How to Clean Hard Wood Floors

I use Zep Hardwood & Laminate Floor Cleaner. I can only find it at Home Depot. I use the O'Cedar mop that has a terry cloth head on it. ( Bought that at Wal Mart) Just spray the floor, mop, and it's done. The terry cloth comes off and you run it through the wash. It dries in about a minute and doesn't leave streaks.
I swear by it !!

I have heard great things about this product called BONA and it is specially for hardwood floors. They have the cleaner and the polisher that you only used about 3 to 4 times a year. I just bought it myself, but have not use it yet. I found it at Berings Hardware Store in Houston, Texas. I will be trying it this week, because I have used other products, but leave my floor dull looking. A lady that was shopping at Home Depot one day, told me about the product and I went on line and it gave me a few stores that carried it, one being Berings. It is a little bit expensive, but if is going to help me with my wood floors, I think is worth it. I have used many products and so far none that I really recommend, so hopefully Bona will be a keeper for me. A salesperson at Berings told me that Bona is highly recommended. If it doesn't work for me, I will definitely will take it back to Berings and get my money back. Hope I was able to help. Good luck!!!!

Hi M.,

We just got hardwoods about a 3 weeks ago and they gave us a kit to use. It's by BONA and it's pretty standard. They said NOT to wet mop with water as it's too much liquid for true hardwoods. I've actually seen the BONA kit at several places too. Costco, Home Depot and Bed Bath and Beyond to name a few. It's non-toxic and safe for pets and humans. Hope this helps!

The company who installed our hardwoods recommended a mixture of vinegar and water or Bruce Hardwood Floor Cleaner (you can buy it at Home Depot). The vinegar and water is fine but after a while, the finish has become a little dull (maybe that's from our dog and not the vinegar). You don't want to mop it on. Put it in a spray bottle and use a large flat sweeper/mop that has a microfiber cover (about $11 at Target) The Bruce HW cleaner keeps it shiny. btw...I vacuum them first and then clean.

Well all I can tell you to tell your Moms is waht our installers told us when they put our's in, in 2000. He said the best thing to keep the finish good and clear on the wood floors is to just damp mop with vinegar water, about 1 cup to a gallon of water and to wring the mop out really good because you do not want any water to sit on the wood and all.
Hope this helps, we are still doing ours this way and after 8 years, they look great.
D.

Murphy's oil soap, available everywhere! Follow the directions, super easy, and their floors will look and smell so clean. It's great stuff and been around forever...Good luck

We bought a new house with hardwoods and the builder's instructions were to mop it with water and vinegar with a 100 percent cotton mop. Don't get the floor too wet and they also said do not use any of the products advertised for hardwoods, like the polishes.

I used a product similar to what the previous poster described that was made by Orange Glo. It worked, but with 3 kids and a dog I felt I needed something more so I bought a steam mop and love it. For your mother's needs the Orange Glo, Swiffer, or Pledge products will be fine.

Good Luck,
K.

I heard that the Shark steam mop is really good, because it doesn't leave any chemical residue. It cleans strictly by using very hot steam, and dries almost instantly (so there is little worry of hurting the wood, or someone getting hurt by falling on a wet floor). I haven't tried it myself, but I'm really itching to get one. I've heard great things about it. It also has a carpet/rug attachment that you can get, to disinfect, revive carpets and rugs (to steam clean them). As well, the pads that are used can be put in the wash and re-used. It is much better than using a Swiffer, because of the reusable pads, no chemical use (or need to buy more chemicals), it does not leave a residue like the Swiffer might.

She really needs to contact the installer and find out the manufacturer and contact them. I totally ruined the wood floors in my house by using an oil based product that was recommended by someone else. Usually they tell you just to use window cleaner, but you need to get it from the "horses' mouth".

I think a few others said it but vinagar and water is the best way to clean hardwood floors!!!!

Try Bruce Hardwood Floor cleaner. You can get it at Home Depot. Good luck!

I've cleaned mine with vinegar and water for many years. It's non-toxic and they really don't need more than that. My house cleaner mops with this solution every 2 weeks. Hope that helps!

There are some good hard wood cleaner products at Home Depot and I would ask one of the qualified/knowledgeable attendants about their cleaning experiences as well. If you can't find someone in the store/on duty- ask for a name and call back and speak wtih them on a later date.

You are going to want to do this soon too, as everyonw will be tracking in the mud from outside with the weather changes.

Good luck!
D. ;)

Target sells a cleaner that works great. It's called "Wood For Good" by method. It's environmentally safe and non-toxic. I use it with a large flat mop that has a washable soft removable micro-fiber pad. They sell similar stuff at Target as well.

It dries quick and clean. Just make sure the floors are swept up first.

I grew up with real hardwood floors and we always used Murphy's oil soap. My mother in law has a floating hardwood floor and she uses Murphys and it works great!

If you can find Bona hardwood floor cleaner I think it is the best! I buy it at Bering's Hardware here in Houston.

No problem, she just needs to hit the cleaning isle at Walmart!! There are several products for use on hardwoods. I use this thingy that has a removable cloth pad on the end of it. Just squirt some of your product around and then mop it up!! When you're done, throw the pad in the wash, you are good to go. She will just need to experiment. I like the Pledge product, does well on my floors. Some of them can be slightly sticky, or leave an unattractive haze!!! Just tell her to make sure the product she buys specifies that it is for wood floors and she will be fine!

I too have hardwood floors and have used different things.I use a bissell steam mop once a week to REALLY clean and sanitize.
And I use either murphy's oil soap and a microfiber mop or method soap from target.

hi ,,
she is doing the right thing you never mop them you can use a dust mop but other than that you dont do anything SHE 's DOING
GREAT
good luck L.

I, personally, would use just water. The water here is hard and may cause a film to build up. If you use soap of any kind it must be rinsed or the residue will collect more dirt to stick to the floor. Contact the manufacturer or seller of the wood floors for best results. I had old hard wood floors in a home up North and I used ammonia and hot water as these floors needed scrubbing. I also polished with orange glo products but those floors were 40+years old.

Murphy's oil soap is what I use and it seems to work GREAT!!

A.

Use Murphy's Soap - the pre-mixed is faster but the concentrate is the same quality - in any store

I would 2nd the Bruce's floor cleaner product found at Home Depot (they usually stock it in the wood flooring area, not the janitorial area where they have the cleaning products). It's alcohol-based so it will get it really clean. I use old diaper cloths and towels on my hands and knees when I clean with it...does a fabulous job. I do not dilute it like the other suggested. Might want to test any cleaner that you begin with on an inconspicuous spot to ensure that it won't damage the wood or stain first, though.

Good luck!

I have tried several products and I found one I really like.
It's just called Pledge Wood and it's in a yellow bottle.
You do NOT dilute it in water. You just squirt it on the floor and mop up. Just read the instructions. We've really liked it and like I said I tried a lot of different things.

Happy floors!

Hi there. Does she have any left over planks in the box so she can get the name of the brand? Or else she should call the company who installed them and find out the brand, that's what we did and then we looked on the internet and the brand's website told us what to use on our particular floors, it was something sold only at Home Depot. Also, I'm sure Swiffer Dry is not a problem, but we were told NOT to use Swiffer wets on our floor. Best of luck, I wish I could help more.

I don't have hard woods but I had a question for you. I'm in the market for new floors. I'm not sure what type to buy. It will be either real wood or laminate wood. I have two small kids I was wondering do you think real wood last with kids?

if it is real hardwood floors i use murphy's oil on mine and have for many years.