Wood floor cleaning is quoted by square footage, and it’s one of the cheaper things you can do to a room compared with what people assume they’re facing when a floor looks tired.
The Comparison That Matters
Before looking at the number, it’s worth knowing what the alternatives cost.
Professional cleaning is priced per square foot, takes a couple of hours, and you’re back in the room the same day.
Recoating means a fresh layer of finish over the existing one. Several times the cost of cleaning, a day or two, and the room is out of use.
Full refinishing means sanding to bare wood and building the finish back up. Many times the cost, close to a week, dust everywhere, and you move furniture out.
Those are three different problems with three different answers, and the reason to establish which one you have is that the price range spans an order of magnitude. Our article on cleaning versus refinishing has a two-minute water test that tells you.
What Moves the Price
- Square footage. The main driver, and the rate improves with area.
- How much buildup there is. Years of mop-and-shine product takes more work than a floor cleaned properly all along.
- Furniture. An empty room is faster than one we work around.
- The finish type. Polyurethane, wax and oil-finished floors need different handling. Wax in particular is not treated like the others.
- Engineered vs solid. Both fine, and both are reasons a low-moisture method matters.
Our Minimum
Our minimum service charge is $140. A single room usually lands near it, so most people have the connecting hallway and entry done at the same time.
Why Low Moisture Isn’t Optional on Wood
Water is what damages wood floors. It gets into the seams between boards, into the subfloor, and wood swells when it absorbs moisture and shrinks when it dries. Do that repeatedly and boards cup, gap or lift, and that damage is a refinishing problem rather than a cleaning one.
This is why a wet mop is bad for hardwood even though it feels like cleaning, and why we use a low-moisture process. The floor is damp for minutes, not hours.
What You Get for It
Buildup and grit lifted out of the grain and the bevels between boards, which is where it actually collects. A floor that looks like its finish rather than like a film over its finish. And no dirt-attracting residue left behind to start the cycle again.
For a lot of floors this is the difference between looking neglected and looking maintained, without touching the finish at all.
Measure the Rooms
Do the water test first, then call (785) 760-8000 with your square footage. Or see wood floor cleaning in Lawrence, KS.