Cleaning Kitchen Wood Floors?

I actually use my vacuum on my wood floors. It's hard to get edges and near the cabinets, so I use a broom around the edges first. Then I use a wood floor cleaning kit...shmop. Its a flat-headed mom that you put a towel like cover on when you use it. Does a great job on wood floors and tile. Google it, you'll find it. I give it five stars!

If you have pets or your children play on the floor I would NOT use a swiffer. I have a friend who has three dogs and a little water (damp from the mopping) was left on the floor and the dogs licked it up. They became really sick and ended up in the vets office. The vet and owners of the pets finally traced it back to the swiffer.

Personally I have never had any problems using my non-toxic cleaners from Shaklee. Not only do the cleaners save tons of money, they work, and, of course, children and pets don't get sick.

N.

I've recently asked this question of my friend who cleans houses for a living. She told me the other day that, in her experience, the best ways are with simply a capful of white vinegar in water. she says that the best way is on your hands and knees so you know you are really cleaning it - apparently the sweepervac doesnt get it all up and often leaves a film on floors that over time can damage them. She told me never to use Murphy's orange oil as it leaves a film that builds up and is very hard to get off - google that and see all the complaints! Anyway, her other advise is that anytime you "wash" the floor, do it in stages - one area at a time - and be sure to wipe over what you just "washed" with a dry towel before moving on to the next area (like, do under the kitchen table, dry, then by the sink, dry, then by the fridge, dry, etc.) She said that if you "wash" the floors like this you should only need to do it once a month and then do spot cleaning as needed. As far as catching the crumbs, she recommends a large flat dry mop - you can get them at hardware stores.

hope that helps

Unless you use a vacuum with a powerful motor (and even then, not always)... anything WET or sticky won't get sucked up.

Avoid the Swiffer Wet Jet (if it's still on the market)... I've got family involved in suing the company along with several hundred others... from dogs and babies licking the sweet tasting floor and becoming ill (in the case of the babies) and dying (in the case of the dogs). The chemical is very similar to car coolant. And the sweet taste is just super attractive to four-feets and crawlers who put their hands in their mouths.

I agree with the vinegar and water and the hands and knees. I have three kids a lots of hardwoods and this is the only way to get the floor really clean. I also have a flat dry mop that I "sweep" the crumbs up with. It works much much better than a broom. I've tried everything and I hate to say but the elbow grease really is best.

We have a hoover wet vac, I can't remember the exact name, but it's super bulky and unwieldy, and so it doesn't come out except for every 2 weeks or so. Also you have to use the recommended cleaner or the inner workings get fouled. For the mess under the table, I use a damp bar towel, I have a stack of them to use instead of paper towels, they are bigger, stronger, and pick up better. I spray or have my son spray, some diluted soap, either Dr. Bronner's or Murphy's Oil. It's pretty fast, just a couple of minutes. My son loves to help with it :)

I sweep then vacuum.
Then I use and old Swiffer broom (I DON'T BUY THEM ANYMORE) and take a rag wet w/warm water and soap and attach it to the old swiffer and mop the floors.
Then I get down on my hands and knees w/a rag wet with soap & water and clean away. It works the best.

we have done swiffer in the past - it works fine...i recently got a shark steam mop and really like it. I don't like the shark electric broom - unfortunately...but in either case, you are going to have to sweep (either with an electric broom or a dry mop or a broom) to get the loose things off before you use the wet sweeper. I have not used the swiffer vac, but I would be surprised if the vac part works really well...

We have a Swivel Sweeper (you can get one at Wal-mart, Target, etc) that we originally ordered from an infomercial. It's as good as they said there. The battery died on our first (our fault), so we got another, the G2 version I think, and it's even better. We use it on wood and linoleum and they say you can use it on carpet as well.

It's worked great for me!

I use method floor cleaner and a damp mop. If it's wet and sticky, I get up what I can with a partially damp paper towel or floor rag first. But let's be honest here, I have three under three and a half, so most times the crud under the table dries up before I actually get around to it! Gross, but true! And in reality, it's easier to get up that way. :-)

How about a little Dustbuster-type hand vac? I have one and I love it!