What Kind of Vacuum Is Used on Hardwood Plank Floors?

Floor Attachments

• A good hard floor attachment should be your No. 1 priority. Some canister vacuums come with a floor tool that can be used on both carpet and hard flooring. A lever is pressed to lower a brush when hard flooring is being cleaned. However, not all of these brushes run all the way around the rim of the attachment. Some are at the front only. With a hardwood floor, it's best not to take any chances, so purchase a hard floor tool with a soft brush around its entire perimeter. In the specific case of a floor with planks that have slight gaps between them, this type of tool will loosen any dirt in the gaps, allowing the vacuum to suck it up.

Small Hardwood Area

• If you already have an upright cleaner, and you have just a small area of hardwood flooring, purchase the soft brush attachment and use it on your upright's suction tube and extension wands. However, bear in mind you can't pull an upright along in the same way you pull a canister. If you have a canister, you can pull it along behind you, but this may not be wise on a hardwood floor, as any grit or dirt caught under the wheels will cause scratching. A way to avoid scratching is to place your canister or upright on a soft rug in the middle of the hardwood area. Lift both the vacuum and the rug if you need to change the vacuum's position.

Large Hardwood Area

• If you have a large area of hardwood flooring, you have two options to ensure your vacuum does not cause damage to it. You can use a portable canister with a shoulder strap, which means the only part of the cleaner to touch the floor is the hard floor tool. Alternatively, especially if you have had hardwood laid throughout your home, consider having a central vacuum system installed. A central vacuum system comes with a long suction hose and a variety of cleaning attachments. The hose is plugged into wall inlets. This activates the vacuum, and all dirt and dust ends up in a large container in either a garage or closet. Once again, you will need to use a good quality hard floor tool.

Vacuuming Hardwood Edges

• Never be tempted to use the crevice nozzle at the edges of a hardwood floor. This attachment is hard and could scratch the surface. Use the furniture dusting tool instead. This is small enough to access spaces too narrow for your main hard floor cleaning head. You can also use it to lift dust off baseboards at the same time.