Hardwood Floor Cleaning

We own a hardwood floor company. My husband never recommends hardwood floors to be cleaned with anymore than a mist and cloth. Bona hardwood floor cleaning system, sold at HD or Lowes.

Bona - watch for sales at ACE Hardware, or it shows up once in a while at Costco. VERY safe around kids and pets and easy - I use the microfiber pad on my mop and throw it in the laundry when I'm done.

I think all of those should have worked sorry

I grew up with hardwood floors throughout my home, and I now live in a home with hardwood floors, and we always were told not to wash the floors, ever--just dry mopping. Did you have the floors sanded and polished when you moved it? If not, perhaps that's what you need to do. Our floors were sanded and polished years ago, but they still shine (and we don't wash them, just dry mop and spot clean).

I agree with others that you need to check the finish. Are they dull all over or mostly in wear areas? Do they have an even hard finish or can you feel the grain of the wood or scratches in the finish? Depending on how old the floors are and when they were last refinished, they may need a coat of varnish (not used very much any more), polyurethane or wax. There are pros and cons to each of these products (durability, cost, application time and odor, etc.) but they will each protect the wood so it stays beautiful for years. You can also choose the level of shine you want, but with kids and pets remember that shinier is often slipperier (if you love the look of high shine, runner carpets with non-skid pads can help in high traffic areas).

Once you get them clean, be careful what you use on them. Vinegar is an acid (as are many of the Orange Glo products) and will eat away at the finish that you've just applied. I'm not sure about the comments from others about not using Murphy's, since that's what we use on ours - a broom or Swiffer for daily cleaning, and once every month or two a scrub with a cap or two of Murphy's per two gallons of water - and it seems to work well.

Sorry to be long winded, but I hope it helps :)

We use the steam shark for cleaning and Bona (we buy it at Costco or Bed, Bath & Beyond) for finishing/shining. With this house we chose a much different stain/finish on the hardwoods, so it will never gleam like the floors at our old house, but we like the change. Especially, with toddler/dogs, the lesser shine shows off much less dirt/scratches!

Good luck!

Tough and Tender by Melaleuca works great and is totally natural!

try polycare. you can get it in some flooring stores.

You mentioned pet hair....I use the swiffer wet mop thingies and vinegar and awater, and was told because of my lovely kitty always shedding, he was causing more dust to accumulate on my floors and that's why they'll never really shine, and look like they're dirty faster :(

There's a real good possibility that you won't get your floors to shine without either 1) redoing them and/or 2) professionally buffing them. Some cleaners can actually strip the shine out of wood instead of giving them shine...and I found out the hard way that Murphy's is one of the worst offenders for that. Go for just a good dry dusting and then a spot clean. Good luck :)

Bona is awesome...we do use some flaxseed oil on occasion. Mine look good for about 10 minutes then get pretty dull! I think you'd have to use an awful lot of chemicals or have them refinished for them to shine.

I'm happy with Bona, and it's suppose to be more environmentally/chemically friendly, which is my concern with a toddler, baby and dog. (hopefully that's true) I get it at Bed Bath Beyond with the 20% of coupons!

I work for a flooring company and hardwood should not be cleaned with water or steam, murphy's oil soap or any other type of liquid. We recommend the dust mop and Bona for spot cleanings. You might actually have a matte finish floor so it's not supposed to be shiny. If it is supposed to be, it might be time for a buff and coat.
S.

Probably time to have them refinished. I think the polyurathane is only good for about 15 years, and that's if you take really good care of your floors. There is a way to have a mini-refinishing done-- if the floors are in good shape, you don't have to sand down all the way. Personally, I'm in the same boat-- my floors are sealed but not shiny any more. I use the Method Almond floor cleaner and my steam cleaner. When I get my floors redone I'll probably do the Bona and dust mop, but for now I have a toddler and a dog, and I'm steam cleaning! :-)

Is your wood floor varnished?
If so, you may need to re-varnish it. After a time, surfaces do need to be redone... the varnish does wear off.

We have real wood floors too.... and the varnish does wear away. Then stains/grime will settle into the wood more. It is just wear and tear.
And it gets duller.

All the things you tried, should have worked.
Also, some cleaners can leave a residue.
I, hand mop my floors... on my knees and scrub. It gets 'shiny' that way... versus just using a mop.

good luck,
Susan

It may be that they were never finished to shine. You can get a satin finish - or high gloss, and they may have used satin.It is really the preference of the person, but they do say that satin helps disguise scratches and dings that would show up very easy in a high gloss finish.

When I was blessed with hardwood floors I used Bruce cleaner - that brought up all of the dirt - pour on - let sit - wipe with a clean cloth. After that was done I used Butcher's wax. It is a paste. I coated the floors with that and buffed to a shine. I found that I could vacuum and rebuff as needed. It lasted really well. I think I only did the whole process once a year. (It has been awhile since I had those floor!)
The swifters are great for daily cleaning and with a good shine it will be better!

I have a very old house and have nothing but hardwood floors. We have been renovating it and since my husband never put anything down to cover the floors, they got dull and scratched. And since our floors are not the kind with the polyeurethane wood (the kind they sell in stores today), I couldn't use any of the cleaners in the store. In my son's room, I actually found a thing online that said you can use regular vegetable oil to polish... we did that but you need to apply thin and buff like crazy. It worked, but it was alot of work on my hands and knees. And his room had a funny smell for a while but it went away. You can try in a small area. Apply and buff like you would any kind of polish. Try looking it up online before you try.