Cleaning Hardwood Floors

Archives: Request: Cleaning Hardwood Floors Archived on 03/03/2009 Does anyone know a solution to use to clean hardwood floors? The floors are sealed. I have smudge marks all over them from attempting to clean them with Pledge for hardwood floors. Susie from Hammonton, NJ Answers: RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I tried the cleaner from Palmetto Floors and it cleaned without streaks or a mess. I actually used a mixture of ammonia and water to remove the film before hand and after cleaning with the Palmetto Floors cleaner, it turned out great. I bought a bottle of polish from them too because it is supposed to enrich the shine of polyurethane floors when the lose it. We will see. (02/12/2009) By Janice RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors All I can say is Bona. Bona floor system is the best. Same thing happen to me with a similar orange glow product called Rejuvenique. Too shiny, so I tried to remove it with vinegar and water, what a nightmare. There was white film all over. I usually use the Bona System. I will never stray from it again. Go to the website to learn how to use it properly. It can be expensive, but so worth it. I use the cleaner for wood floors all the time, but I used the Refresher to fix the mess that Rejuvenique caused, and my floors look so great. They're not glossy, but have a natural sheen. Love it. Hallelujah! Follow the directions on the web site. They have a video. You can get the Bona mop and products at Bed Bath and Beyond, Ace Hardware, etc. It is a greener product too. Water based poly. Good Luck all. (02/16/2009) By Lindsay RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors Bamboo and hardwood floor cleaning My wife and I recently had bamboo floors installed (mocha dark brown) and we have tried some of everything mentioned on this blog from vinegar and water, to Windex and Bruce hardwood cleaner. The floors had a gray haze and a smudgy buildup that would not go away. I eventually tried Glass Plus and it did the job for us. It took practically 6-8 hours on my hands, knees and buttocks, since the majority of our downstairs is bamboo flooring, but the look we paid for is back! It was a 2 step process however. I sprayed the Glass Plus in small areas and wiped with a shop towel (a little thicker than a regular paper towel) and before the Windex completely dried, I wiped the area with a dry microfiber towel. The microfiber towel will eventually become damp and that is okay, still gets the job done. The wifey was very excited when she arrived home and saw the final result! Now that I have the floors back to normal, I plan to maintain simple upkeep and use the BONA hardwood cleaner maybe every 2-3 months to rejuvenate the luster. (02/18/2009) By timtation RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors We had black streaks on our satin finished cypress wood floor (it is not supposed to be shiny finish). So my husband cleaned it with a magic eraser (big mistake!). Now the floor has streaks. I have tried a lot of different things but will try the Windex and ammonia to see if they can help. Any other ideas? Normally I love magic erasers, but please, please don't ever use on your wood floor. (02/19/2009) By Rachel A. RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors Vinegar and water. Make sure to get the water up right away. A damp mop is the best. (02/28/2009) By Gayle RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors The installer suggested I clean my hardwood floors with a dust mop and Windex. It works great, but the Windex much go on the mop not the floor. (03/02/2009) By B Report Spam or Abuse Request: Cleaning Hardwood Floors Archived on 02/10/2009 How do I clean hardwood floors? Tori from Kalamazoo., MI Answers: RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors Hi. I had a professional cleaning service for several years and the best I came up with was hot water with vinegar every week. Once a month lemon oil. This keeps the floors looking shiny, but it also keeps it from drying out, and cracking. (01/16/2008) By denise w RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors Use equal parts of Vinegar, Rubbing Alcohol, and warm water Apply with a soft cloth. It will dry streak free. (01/16/2008) By Sandy RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I was happy using the 'spray' bottle of Orange Glo, never had a dull film, but then the Walmart where I usually buy it was out and they had a bottle of Orange Glo which wasn't a spray but the directions showed that the application to the floor was the same as the spray. Well now my floors have a horrible film. After reading many of these posts I tried a non-Ammonia based window cleaner "Holy Cow" on a small area of floor and it seemed to work. It appears to have removed the film and brought back the shine. Does any one know what type of chemicals are in the "Holy Cow" glass cleaner so I can buy it in a larger volume so I can apply it by mop rather than on my hand and knees with a spray bottle? (01/28/2008) By Seabrook RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I tried everything even the Harris-taekett same brand as my hardwood floor. Nothing works as well as vinegar mixed with water. Wring out a terry rag wrap around