Okay, I know many on here many believe using vinegar and water is the best to clean hardwood floors, but how much vinegar do you add to a gallon of water? Also, my husband pulled the carpet up in our bedroom and there are some spots on the hardwood floors. Does anyone know how to get the spots out if vinegar and water does not work?
Thanks in advance for your suggestions.
1 part vinegar to 6 parts water - that is what my wood floor guy told me - for the regular cleaning. I would follow some of the other suggestions for the carpet spots.
My mother has hardwoods and uses the Bona system. I often clean for her and it works very well. A suggestion about the spots...I know mayonaisse, not miracle whip, works for spots on wood furniture. Dip a cloth in mayonaisse, get a generous dollop, and rub onto stains. The mayo did the trick when my husband set the neighbors flower delivery on my 120 year old oak inlay table. You can see the outline of the stain very faintly if you look close enough, but the mayo did spare us from spending a fortune on refinishing.
Hi C. - I prefer the Bona products to vinegar and water but to each his own. My wood floor installer discouraged V&W because it makes the urethane finish cloudy. Bona products are non-toxic and can be found at the grocery store. The spots on the floor - if they are from water damage, arent going to come out with a cleaner. You would actually need to sand and refinish.
Vinegar probably won't get it out. I add about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of vinegar per gallon.
I would use about 1/4 Cup or less in a gallon of hot water. Don't know about the spots--sorry =(
I used to use bona cleaner on my floors until I bought a steam cleaner made specifically for hardwood and tile. It's called the Shark. You don't use any cleaner at all, just tap water and it heats it up cleans and dries within about 30 seconds. I bought mine at Kohls, but Target and Walmart have them, too. I have the deluxe model, not sure what the difference is though.
Occasionally, I do use the bona cleaner, but the steam cleaner always does a better job!
If you're talking about gooey spots on the hardwoods, I use Goo Gone at our rentals. Just squirt a bit on and allow it some time to loosen up the goo. Sometimes a razor blade is needed too, but be careful not to mar the finish. Between renters, I use Rejuvenate. It makes the floors look newly refinished.
If the stains are actually in the wood, they may not come out even with refinishing. When we had the wood floors refinished in one of our rentals, they warned us that certain discolorations will never come out (and they didn't). I know a do-it-yourselfer who poured bleach on his floor to fade the stains prior to staining and polyurethaning. He said it definitely helped but not sure I would try that.
I use the Bona system, the Shark Steam Mop, and have done the Vinegar and Water a few times. I think I have read online to do 1/2 cup per gallon of warm/hot water. The hotter the water, the faster it will dry and be sure to wring your mop head or cloth out as good as possible so you aren't leaving much water on the floor at all.
The only other thing I have to say is to NOT use Murphy's Oil Soap. I have done some investigating on Hardwood floor cleaning when we moved into this house that had hardwoods on the entire first floor. I read so many horror stories from people who ruined the finish of their hardwood floors after regular use of the Murphys. It seemed to be on the newer homes or newer finishes...not so much on old floors with old finish. Just something to be aware of.
Murphy's Oil soap would be easier. You can purchase that at walmart even grocery store. That I believe beats vinegar water. The liquid is mixed in with water an mop per normal floor.
