I have a silly question. We have wood floors in our new kitchen and I have no idea how to clean them. We've never had woood before. There are so many products at the store. I tried some pledge and it made them really slippery, so that obviously wasn't the right choice. With 3 kids and a dog I am obviously cleaning the floor a lot! I would love suggestions for store-bought products, or any suggestions on how to make a more natural-homemade solution that is good for wood.
Any suggestions would be much appreciated!
I have wood throughout my house and I use Method's wood floor cleaner. It has less chemicals than leading brands. It smells good too.
We have wood floors and our builder said not to use any products except vinegar and water on them. Otherwise you get build up and then eventually you will have to sand them down and refinish. Vinegar works pretty good. I also have a steammer that I use and really like. With that I just use water and then then steam from the machine cleans the floors.
I ran a maid service in North Dallas for 6 years and we cleaned ALOT of wood floors. The best solution, not knowing what kind of wood floors you have, is about 1 cup plain vinegar in a warm (not hot) bucket of water. Damp mop-don't get alot of liquid on the floor. It should leave your floors looking great and not at all slick. Don't use ANY kind of oil,including Murphy's oil soap which will leave a residue build up over time.
Blessings!
Julie I use Murphy's wood oil soap. It is made for wood and Laminate floors. They also make one for cabinets that you spray on, I use that too. Marge
Julie- I always stick with white vinegar and water with a mop. I also dry them so they do not streak. I have used Tablespoon of Vegetable oil now and then for a shine, but I have found it can make them slippery. So I use Murphy's Oil soap 1-2 times a year. Good luck!
Hi Julie,
We recently got hardwood floors and I purchased a product called Woodwise No-Wax hardwood Floor Cleaner from Mid-west Flooring. Great Stuff and I think that it is only found at Mid-west. Easy to use - spray on and shines the floor right up with no wax or reside. Hope this helps.
Hi~ Murphy's oil soap is great for finished floors. A non-chemical alternative is vinegar & hot water. It smells like vinegar, but only for about a half hour. Both of those have been great for our floors!
Hi Julie!
I have had hard woods in many of my homes and the simplest and easiest way to clean them is to take a midsize rag or cleaning towel and get it wet, but not so wet that it is dripping, and wipe down your floors that way. A lot of wood cleaners say they preserve the wood, but if your wood is sealed with a polyurethane covering, the cleaner should not be penetrating the sealer. Just a light damp mopping of the wood will get it cleaned up and it shouldn't affect your wood sealer. The only time water becomes a problem is when it is left standing on a wood floor for longer periods of time. But a damp mopping of the floor won't cause that.
Good Luck!
Debbie -SAHM of three: 16, 13, and 9 (2 boys and a girl) - two dogs :-)
Julie,
I used to clean houses professionally. We never used any store-bought cleaners on wood floors. The best product is homemade! Pour about 1 cup white vinegar in a 1 gallon bucket of warm water. Wet a clean mop head in the water and squeeze out excess water. After you mop a section of floor, rinse the mop in the sink then, dip in bucket again and squeeze out excess water. Never dip a dirty mop in the clean mixture in the bucket. Your floors will be shiny clean and degreased, never slippery. I no longer clean houses but I always clean my wood floors this way. Enjoy your clean floors! Susan.
Vinegar and water.
I had hardwood flooring laid throughout our house and was told the best cleaner was BONA. It is Swedish formula, non toxic, and has no dulling residue. I have been extremely pleased with it and know you will be too. Be sure to purchase the flat-head mop as that makes a HUGE difference too. You can get it at the following website: WWW.BONAKEMI.COM
Don't buy the floor restorer, just the cleaner and their mop.
Hope you'll be as pleased as I continue to be! I'm on my 3rd gallon now!
My first purchase I bought a gallon of Bona, the mop, and the spray bottle to make it easier to spray the cleaner on the floor while mopping. I mop every week and a gallon usually last me a year.
The people that refinished our wood floors at our previous house recommended vinegar and water when mopping.
The problem with a lot of the store-bought products is that they build up on wood floors.
We also use a swiffer with wet cleaning pads (which you can buy any where) for spot cleaning.
The people I work for have wood floors and when I clean them she has me use Natursol or Auqa Mop (diluted with water)and a mop called a BonaX. I loved the mop so much that I bought one at the Better Living Store in Joplin for about $20. If you want to know more about the mop there is a web site www.bonakemi.com
I'm not sure where she gets the Natursol or Auqa Mop. I think it was at the AAA Vaccuum shop which has now moved over to 32nd street in Joplin by the Better Living Store and Panera Bread.
Julie- i grew up with wood floors, and have them now. The BEST way to clean them is a little dish soap and a bucket of water. To make them shiny, Halloway House has a product that you just squirt on a dry floor and mop. Dries pretty quickly and lasts about two months for shininess (depending on amount of traffic). I sometimes even cheat and just use the shiny stuuf without mopping first. Good luck with your new house!!!
For daily cleanings I find Endust (small amount) on dust mop really works, also for mopping I use Armstrong wood floor cleaner in water. It leaves no residue like most of the others.
We have wood in almost our entire house and I just found this article the other day - I'm so excited to pass it on! You can make your own wood floor cleaner with just water and distilled white vinegar. I used this last week in our living room and the floor is literally "squeaky clean!" We have a 7-1/2 month old who will be crawling soon, so I researched non-toxic cleaners. If you're worried about a vinegar smell, there was a tiny bit but nothing like I'd imagined. Also, vinegar is a natural disinfectant - perfect for your kitchen! Good luck!!!
The best wood floor cleaner that I have found is Bona. It is a spray-on type that you use the large flat duster-like mop. If you live in the Springfield area you can get the Bona stater kit at The Carpet Shoppe. And I also saw Bona at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. The other o[tion is going to a home store like Lowes and asking the sales associate which is the best for you type of floors.
After we had our floors done the floor guy left us Bona Swiss Formula. It came with the swiffer peice with velcro and two types of fabric to use and the spray bottle. It makes the floors shine and look new but sometimes it doesn't get the harder spots so everyones in a while I will mop using luke warm water and squeeze the mop so that it is just moist. Toom much water isn't good for the floors. I used Murphy's Oil once because it said it was good for wood floors but my infant who was crawling at the time broke out on her knees and feet so be careful with that one.
Hi julie I also have hard-wood floors and I had a swiffer wetjet but it seemed to srike my floors-SO I went to Lowes or I am sure a home depot would have this also-and bought a a cleaner called BRUCE HARDWOOD &LAMINATE FLOOR CLEANER -it cost around $25-30 but it came with the mop also-you just spray a small section at a time and it works wonderful -no streaking!!smells good too!!it lasts a long time too!! good luck-Denise
A little about me:I am 34 been married for 13 years my husband and I have 3daughters and 2 sons ages-5*7*9*10*and 12