Does Anyone Have a Good Recommendation for Cleaning Hardwood Floors?

I have wood floors too and the only thing that works on mine is Poloyclear (I think) but it is at Hirshfields. It is a concentrate and a bottle lasts a good year. My cleaning lady loves vinegar and water, but I don't like the lack of shine with that.

I don't like the squirt & mop either - the plain old murphys oil soap in water works much better. Either that or i use a tiny bit daisy blue naturals laundry soap with a dash of white vinegar and a bit of teatree.

J.

Yeah - We love Bona (Swedish Formula) Hardwood Floor Cleaner. It's non-toxic, water-based, and pH neutral. We've never had any dulling residue or streaks. The only bummer: We can only find it at Ace Hardware. And, it is recommended you use thier Bona floor cloth/mop with it. (Be sure NOT to wash the cloth after use with anything but water. Otherwise, any residual chemcials will cause residue on your floors the next time you clean.) Another idea . . . . .A Mild vinegar in water solution. You can likely find the "recipe" online. My sister does that and is satisfied. Good luck!

T.,
If Murphy's is leaving a film - you are using to much! Use less in your bucket and it should be alright. I have lots of wood floors and for the quick every day cleaning I use a swiffer wet jet. When I deep clean I use pinesol (weakened also) murphy's or vinegar. Which is what my sister used on her cherry floors.
Good luck!

Water with just a little bit vinegar in it (just every once in awhile) is the best cleaning product. Unfortunatley, hand mopping is the only true way to get the floor really clean.

T.,
Have you tried a steam cleaner? I have one and absoluteley love it. I use it for every cleaning aspect you can think of. I clean the toilets, my mirrors and windows, all my hardwood furniture and cabinetry, and my hardwood floors (and all the tile and linoleum ones too). I love knowing that my surfaces are disinfected and safe for everyone. We have 3 animals and 1 child, plus you just add water- no chemicals so you save money and the environment.

have you tried Melaleuca's Ecosense cleaning products? They work better than anything I've tried, smell great, and cost less! Tough n Tender is what I would use on hardwood floors. Their products have saved me so many times, esp. with small children that I started marketing them to friends. Let me know if you are interested!

We use the Orange Glow wood floor cleaner, which you can get at Target. It comes with a mop which has a microfiber cloth you wash in the laundry. You wet the cloth, spray the cleaner on your floor and mop. It's easy, works well and dries instantly.

Hi T.,

How about keeping it simple. I clean most all of the surfaces of my house with hot water and a few drops of tea tree oil (found at health food stores). Tea Tree is an essential oil that is anti-fungal and anti-bacteria. I think it smells very clean. And no need to rinse.

When you use tea tree oil & water you save money and keep the toxic fumes of most cleaning products out of your house and away from your children. I use rubber gloves tho -- the hot water AND tea tree oil is tough on my skin.

For a universal (cleans windows even) try this recipe from the now-closed Women's Cancer Resource Center.

Alice's Wonder Spray TM

(enough to fill a 32 oz. spray bottle)

1/4 cup white vinegar
2 tablespoons borax (found in most grocery stores by the laundry soaps)
1/4 cup Palmolive liquid dish soap (keeps to its original ingredients of palm and olive oil)

Pour into hot water into a 32 oz. spray bottle (not filling it completely), and add 1/4 cup Palmolive dish soap and 2 tsp. borax.

If desired, add a few drops of essential oil (tea tree oil for anti-bacterial, cedar or lemon for the clean smell - the options are limitless).

This spray works wonders on sinks, counter tops, bathroom fixtures and just about anywhere.

And for a real kick -- check out flylady.com -- she has a great, free system for house cleaning and organization -- those hard things to do with little ones. It's a wonderful, supportive, upbeat online community.

Have fun! Cleaning is blessing your house and your family.

J.

Try just water and vinegar.

T.- All I do when I clean our hardwood floors is mix a small amount of water with a few squirts of windex. I always use a spong to clean and wipe and then dry right away with a towel. I find this works much better than a mop. It takes a bit longer but the floors look great and I concider it a great work out so I am doing two things at once. I try to do this when my kids are occupied or asleep.

Hope this helps-
Kathy
Mom of 4 girls, home business owner and part time teach.