mop and Go. It's AWESOME. (01/31/2008) By corcione RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors DO NOT USE ORANGE GLO---it will definitely ruin your floor and the "researcher" that posted a comment above stating to use orange glo obviously must work for orange glo because orange glo should be taken off the market! I have new sealed shiny floors. I used orange glo and the ONLY thing that removed the grimy build up was vinegar and water and some ammonia! HOT water and vinegar. It cannot ruin your floor so I don't understand why some are against it. First off, you must not be mixing the proper solution. Too much of anything is no good and thinking that, a once over will fix your problem. I do use Murphy's Oil. I am very picky and I find that if I dilute it, the floors come out extremely clean. NO buildup just very clean and won't show footprints. Periodically I love to use a diluted mixture of Mop N Glo Hardwood Cleaner. It smells great and it does it without residue. Remember, dilute every commercial product. I will try Bruce's One Step out of curiosity but I would only use it every 3-4 months. I stick with Murphy's for safe weekly cleanings and vinegar solution once a year. If Murphy's doesn't work for you then you are using too much of it. It does work and cleans perfectly and we walk barefoot year round and never a footprint to be seen. Mop N Glo for hardwoods is hard to find but it's the only thing that shines without leaving a residue or footmarks. Remember to keep refilling your bucket with HOT water and dilute commercial products no matter what the instructions are. I am also a fan of the lemon oil. (02/06/2008) By Miranda RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors You can use nail polish remover to get out a permanent marker or other scuffs without ruining the Laminate Hardwood floors (02/12/2008) By Carrie RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I feel like people may be giving feedback for polyurethaned floors and other finishes like penetrating waxed floors. From what I understand Poly finishes need to be cared for totally different from other finishes. I see many who respond that do have Poly floors but then I see someone respond that a certain approach does not work for them but it sounds like they also may have a different type of finish. It has made it confusing for me too. I am not a chemist or scientist so I can't speak to acidity concerns but I do know that many products we use to do everyday cleaning and cooking have properties that could be deemed counterproductive but they seem to work. I am going to try all the more homemade versions mentioned here but including dish soap and Windex. There are only two important things to me. 1. That something WORKS to remove the smears (Orange Glow, Murphy Soap or whatever the cleaning crew put on my nice polyurethaned floors) and restore the natural shine that poly gives. 2. And...That whatever I use will not prevent me from being able to eventually put another coat of poly on my floors when they get worn a few years from now. Too many of the products I hear mentioned put a shine on the floor (Mop and Glo etc.) In order for that to happen it seems like it has to leave something on the Poly that I don't want. Silicone is death to coatings adhering to anything and yet many so called polishes for wood have it. It seems a crime that these so called helps can create such a mess. So for me it's anything water based and diluted. NO oil or coating that shines. That's what I am going to try in small spaces. I am going to try them all but no commercial shine product for me. I don't trust them and I will never let anyone clean my home with anything but a diluted water based cleaner again. I know certain things like Polycare are just that, a water based cleaner to clean the floor and let the shine come through. That's why we use Poly on floors. It comes with its own shine. For me if that shine is gone on a poly floor that is clean and not smudged, it is time to put a new coat of Poly on. Like my cleaning crew, many try to falsely make the floor shine and now I like many, are in the mess we are in. Don't let anyone tell you what to put on a Poly floor unless they know what works in total for Poly floors. It still amazes me that I specifically told the cleaning crew no oily anything, just slightly damp mop with water or highly diluted solution, and yet they still thought they knew how to make a floor shine. Not a poly floor though, not my floor, and obviously not many of you and your floors (Sorry, it still aggravates me). Anyway, headed to try these solutions. (02/18/2008) By Larry RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors ORANGE GLO ruined my beautiful hardwood floors. I put Orange Glo on my floors at Christmas since I was having company for the holidays and ever since my floors have been a mess. My floors have lots of dull streaks of Orange Glo build up. I have cleaned and re cleaned, scrubbed with hands, fingernails, scrubbing pads, vinegar etc etc etc. Yes - I think with a lot of hard work I will be able to get the dull Orange Glo (contradiction in terms - no?) finish off my floors out with a product called Zep Hardwood Floor cleaner from Home Depot, but it's going to take a day of focused effort and probably