Best Cleaning Product/technique for Hardwood Floors!

I use Thieves cleaner from Young Living Essential Oils. You can google Young Living Essential Oils to find the product. It works wonders and is safe for babies and pets! It wouldn't taste good but it is even safe if ingested!

I have hardwood throughout the entire house, and although with 5 animals, it sometimes requires a more powerful vacuum, I usually use the Swiffer Sweeper Vac (very powerful suction for such a small vac) followed by the Swiffer Wet Jet for hardwood floors..

Orange Glo also makes a great hardwood floor cleaner that takes off any buildup from previous cleaning products and follow that with the hardwood floor shiner made by Orange Glo, also.

Careful using vinegar. It will strip the finish off your floors. It needs to be so diluted it looses some of its cleaning power too. We use Bona and a microfiber towel.

We just moved into our 3rd house that we've put hardwood floors into. All 3 pros told us the same thing- vinegar can work once in a while but it will dry out the floor, so not a good idea over time. Orange Glo and Murphy's Oil do leave a residue, that may not be a problem until you try to refinish the floors at some point, they won't be able to do it. They recommend Bona and that's what I use. Not the cheapest, but it does a good job. Seems like you've received a few votes for this already, so add one more vote for Bona!! I do find it at King Soopers.

Hi A. - I've used BonaX on my hardwood floors since they were new and after 10yrs, they still look terrific. I just spray a section and mop with a damp microfiber pad. If they need a quick touchup, I'll just use plain water with a microfiber pad. The floor installer told us to stay away from vinegar because it clouds the finish and of course wash/wax products are not made for use with hardwoods.

I'm partial to Murphy's Oil Soap.

I get this question a lot from neighbors. They seem to love the look of our floors. However, we don't use anything fancy. I have tried many cleaners from extra fancy and expensive to cheap. The only one we really like is Murphy's Oil for wood floors to clean. this leaves a beautiful shine- not dulling film as most others do. Also, to add an extra shine we use Holloway house Quick Shine for wood floors. This product dries to a very glossy shine in only a few minutes. I have noticed that it actually looks better the second day and it is so easy to use. Both products are available at Walmart. Good luck!

Dear A.,
Yep just good old vinegar & hot water. Vinegar kills germs & cuts grease, footpints, etc. And inexpensive too! ;0)

I have tried wood floor cleaner (seems to streak)&Murphy's oil soap (overkill). Hope this helps. Have a GREAT day. :0)

The guy who did our floors told me NOT to use Murphy's, it causes wax buildup. Bona cleaner is the way to go, you spray it on the floor and mop with a microfiber cloth. We have over 1000 sq. feet of wood and it has never streaked.

The experts will generally tell you 1 part vinegar to 6 parts water. This is doing more than you think- vinegar is naturally antibacterial. And obviously it's very affordable! I have cleaned houses in the past for a couple of different people that had hardwood floors, as well as having them myself for several years. One gal had me make up a spray bottle of the solution, and after dust-mopping I would spray and wipe with a rag as I went. It would go fairly quickly, and had nice results. This is what I ended up doing on my own floor.

A.,
I use Murphy's oil soap. Also green and leaves no residue if you are careful with the dilution. I think it smells great, too.
Kate

The best way I've found is to get down on my hands and knees and scrub the floor with plain water and then dry it. But that's not always easy and convenient, so I also use Wood for Good by Method, available at Target, and a microfiber mop cloth. It smells like almonds, so your house smells great. Just squirt it on and mop. My neighbor uses OrangeGlo and she loves it. Same idea, just squirt and mop.

When I cleaned my previous boss's house, she gave me specific instructions for cleaning her wood floor.

Sweep, dry swiffer, mop with only water & then clean with OrangeGlo. Her floors looked absolutely wonderful after they were cleaned, but it was a long process because she had a large wooden floor area in her house (large house). Good luck!

Make it a GREAT day!

S.
WAHM of 4!

I use and love the Bellawood floor cleaning kit.

Hi A.. My husband owns a small hardwood flooring company and has tried everything under the sun (I don't actually clean my floors - he does!:) )

He says that using things that make the floor shiny (like Pledge-type products) leave a wax film that continues to build up over time. Bona makes a spray that you can now buy in non-specialty stores (like Home Depot and even King Soopers, I think). They have a soft pad on a mop handle, too. You spray the floor and wipe it down as you go.

Here is what I use, it is not green but it works great. I do it every other week, we have a huge area of hard wood so it takes me an hour, however it is entirely worth it. It is a two step process, I use products from Halloway House, the first step is to use the Quick Shine Floor Cleaner, it picks up EVERYTHING with very little scrub, then I use the Quick Shine Floor Finish. One huge tip though, be sure you do not have anything left on the floor as far as particles dust - ANYTHING. This stuff is like a light refinish and you will seal any gunk into the floor. Now, not all floors need the Finish, if yours are new, you may not need this step, the Floor Cleaner is perfect. The only place I seem to find these products is at Safeway, King Soopers might have it too. I have never been able to find it at Target or Walmart.

Good luck.

We have over 2100 square feet of hardwoods with no rugs. We use the Hoover floormate. I love this machine, and the best part is that you are never using dirty water on your floor. It uses a specific cleaner, and we use about half the recommended cleaning solution amount. I highly recommend it as a easy, quick, and effective cleaning method for your hardwoods.

I agree with avoiding the special cleaners because I moved into a house that had that film on the floor. Sliding my dining chairs along the floor rubbed off some of the film and now I have "clean streaks". Very obnoxious!! I now use the vinegar-water combo with a microfiber mop. I let the mop get dry enough when I'm mopping that I don't have to follow with a towel. I have also found that if I add some rubbing alcohol to the mix it helps keep the floor streak-free (and maybe disinfected?). I use a water-vinegar-rubbing alcohol mix for cleaning my windows also and it's the best thing I've ever used.