Real Hardwood Floor Help

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1. You will be sweeping all of the time... just accept that one.
2. DO NOT STEAM WOOD FLOORS! Water trapped under wood= warping/buckling
3. Bruce Hardwood Floor cleaner is a wonderful product. We use it on our cherry floors (per the company's directions) and it shines and cleans quickly. Also consider purchasing their mop. The head of it is like a big washcloth.
4. Wood floors should only be "cleaned" with a chemical once a week. Otherwise, you are removing the finish.
5. Spot clean as needed- damp cloth

They look dull because you are likely damaging the finish with the moisture from the steam.

NO MORE STEAM MOP!!!!

The goal is to keep the floors as dry as possible. I use Bono floor cleaner. You use a fluffy duster type thing to "sweep". Yes, you have to run this thing over the floor several times a week if not daily but it's very quick, it attracts dust and only take few minutes for a very large room.

Once a week I use the other attachment, a mop type thing. Slightly damp, rung out really well and a little of the cleaning spray stuff to mop the floor. The less moisture the better!

If this is real hard wood (not any sort of laminate or polyurethane sealed) you need to avoid water/steam on the floor.
In our old house I striped the old wax off the floor once every few years (with mineral spirits) then applied a new coat of wax (it's liquid - apply thin coat, let it dry then buff to a shine. A floor buffer just makes this easier.).
The floor will be VERY slippery but it will be easy to vacuum up the dirt and it's great for sock skating!
If water gets on the wax - it will leave a water mark (will look dull) but you should be able to buff it out.
Area rugs, spot rugs and runners in the halls will help to protect your floor.

Aieee! No Steam!!! Don't steam mop, period!!! Water is really bad for hardwood, but steam forces the water into the seams and under the finish, and reeeeally damages them. (Sort of like using steel wool on skin).

Ideally, use as little water as possible. There are many hardwood floor cleaners you can use. The kind that just sprays on and gets wiped off like is the best daily type (I like biokleen hardwood floor spray). For serious cleaning, or spot cleaning... I like Murphey's Oil Soap. Which requires water & drying. When you DO have to use water (or when water gets on them), they need to be dried immediately. Steam might LOOK dry, but that's because most of the water has been forced into the wood.

Spray and Dry cleaning I'll do daily when I'm feeling perky (boys & dogs & mud + serious cooking = it really needs it). It takes about 10 minutes to do 1000 sqft. Murphey's Oil Soap I'll do monthly, and that's 1-2 hours.

I have a dust mop that I use daily whether I'm feeling perky or not, becuase it takes no time, and takes care of all the dust/dog hair/detritus (takes 3-4 minutes to do 1000' sqft). Think the giant dust mops (4 feet across, with "fabric fingers") in miniature. It's about 18 inches across. Zip Zip Zip.

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Good save! In a year or two of steaming hardwood... you'd have buckling warped wood floors that would need to be replaced (not just sanded down, but yanked out and replaced).

http://www.mybonahome.com/lines/hardwood-floor-cleaners.html
Bona floor cleaner.
This is what I use. I love it. It is easy to use.
It is environmentally friendly.
I clean my wood floors with this.
Safe for floors, family and the environment.
I get mine from our local Home Depot store.

Never... steam mop.
It will warp the wood and over time.

You can also, using a Professional, Varathane your floors. This will add a protective clear coat to the floor.

With kids in the house and daily usage, it will be hard not to get scratches/dings in the floor.

With any hard floor, yes, you have to routinely sweep and mop. Because hard floors, even if tile, you will notice "dust" more.

Okay, won't nag you about the steam mop. :)

My floor installer also recommended Bona floor cleaner. He said Home Depot sells it. He also suggested vinegar and water (which was also what Pergo recommended for the laminate floor I have). I absolutely did not like the Method squirt and mop floor cleaner. I got sucked in by the almond scent (yum!) but thought that it was making my floor look dull.

ETA: I use a microfiber mop that has an attached spray bottle. It's by Rubbermaid.

We use BONA and it works beautifully! We bought the kit at Home Depot.

Go over with Holloway House Quick Shine Floor finish after cleaning them well. It protects the floors and leaves them with a really nice shine. It made a big difference in my 40 year old hardwood floors.
You can get it at Walmart and most grocery stores.

I use a micro-fiber dust mop as needed. And, yes, you will need to do it more often because dust & stuff does show up more. But, just think of it as all the dirt you never saw and didn't clean up! yuck!
I have a Rubbermaid Reveal Mop. It's basically a cleaning cloth that can be removed and washed as needed. And it has a spray bottle for cleaner that I keep Bona wood cleaner in. I keep this on hand for as needed clean ups. I also use this when I do a full house mopping, but you have to clean the cloth often. I usually just rinse it and wring it out in the sink. And then when I'm all done, I'll throw in in the washing machine.

We've never had a problem with scratches or dings. Maybe you need to limit what kind of shoes are worn on it, trim any dog nails that might be scratching, limit toys that could be scratching....

Bona makes great products for hardwood floors. I love using the Swiffer with the dusting cloths for quick everyday sweeping, then mop with Bona once a week or as needed in the messier areas. I also have that new Dyson that's basically a dust buster with a long attachment and a vacuum head - that thing is AWESOME and fast, so I'm about to stop using the Swiffer and just use the Dyson for the quick jobs.

But, yeah, no more steam...

We swiffer weekly under furniture and I sweep a lot. I have an 8 year old, 5 year old, a dog and a cat. I vacuum the floors weekly. I just use Mr. Clean and wring out the mop as much as possible. But I don't mop that often. If something spills I use a 1:10 solution of windex/water mixture that the people doing our floors recommended. Ours a little scratched too.

The best system I have found is the Bona system. it's a microfiber mop (comes with a duster too, but honestly I just use a swiffer for dusting), there's also a waxing head for the mop.

The Bona floor cleaner is a spray that you spray on your floor, if it's really dirty just let it sit a minute before mopping it up. I've found that it cleans really well (spaghetti sauce stuck to the floor because I didn't catch it last night? Totally doable with minimal scrubbing). After they're cleaned you can use the polish, which I LOVE, I only polish about once a month but you just use the buffer head a little wet and spray the polish on and rub it in, leaves my floors super shiny and protects them as well. I had an area I had to sand down due to a pet stain that went into the varnish (not all the way to the wood, but it got the varnish). I used a fine gauge sandpaper and got it off but that area was dull, I waxed it with the Bona stuff and it's not noticeable at all now.

The system is expensive. BUT you can buy the cleaners separately if you already have a microfiber mop. I love that cleaner though - I even use it on my kitchen cabinets.

You've already got the message on the steam mop - good! Steam can also dull your finish.

The other thing that can dull your finish is dirt. Dirt is abrasive and will scratch away at your floors. Imagine taking a handfull of sand and rubbing it back an forth on the floor and what that would do to the finish. That's what's happening when people walk over dirt - they are slowly scratching away at that finish.

I used a stick vaccum to vaccum each and every day. Keeps up with the dog hair and gets that abrasive dirt off the floor. I use a slightly damp mop 1x week to scrub at spots and foot prints. Lukewarm water only.