We moved into a house last year that has beautiful hardwood floors in the kitchen. I'm not exactly sure how to clean them without ruining the wood. I've used the Murphy "squirt & mop" stuff but it leaves a smeary residue and it doesn't feel like the floor is really clean - like I've just pushed the dirt around. I also used Murphy's "original formula" that I add to water, which I feel gets for floors clean, but I'm worried the water will damage them. I get the mop as rung-out as possible and I clean the floors with water as infrequently as I can stand (usually every 2-3 months). I use a swiffer duster vacuum between washed for crumbs/dust etc. Thanks!
I have a Floor Mate and nothing cleans as well as it does. Unfortunately it's heavy and takes up room to store and the dirty water is gross to empty - and it needs to be repaired again!
Which is probably why Floor Mate isn't more popular than it is - but it really does a great job (it vacuums, then washes, then sucks up the water - which is really the thing that makes it work so well.)
I pour vinegar in tap water and wipe/mop. I try to wipe dry with a towel...although I don't always have the time with 2 little ones running around.
Part of it depends on the type of wood, but I wash my solid oak floor (kitchen) at least once a week, and I use Murphy's original formula. You can also pick up some wood floor cleaner at Ace that you just spray on and wipe up, but I do believe you will have to do it the old fashion way, on your hands and knees.
Vinegar and water is a good, safe, easy and cheap way to clean hardwood floors. I just pour some in a bucket of water (maybe 1 cup). The vinegar smell dissipates quickly. If the floors are slightly damp - just let them air dry as they will dry quickly. Water is okay as long as the mop or rag that you use, just makes it damp-dry. If it's been a while, I get down on my hands and knees, but that's after a couple months. Between that time, I use a swiffer-type mop.
I do not use any kind of Murphy Oil products because it can leave a residue and can eventually ruin your floor. I moved into a home with new wood floors and was advised against using it. Here's an article that supports that.
http://www.cinhome.com/murphys.html
Good luck.
We've had nothing but hardwood floors every where we've lived for 16 years. We've always used Murphy's Oil Soap, the original, and ideally we would wash floors every week, but in reality with 2 kids that never happens. I agree that you won't get a "shine" with this product, but we've never really found anything that worked to get a real shine, besides an old fashioned dust mop and pledge sprayed on the wood, which I'm sure is bad for the environment, plus it leaves everything very slippery.
We also have a swifter wet, and we use that in between real washings.
I think you don't need to be worried about using water! Hard wood floors will last practically forever! Just turn on ceiling fans or open windows or turn the heat up a bit in the winter... floors dry within minutes. You aren't going to damage the floors by washing them! LOL
You've received lots of advice on cleaners (I use vinegar and water), I just want to add that microfiber clothes are the best for hardwood floors. They really pick up the dirt the best, and leave very little moisture behind. You can pick up a microfiber cleaning system at Target and probably Walmart by several brand names.
Another vote for Murphy's or vinegar and water. I have also used Shaklee and love that, too.
I have heard, though, that Bona is also a great system for cleaning floors. I have seen that at BB&B. Hope this helps!
I use the Steam Mop. Not certain if it gets deep down into the dirt, but I feel it does the job. Sometimes uses vinegar & water spray, but can't use this in the steam mop itself.
I use Shaklee's Basic H2 to mop. I mix 1 tbsp per 1 gallon of water and I have a cloth mop head that I wring out to use. It doesn't get the floor very wet so it dries quickly. There's no smell or stickiness afterwards.
I am a distributor if you are interested in learning more about Basic H2. I use it for everything - cleaning my carpets, removing wallpaper, washing my car, the list goes on and on.
I just bought the steam mop from Bed, Bath and Beyond..no chemicals, just good old fashion water that steams. It works well and got out the pen off of my floors that my little one drew on (and I tried everything that was non-toxic) Worth the money, use your 20% coupon. btw..I use Dr. Bronner's to clean everything in my house, highly recommended and cheap to use on most things.
J. W. MPH
Chicago Examiner Family Health Expert
http://www.examiner.com/x-7158-Chicago-Family-Health-Exam...
We've always used either vinegar and water or maybe a touch of the orig. murphy's. Either way, the key issue is to not let the water sit on the floor after you've washed it, so we just take an old towel and dry the floor after mopping.
I use the Murphy's original formula or something similar alternating with Pledge Vinegar wipes (pretty much along the same lines as swiffer, but designed for hard wood). Are your floors sealed? Every 2-4 years or so, you can "seal" your wood (if the floors aren't waxed), and that prevents water damage--ask at any hardware store, they should be able to help you out. But honestly, unless you're letting water sit on your floor all day long, you probably don't have anything to worry about.