T.,
I work for a company that installs and finishes hardwood flooring. We make a cleaner that is safe for the floors and also smells clean. Murphy's is one of the worst things you can use as the film it leaves adds wax to your floor so if you want to Buff and Coat your floor the coat may not adhere. Also avoid Fantastik, Formula 409, Pledge & Mop & Glo. You can use vinegar and water (if you can handle the smell), or it's ok to use the Swiffer mop.
I can email you our sheets on our cleaner (it's similar to the Bona product but not as expensive); you order through me & I can mail it or you can pick it up. We're located in Prior Lake. Hope this helps! If you have any other questions, you can email me at ____@____.com

I would just use vinegar and water.

Hi T.,
I love the Method OMop. Their product smells so yummy and it does an AWESOME job on the floor. It leaves it very shiny and very clean. You can get it at Target.

Happy cleaning!
L.
SAHM to Ainsley and Gentry 11/03

We were told by our builder to use a simple solution of window cleaner and water on our hardwood floors. I just dump a cup or two of windex or generic window cleaner into a bucket of hot water and scrub away! It dries quickly, doesn't leave a film, but does leave a nice, clean scent!

I have used the vinegar and water but hate the smell it leaves afterwards. I also use the 3M Scotchbrite supercling wet floor mops with a swiffer mop and love them. They pick up dirt, pet hair, and small bits of food and are easy and disposable. These are great because with two small kids I am usually moping the floor around the table at least every day or every other day and with them I don't have to mix up a big solution of water/vinegar just to mop around the table.

T.,
I used to do residential cleaning and have found the best products to use are either vinegar and water......so their's no film left. I LOVE the smell of Murphy's but have also found that it leaves a film. There's also a great floor cleaning product at Target that smells and works nice but I can't remember what is called. Its a "Method" product in a brown circular container. Also, if you are super busy and looking for someone to come and clean for you once a month, feel free to email me at ____@____.com. I'd be glad to help you out and have very reasonable pricing. I've actually done housecleaning for two other individuals I met here at Mamasource.

Bona, hard surface cleaner. We get it at the hardware store. It's great.
CKW

Well, I use the ol' vinegar and water most of the time, but if you'd like something fast that really shines them up and smells nice, try Quick Shine Floor Finish. It's widely available (that I've seen) -- just squirt on, mop over and let dry. It's not really meant to deep clean though -- if you have spots that are sticky, etc. where something has spilled, use the vinegar/h2o first (spot treat or all over).

I usually spot treat with vinegar and water about 1-2x per week, all over clean with vinegar and water every 2 weeks, and Quick Shine once a month.

I used to get swiffers (always worked great in our old home on linoleum), but the wet treatment left horrible streaks (even the ones designed for wood).

Hope this is what you're looking for.

Vinegar and water if you want something without chemicals and it always cleaned my wood floors beautifully.

BTW, Murphy's is one of the worst things you can use to clean your floors.

I DO! and it took years of bad hardwood floors to finally find it. Go to hardware hanks or an ACE hardware store and it is called Bona hardwood floor cleaner, not the refresher!, just the spray. You'll never use anything else!

Lukewarm water and white vinegar, 1/4 c of vinegar to a gallon of water. Wash all over the floor and then buff dry with a cloth. Don't wash floor more than every two weeks.

vinegar and water work well. put in a spray bottle to spray-n-mop. I think it's 2 parts water to 1 part vinegar. it's natural, a little smelly (doesn't last long). i also use it on granite counters and laminate counters. i always found anything store-bought for the floors left a film even if it said it didn't.

I have used Method's "Good for Wood" Hardwood floor cleaner and I like it a lot...also had a nice almond smell...They sell it at Target.
Hope that helps and works for you!

If your wood floors have a waterproof finish on them, try using a 10 to 1 dilution of window cleaner in water. That's what was recommended by the people who refinished our old wood floors.

Vinager Diluted with Water. It's an old recipe that our grandparents used and I have used it for years to keep my wood floors clean. Simply purchase a big jug of White Vinager and mix about 1 cup Vinager to 1 gallon of water. DO NOT let water sit on the floors, mop up all excess water and you will notice a nice clean shine that is natural and safe.

My parent's had exactly the same problem. Orange Glow is the product to use, it comes as a cleaner and a polish my Mom said she found it at Home Depot. Good luck