Cleaning Hardwood

You definitely need to try Hanover House hardwood floor cleaner! It's the ONLY one I use now on my hardwoods. I also use the floor finish once every 2-3 weeks to give them a little shine. It's an awesome product which doesn't leave the floor feeling sticky and it has a mild, clean smell. I think you'll love it!

one gallon water to one gallon vinager. dry afterwards with an old towel. I've been using this for years.

I agree with the others - the wet jet leaves a residue. Windex and water, or vinegar and water. 1 part windex or vinegar to 3 parts water. Wring the mop out as much as you can and try not to get the floors wet. Just barely damp.

Not sure where to find them, but there are products in the Orange Glo line that are made especially for wood floors. Refinishing your floors is great, but to make them look like new, use Rejuvenate. The bottle says to use about every 3 months. It's like a floor wax, but I believe it has polyurethane in it. It's available at Home Depot and I think Lowe's, too. We use this on all the wood floors at our rentals between tenants. It makes the floors look like they've just been refinished. Amazing stuff. You can also use it on any dulled surface... formica, marble, vinyl floors (read the label). I put it on the formica countertop in one of our rentals and it looks brand new again.

I loved my hardwood floors! They are so good for people with allergies because of the reduced dust and dander. A dry swiffer for dusting it is all I needed for daily cleaning. Murphys oil soap is a good product to use on wood when you need more thorough cleaning. Look for products made for wood as water and any old detergent can damage the floor. Good luck!
D. I

A little about me: mom of 2 adults and 1 college student, and grandma of 1!

I love my swiffer wet-jet, but don't love the cleaning solution at all. I dumped the cleaner and refilled the bottle with a Mr. Clean and water solution to use on my tile floors. I believe Murphey's Oil soap is the best for cleaning hard wood floors. Not only does it clean but leaves behind a beautiful shine as well. You could refill your swiffer solution jug with a Murphey's solution. You'll need a syringe to do so, but it will be well worth it.

Good luck!

I had a house with beautiful hardwood floors throughout, (now my house has carpet that I HATE!). When I cleaned my hardwood floors at my house I actually used hot water only. I used a sponge mop, rinsed it in the sink under the hot water tap and made sure I got all the excess water out that I could before I used it on the floor. If the floor was too wet I'd actually towel it off physically with a towel. I did this maybe every other week or so. I found that actual mopping wasn't needed as often as long as I kept the floor swept up and I used a dust mop about once a week. I did invest in a floor stick vacuum, which made sweeping the floor so much easier! For an awesome quick extra shine on my floors, like before company (ha!)I'd go over the entire floor with QuickShine and a sponge. It puts an amazing temporary shine on the floor and its not slippery like pledge or something like that would be. It doesn't last long, but it looks awesome for a quick fix. Anyway, I LOVE hardwood floors and I think you did the right thing pulling up your carpeting. I am really disgusted by my carpeting b.c I know there is no way that I'm getting it nearly as clean as non-carpet flooring, and it drives me bonkers! But again, with us, its a money thing... so we deal, right!? Anyway, Good Luck!

I used to use pledge hardwood floor cleaner but I don't know if it is out there anymore. Our floors in one of our houses needed refinished and it was a concentrated liquid so you would put a capful in with water. I know you aren't supposed to use a wet mop but I would use that stuff and squeeze the mop out real good so the water wasn't dripping and the floor looked so nice and shiny and the pledge smelled so good. If you do decide to get your floors redone, get it done like a gym floor with that thick polyurethane. It is so shiny and you can use water on them because it has a really thick layer on it so the water doesn't affect the floor. We lived in a duplex that had the floors done like that. They were so nice and didn't have to mop them often because they were easy to keep clean by dusting them. So nice and shiny. The landlord said he had the floors done like that because people can use water on them and won't damage the floor and with rentals some people don't know the rules of hardwood floors so even though it is a little more expensive you probably won't ever need your floors done again.

don't use the orange glo stuff. It makes an awful buildup and dulls the floors eventually. Vinegar and water works well and doesn't ruin the floors as long as you don't get them too wet. You can towel dry them if you think they are too wet.

When we pulled up our carpet, our floors were also in good shape, but dull from the carpet backing. We cleaned then and then used a mop on polyurethane that we got at Home Depot or Lowes....something like $3 a bottle and we used 2 or 3 bottles, but we put on an extra coat or two. We just used a new sponge mop and made straight paths, overlapping them slightly. The hardest part was moving the furniture and working in sections. But the floors look great....shiny, and we usually just sweep to clean them. It's been years since we did it and it doesn't show any signs of wear. Good luck. C.

Hi J.,
I personally don't like the swiffer wetjet for any of my floors. I think the tile feels sticky and you're right about the hardwoods, they never seemed clean.
With 2 big dogs and 2 teens with lots of friends our hardwoods need refinishing something bad! But I'm waiting at least until the kids are out of the house, if I can wait that long!
Anyway, I bought one of those little Shark steam floor cleaners, I think they are about $80 and LOVE it! It isn't too much steam/moisture but they are clean.

