Do not use water to clean your hardwood floors.
Sealed vs unsealed wood floors.
We use a matte sealer but there is still a very slight sheen.
So how do i know if my hardwood floors are sealed.
Protip don t do this in the middle of the floor where you could stare at it for a few days.
However if the bead of water sinks down into the floor and makes a spot the sealant on your floors is no longer sound and water damage can and will occur.
Most likely your floors have been sanded sealed and finished with polyureathane.
Locate an out of the way area that is not on a seam for the hardwood boards.
Google bruce wood floors for info on maintaing your floor.
If it touches a seam try again with a smaller amount in another area.
If it stands for 5 minutes without soaking in your hardwood floors are sealed.
In the above photo the left side shows an example of unsealed reclaimed wood while the right side shows an example of the same reclaimed wood sealed.
A sealed floor has been sanded and had a sealer applied to it.
Another thing to keep in mind is though not drastic the wood slightly darkens with the sealer.
Although cleaning unsealed vacuum floors requires extreme care and caution simple cleaning principles also apply.
Off with the dust.
So how do you clean unsealed hardwood floors without experiencing any of these problems.
Get a small glass of water.
Pour a small amount on the wood.
A waxed floor has had several layers of wax applied instead of a sealer finish.