at least two gallons of the stuff. Lesson learned: don't use Orange Glo. Orange Glo should be taken off the market, just as so many others have said. (02/24/2008) By Susi RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors Guys, you really need to invest in an iRobot. Life is so much easier, and my wood floors look like they were just installed. Thank goodness I was starting to give up hope. If you want to ask me questions, email: chazee1 AT hotmail.com (03/01/2008) By Trisha RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors Holloway House products are great. I have used them for 5 years and have been very happy with the results. (03/08/2008) By Sue RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors Hi. I can also attest to the fact that Orange Glo is horrible for your floor. We just installed beautiful hardwood cherry in a huge room only to look at the dull film left by orange glo. I am so disgusted. I am going to try the vinegar water rubbing alcohol mixture and see how that works. Remember no Orange Glo! (03/20/2008) By Toni RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors Do not use Orange Glo! I've been using swiffer wet jet hardwood floor solution for two years and it always left my floors beautiful. My husband used Orange Glo with the wet jet and ruined them. I'm going to try all of your suggestions and will let you know! (03/27/2008) By jp RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors 4/12/08. I have just tried the 1/2 cup of vinegar and a gallon of hot water. I damped a mop with this, then towel dried. I then used Endust. So far, so good. My question is: Will the vinegar eventually eat away the flooring's finish? We are so frustrated with virtually every product. They all seem to streak, etc. (04/12/2008) By flash343 RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors Use hot water, vinegar, and a little dish soap. (04/18/2008) RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I have Brazilian hardwood floors in the house we purchased two years ago. I bought the Orange Glo Hardwood floor kit and now have a filmy, streaky mess on my hands. Since some of the above information is for laminate floors, I need help from people who specifically have hardwood floors. Please tell me how to remove the buildup from the awful Orange Glo hardwood floor products and how to get the shine back. The former owner used vinegar and water, but the floors were dull when we moved in. I tried vinegar and water to remove the buildup and only got a sticky mess and more milky film...Thanks in advance for any help. (05/01/2008) By Gloria RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors The Orange-Glo Hardwood Cleaner & Polisher should be taken off the market. What the bottle describes as a one step cleaner, shiner, and polisher turns out to be a multi step mopping process to eliminate the film and cloudiness it leaves behind. I used this product and was distraught with how my beautiful hardwood floors appeared afterward. I just mopped again with hot water/vinegar mixture and it looks like that has cleaned up the mess the Orange Glo made. I have thrown the Orange Glo away and I hope others learn from the mistakes I and so many others have made. (05/03/2008) By cillaw RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors Our hardwood floor in the dining room has been covered by carpet with pad since the house was built in the 1950's. We're in the process of tearing out the carpet now to expose the wood. The carpet pad has "fused" with the wood in certain spots. Based on everyone's helpful comments, I decided to use 1 part water, 1 part vinegar and 1/2 part citrus alcohol to clean...and yes, the floor is VERY DIRTY! So far, it seems to really be doing the trick (I tested in on a 3ft square section of the floor). Additionally, I used that solution with brillo steel wool soap cleansing pads (10 for $1.00) to get up the goo'ed on carpet pad residue, going only in the direction of the wood. So far, so good. I don't think that I'd recommend the brillo portion to all, but for someone in our situation, it's an option that seems to work. After, I oiled the wood with Murphy's oil - being concerned with the drying effect of the alcohol. All in all - a very inexpensive option that seems to be working well. (05/15/2008) By Phyllis RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I wished I had read this blog before I bought and used Orange Glo. I spent half of Memorial Day weekend cleaning up the mess that Orange Glo left of my hardwood floors. I agree that this stuff needs to be taken off the market. Luckily a friend told me about Bruce Hardwood Cleaner and it does a wonderful job. (05/25/2008) By Becky RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I have Ebony Polyurethaned hardwood floors that I've always cleaned with Home Depot ZEP hardwood cleaner. It always left the floor shiny, streak-free and beautiful. My housekeeper, for some reason, used Orange Mop & Glo. It left a horrible film over my floors. I'm going to try the water/vinegar combo and see how that works. If that works, I'll make sure she goes back to using the ZEP. Never had a problem with any of their products. If you have stainless steel appliances, try their stainless steel cleaner. Best thing on the