Good luck!

Lori K

i use to clen house that had hard wood floors i useed it isee called hopes floor clener and it works good or a stem mop worked too good luck

My mom swears that the hardwood installer told her to use a little Windex mixed in water. I use that on our hardwoods (and always have) and they stay smooth and shiny. Our housekeeper was using something else for a while (something she bought at the store esp for hardwoods) and it made our floors dull and sticky. I asked her to use Windex and they're pretty again.

Good luck!

I know I'm really late responding but I just remembered that I had tried orange glow wood oil on our floors and it turned out spotty and slippery. It left a nasy residue and that wasn't acceptable with me cause I had 3 dogs and a crawler at the time.

just plain dishsoap and water with as dry of a mop as possible works for me. But I do have an older house and the floors need refinished anyways. I do use a swiffer dry cloth to help pick up the dog hair though.

Hi, I live in an old house with original oak hardwood. When our carpets were taken up by the previous owner, they used a solution of warm water and tri sodium phosphate (TSP) to clean them and get the gunk off. Some of the floors were later refinished and some where not. It's amazing how good they look!

For maintenance, I vacuum them, then regular dry swiffer them. Then I use a good old fashioned bucket of water and pledge floor cleaner (can be hard to find). It is something you mix in the water. I love it and I love the smell of it. My floors look beautiful! (Also, big factor is my mop - I use the Mama Libman brand with strips of fabric as the mop. I despise sponge mops, all they do is push dirt around. The strips mop is also great because you can do the woodwork at the same time!)

I am going to try the vinegar solution sometime because I'd like to see how it compares!

I would use murphy's oil soap its specially designed for wood. You can purchase that anywhere including the grocery store.

Toss that swiffer away!! I clean for a living, and am 50 yrs old. I have a swiffer that I no longer use, and one of my customers insists on using it on her vinyl. It doesn't clean well, and leaves the floor sticky. I won't use mine with my grandkids (ages 2 & 3). Your best bet for the floor is either vinegar and water or murphy's oil soap and water. For most wood floors this works well. Wring the mop really well. If it is sealed well, and the above leaves spots, I've used regular windex. Depending on the quality of the floor, you may want to invest in a flat mop with a microfiber cover. This tends to leave wood floors gorgeous. No spots. Hope it helps!

Good old vinegar and water is the best, safest, GREENEST solution for your hardwoods! I know a man that has worked in hardwood flooring for many years, and that's what he uses on his own floors (and sometimes Windex).

my house is 125 years old with the original hardwoods. i use the swiffer hardwood cleaner also. don't use anything stronger on it than that though (unless you refinish them and put polyurithane down) anything strong will hurt the wood. i just vacuum first and use the swifter. you can put oil on them to make them shine, like old english but that makes them slick for a couple of days. if you scrub them once with soap and water make sure that you oil them after.

Hi J., I like to use Murphy's Oil soap on my hardwood floors. It really make a big difference on them! Just a thought. Good luck!!

I have the best stuff! My girlfriend turned me on to this years ago and we wouldn't go a day without it!

Holloway House. Professional for wood floors! It is hard to find sometimes. Walmart seems to be the best! You will need the Concentrated "Floor Cleaner" it is wonderful! a little in hot water and a mop. It will leave your floor looking like you just finished it! It's the craziest thing! It will look like it is leaving soap suds on your baseboards sometimes but it never leaves one streak and the house will smell wonderful. Then, after that is dry, go over it with "Floor Finish" You do not rinse off & you can let it dry & put on two coats if needed. People will think you had your floors professionally finished. I know you'll love it!
T.

Vinegar water is the best for hardwood floors, it cleans but want hurt floors. I use to wax mine once a year and clean with vinegar water weekly and the floors stayed very nice.

I found the swiffer left a residue after extended use.

I now use warm water and vinegar then after that dries a micro fiber cloth sprayed lightly with windex.

My 80+ year old home has original hardwood floors. I use Murphy's Oil Soap & water with a well wrung out mop or rag. Until you can afford a complete refinish, you can apply tung oil oil to your floors to give them a fresh look. I should warn you though, the smell is very strong and you will want to be out of the house while it dries. Usually about 24 hours or so.

I use a Shark Steam mop on my hardwoods. It works great, and no chemicals! :)

I will also say vinegar and water! About a cup or so of vinegar to a gallon of hot water. We have wood floors in every room except our kitchen, and this formula has been a miracle. There is NO residue, and if you wipe your finger on the clean floor it will literally squeak. I typically give my floors a thorough cleaning twice a year and use a Shark steam mop (which uses only water) in between. They stay shiny and clean! Also, the vinegar mix will get rid of any residue that may have built up under the carpeting with little effort / scrubbing on your part.