Before the days of no wax flooring, many of us remember the days when waxing the tile floor was a weekly chore, often done drudgingly on your hands and knees. The job of waxing was made easier by the introduction of floor waxes that could be applied with mop. Keeping the floor looking waxed was made still easier with the introduction of cleaning products that cleaned and waxed in one step using nothing but a sponge mop.



Since the advent of vinyl tile and vinyl sheet flooring with a no wax wear layer on the top, the need to apply a floor wax product has been greatly reduced. Many pre finished wood flooring products feature a no wax finish that requires far less in the way care than traditional wood flooring.

Early floor wax products required multiple steps in order to attain a good result. The floor surface first needed a thorough cleaning that included removing any and all hair and dust. Left on the floor, hair, dust and other dirt particles end up embedded in the wax, spoiling the appearance of your freshly waxed floor. After the floor was dry and clean, a wax product needed to be applied. Many floor wax products needed to be buffed, in order to complete the job and if your household did not own any type of floor care machine like a buffer, the job was usually done by hand.

Wood flooring posed a particularly trying task since wood floor finishes required wax products that could not be used on vinyl flooring, linoleum or other types of flooring. Buffing was almost always needed to seal the wax and attain the desired shine.

So in addition to the job of regularly waxing a hard flooring surface you needed to purchase wax, an appropriate applicator and perhaps even a buffer. With regular waxing also came the job occasionally having to remove the old wax. Multiple layers of certain floor wax products would sometimes tend to dull the appearance of the floor and in some cases the wax would yellow or discolor over time. Removing the old wax layers often involved the use of harsh chemicals to remove or strip the old wax. The floor would then have to be thoroughly cleaned to remove traces of the stripping chemical before a fresh coat of wax could be applied.

Today consumers and homeowners have a much wider variety flooring options that incorporate finishes that do not require waxing. Always look into using a no wax flooring material the next time you replace your flooring or if you are building a new home.

Think of the chemicals that are introduced into your home and the alternative of no wax flooring starts to make sense. All chemicals give off odors that can be not only unpleasant but potentially hazardous to your health. As with any household cleaning product, you must be mindful of safely storing these chemicals, take proper precautions while you are using them and safely disposing of the empty containers. If you factor in the environmental impact that comes with manufacturing traditional floor care products, the choice of using more environmentally friendly floor care products or no wax flooring starts to make sense.

There are an increasingly greater number of green products available to consumers that are safer to use and store. Since many of these green floor care products are friendlier to the environment disposing of waste water containing these products reduces the negative impact on things like water quality. Going green in your home can have a tremendous impact on reducing indoor air pollution and reducing the number of potentially hazardous chemicals that you, your family and your pets are exposed to.