What do you use to clean your hard wood + tile floors?
Asked by
SamIAm (
8703)
January 27th, 2016
I’ve been using a Swiffer Wet Jet forever but I just don’t feel like it cleans that well!
Regular mops gross me out—I live in an apartment, don’t have access to a hose or an outdoor area to let the mop dry.
What do you use that you find to be clean, easy and great?
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12 Answers
My husband is a hardwood flooring installation, repair, and finishing professional with over 20 years of experience.
He recommends mopping wood floors lightly with a solution of 1 part white vinegar to 3 parts water.
I often use a wash cloth attached to a Swiffer. Easy to rinse and reuse, then toss in the wash.
My mom has hardwood in her house. I will take a damp rag, damp from just water, and get on my hands and knees and wipe it. I get up and rinse the rag and then rinse some more. I feel like that’s the best way to get the corners and edges really clean.
I’ve found that Swiffer Wet Jet and Swiffer Wet Mopping Pads are good for light, in-between cleanings. Both will take care of spills and dirty footprints, but they’re no substitute for a thorough job.
I begin with a steam mop, which cleans deeply and sanitizes but leaves steaks. Then, I use a sponge mop and Better Life (also called Simply Floored) natural floor cleaner. This “green” product removes any leftover dirt and grime, doesn’t have a residue (no rinsing), and leaves a nice sheen. Bonus – it contains citrus and mint oils that work like aromatherapy.
Mops can be difficult – nasty, actually – to rinse, wring, and dry in an apartment; I’ve been there! Sponge mops are much more compact and manageable; they dry very quickly.
A tip I’ve learned from some hardwood floor specialists – don’t use Murphy’s Wood Oil Soap on finished wood floors. The residue will build to a slimy mess. I’ve also heard the same advice about Bona products.
Yes, avoid any oils if at all possible. They really gum up the refinishing equipment.
@Love_my_doggie “I begin with a steam mop, which cleans deeply and sanitizes but leaves steaks.” That’s some steam mop! Where can I get one of those? lol
One part white vinegar, 3 parts hot water, ¼ squeezed lemon and 2 drops of Dawn dish soap per gallon for every day cleaning and once a month I will add 2 tablespoons of lemon oil to the mixture to add back a little gloss to the floor.
I sweep or vacuum, then I swiffer, then I mop with very little water or cleaner. I love my dry swiffer, I hate the wet one. I don’t mop a lot, but I do dry swiffer regularly. If you have kids or pets you probably have to mop a lot.
The trick to clean tile especially, is getting all the loose dirt up first, and then not using a very wet mop afterwards. If you have dirty/dusty floors, and then a lot of wet in your mop, it moves the dirt into the grout, and that’s how your grout gets really dark and dirty.
@canidmajor Preferred method of cleaning. Drop food all over the floor; then release the hounds. Lickers are better than swiffers!
“They need cleaning??” :-0
Mister Sheen shines umpteen things clean.
I have an ionic cleaner for mine. It is a true soap and it smells like oranges. It really matters what type of finish you have on your floor, not just the fact that it is wood. is it wax finished or polyurethane? what sort of wax? I live in Euope where wood floors are the norm but not all wood floors are treated alike. I had to deal with a wood floor that was water colour painted once with some sort of wax coating. It was horrendous. most recommend a cleaner called ’
green soap’ but my floors dont like it and find it too drying
the ‘parkett’ cleaner I am using comes from ‘Pledge” from Johnson and Johnson and it does have extra ‘oil’ in it, but it is a true oil and not silicone or wax based so it doesn’t build up.
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