market. I just spray it on a dry paper towel or cloth and wipe the surface with it. Wish me luck with my floors. (05/28/2008) By UURRRR RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors Someone suggested toothpaste to wipe away the white smears. Well, I just tried some Colgate on my dark chocolate hardwood and it eliminated wonders for the white streaks I have on my floor. Recommended for spot treatment as it is time consuming to rub in the toothpaste, wipe with a damp cloth, then dry with soft cloth. But it works! (06/01/2008) By Darkwood RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors 2 tea bags per gallon of warm water. The tannins in the tea (I use Tetly) clean the floor and bring them out lovely. :) Or Murphy's Oil Soap - use about a shot (an ounce) per small bucket of warm water. Or warm water and vinegar, it's simple, easy, cheap and safer for the environment. (b)Editor's Note:(/b) Don't use Murphy's on sealed wood floors, it will cloud them. (06/12/2008) By Laura RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors My installer of my hardwood told me to use Windex. Put one to two capfuls of Windex into a bucket of warm water and make sure the mop head is rung out real well (only damp) and you don't need to rinse or anything. Works awesome, costs little and I always have Windex on hand. It attracts dust well. Windex is also good for spraying on roses to get rid of aphids. (06/25/2008) By Brandi O. RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors Orange Glo is the worst product ever. I bought it since it says it is specifically for cleaning and polishing hardwood floors. I was cleaning my whole house the other day, including my ceramic tile in my bathrooms. After the floors dried, I had a gummy, chalky looking, grimy feeling film all over my beautiful one-year old oak floors. I was afraid that I had picked up the wrong mop and used Tilex on my wood floors. Well, lo and behold, I find this blog and find out that Orange Glo is the culprit. I mixed up 1/4 cup of vinegar and 1/2 gallon of hot water and I am now in the process of stripping that stuff off my floors. I am having to do this on my hands and knees with a 4 year old and a 6 month old here. It is, needless to say, not fun. NEVER BUY ORANGE GLO! They should be sued. (07/09/2008) By Renea RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors Found good advice on this blog. After using Orange Glo hardwood cleaner several times and being thoroughly disgusted with the results, I read this blog and tried the vinegar and water solution. It removed the oily film left behind by Orange Glo and cleaned my floors great. After mopping with the v/w solution, I used the hardwood cleaner by Bona. It was suggested to me by my local flooring supplier and mentioned on this blog. The results were great. Finally, no footprints or oily buildup to deal with. I may just use the v/w solution routinely and the Bona cleaner periodically. Either way, they both worked great. (07/13/2008) By Tracy RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors Add me to the list who have ruined their nice shiny finish with Orange Glo. I tried the vinegar and water method this morning and it helped, but the floors still didn't look great. I then tried the Windex this afternoon, and they look a bit better. I guess it will take a few scrubbings to clean off that film (I only used the orange glo once). I wonder after reading all of these negative reports about orange glo, why it is still on the market? (07/21/2008) RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors My contractor's "clean up" person somehow caused the same cloudy, dirty looking, film on our brand sparking new Brazilian Cherry Engineered floors (1400 sq ft worth). Although she used only water and a damp mop, I think the old mop bucket she used had residuals from other chemicals in it. Anyway, I have researched this a lot and have contacted several local flooring people in the area. They all have said DO NOT use ANYTHING except floor cleaners specifically made for your type of floor. Especially do not use Orange Glo (as we all know by now), Vinegar, Murphy's, or Windex. Most recommended BonaKemi or just Bona as the fix to these cloudy floors. I was told it will take some elbow grease but the film can be removed. Most engineered floors have Aluminum Oxide mixed in the poly and I was told that this finish is very difficult to ruin. Believe me folks, I am as sick as anybody about my floors. I will let you know how the Bona works. Good luck to us all! (07/22/2008) By D. RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors After using an oil soap on my hardwood floors, it left an oily residue. Do I need to clean it with something else BEFORE using the swiffer wet jet solution for hard wood floors? Will just using the swiffer remove the residue? Thanks. (07/22/2008) By regina RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I have come to the conclusion, as we all should, that there is no one "recipe" for cleaning your dirty, cloudy, filmy floors. I have read every post and what works for one, doesn't for another. I am also amazed at how many flooring experts gave contradicting opinions. Just try a little of everything and what finally works for you, then you continue to use it. (07/23/2008) By D. RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors We have birch floors in our new home (2 yrs.) with a "penetrating seal" finish as opposed to the shiny, glossy poly finish. They have a beautiful sheen finish, a sort of soft lustre, not a really shiny finish. It doesn't show footprints and marks to any great extent. We have 3 dogs to add to the mix. I vacuum weekly with the floor attachment and then use the dry Swiffer. I also use the dry Swiffer in between vacuuming. Every 2-3 months I use a mild vinegar and water solution (hands and knees, unfortunately) with a damp rag and then dry and buff with a microfiber cloth. I trusted the installer of the product to know what is best for the type of finish he put on and my floors look great with relatively little effort or expense. There are so many different types of wood floors and finishes it seems to me the "finishing" person would know best what to use. I have been a little confused by people who chose to ignore those suggestions, assuming, of course, the floor person was a real professional. All the feedback on this site has just made me so grateful to not have tried any of the commercial products for my floor. This is a great site and I want to say thank you to all who have posted your experiences. (08/09/2008) By Peggy B RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors We just moved into a new home with beautiful hardwood floors. I used orange glow to clean the floor and it made such a mess, I was beside myself. I had family coming home for dinner that very evening. My brother in law checked this web site and told me to try Windex and water. That worked fine, but I had to mop it about ten times. I am still looking for a way to get footprints off and keep them off. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know. (08/13/2008) By ak RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I have had my hardwood floors for about 3 years and the best thing I ever bought was the Starfiber dust mop and microfiber pads. I use the dust mop and I will never use a regular broom on my floor again. It picks up hair, dust and I just sweep all of the other stuff into a corner and pick it up with a broom and dust pan. I have been using the Bona hardwood floor cleaner and it does a good job and leaves my floors shiny. Before I do that I just wet one of the microfiber pads and just pick up any dirt left behind. I have 3 kids and you would never know. Hope this helps. (08/15/2008) By Veronica RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I used the Orange Glo Hardwood Cleaner & Polish, and my floors are cloudy, showing foot/paw prints too. I tried the vinegar & water to no avail and wanted to try the Bona X, but what scares me is that if you look on the bottom right of the Orange Glo bottle, it says (in small letters) from Bona X?! Anyone used Bona X to remedy the film from Orange Glo? I have a Bruce floor that is called Mocha, so it is very dark. I'm wishing that we would've chosen a lighter floor! Thanks, Lynda (08/16/2008) By Lynda RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I too am living the Orange Glo nightmare but after reading all the posts here I have decided try a few of the suggestions you have posted and have come up with something that I think is working quite well. I am seeing some results this way. I have a bucket of soapy water, my regular dish detergent and an O-Cel-o no scratch scrub sponge. I am soaking the sponge and wringing it out. With the scrubber side of sponge I am scrubbing the floor, up and down and circular as well. I then take a wet towel and mop up the soap, finally spraying with the vinegar and water solution and towel drying. I can see a difference and I hope it works for you. (08/16/2008) By Michele RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I just tried an old method my grandma used after the orange glo disaster I have and it seems to look better after one time! I made a pot of BLACK tea, added some lemon juice and ice. Let it cool and used a microfiber cloth to clean with the tea. I think it is working! (08/19/2008) By cmb RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors We have Brazilian cherry solid wood floors upstairs and I have used diluted MR Clean for the last two years to clean my floor, as recommended by my installer. Always a fresh scent, clean and shiny with no streaks. Spray it on and mop off with a terry cloth mop. My floors have no residue or cloudiness at all. NOW... We just installed an Ecotimber Tigerwood floor in the basement and they recommend Bona X. Because the basement floor is an engineered hardwood (generic wood base with a solid wood wear layer), I tried it and was not super impressed. Seemed to be very streaky and hard to wipe out the smudges/footprints. For Bona users: do you "rinse" the floor with a wet mop after spraying on the cleaner? The bottle says "rinse mop pad often", but no other instruction other than "clean". Website not much more informative. I don't want to wreck my obnoxiously expensive floor but I want it to look and feel clean. (08/22/2008) By chris RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors After reading many of these posts to see if there was a recommended hardwood cleaner, it is apparent that many people do not