most important is leaving them for about ten minutes and then allowing the water to cool to room temperature. The longer you leave the bags in the water, the deeper the color will be.  Once you have the cool black tea, you can apply it with a rag, pour it into a spray bottle, or even mop it onto your floors. Start with a small out-of-the-way section of floor to test how your floor responds.

Trust Your Boston Hardwood Floor Contractor

The real experts in cleaning hardwood flooring are the contractors that install and refinish them. If you are looking for better ways to keep your floors clean, call your Boston hardwood floor contractor today. They are the experts at keeping real wood floors looking their best!