realize that the "finish" on your floor makes the biggest difference in what you should clean it with. For those of you who have used Orange Glo or similar products...the reason that it left such a mess is that it has petroleum or oils in it and you are cleaning polyurethane which is plastic (It does not penetrate and just lays on top in a big oily mess). I imagine that you would have a different result on an oil finished floor. My floors are 3 year old solid american cherry wood polyurethane finished, and I have used nothing but water on them, applied with a damp (not wet) "StarFiber Mop". Today I am going to try a little mild dish soap and vinegar in my mop water because I have a few extra dirty spots. We will see how this works, if I have any filming or streaking I am back to plain water. If you use plain water it also helps to eliminate streaking if you work in small sections and dry the floor with a soft towel as you go. Good Luck to all of you. (08/23/2008) By Debbie RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I'm so glad I read the posts about OrangeGlo. Fortunately I used it just once, and it left a sticky mess. Today I cleaned with hot water and vinegar and the floor is clean again. Not as shiny as when it was new, but not sticky and streaky. I noticed that my supermarket has quit selling the OrangeGlo products. Maybe they had a lot of complaints. (09/05/2008) By Jeanne RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors (submitted via email) I too put orange glo on my pre finished hardwood floors and they looked great until I tried to damp mop them and then I had a big white mess. It took me days with water and vinegar to get rid of it. Now I just lightly spray my floors with vinegar and use a soft cotton mop to wipe off. They look amazing. B. Antal (09/05/2008) By jess_admin RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors Get a 1/2 cup of white vinegar and mix it with 1 gallon of Hot water. I used a string type mop that could be easily rung out. Doing small areas at a time, mop floor with vinegar/water mix being sure to cover all surfaces. Next get the biggest lint free beach towel you have and dry excess water from floor. What is left is a very clean floor. Continue doing small areas, drying as you go to prevent water spotting. (09/08/2008) By Tim H. RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors (submitted via email) Try using a magic eraser. Get down on your hands and knees and scrub with the grain. Artie (09/12/2008) By jess_admin RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I used orange glo and it left my floors sticky and cloudy, showing foot paw prints too. Orange glo ruined my beautiful chocolate floor. I HATE it. At the end of the day I tried hot water, and Windex with vinegar. Let me tell you, I am so happy. My floor looks amazing! (10/17/2008) By America#1 RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I read though all the posts and am also a victim of Orange Glo. I have engineered Brazilian Cherry Floors that went from beautiful to this milky cloudy hazy mess. After much reading, I decided to try the Windex. I sprayed original full strength Windex on a small section (2 feet by 3 feet) and waited a full minute. I could see the film lifting! I used one shop paper towel per "swipe" and it works. My floor is streak free, film free and cloudy free. Some areas I had to spray twice but it was worth it. It took me a few hours to do each room and I found the shop paper towels work best (vice the cheap paper towels I use in the kitchen) - but I threw out the orange glo and am using hot water and vinegar from now on. (10/19/2008) By Sam RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I actually had a "cleaning" lady use Mop & Glo on my hardwood floors. Then I blindly believed a screaming man on TV sell me on OrangeGlo. What a disaster. My new cleaning lady is trying vinegar and hot water, but I'm sure it will take several cleanings to remove all the mess. I will try to come back after I see results and let you all know how my floors turn out. I am also going to try the Windex w/vinegar on my hands and knees this weekend...UGH I agree OrangeGlo should be removed from the market. (10/22/2008) By Sabrina RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors We have beautiful hardwood floors with a natural hewn finish. I use a dry microfiber cloth mop and I sweep with it often, every other day. If you don't have a built in vac I would highly recommend getting one because it will never scratch your floors since there are no wheels and no casters. I wash my floors weekly and use a little vinegar with water with my microfiber cloth and it works great. I love my floors and they are always shiny and beautiful. (11/02/2008) By Jennifer RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I used the swiffer wood cleaner and it left a horrible dull film. So then I tried cold black tea on a soft cloth and it brought the shine back really well. It's hard work, but the result is worth it. (11/13/2008) By Gill RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors What about the steam mops on hardwood floors? Are they safe? Do they work? I normally use vinegar and water. (11/15/2008) By Amy RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors That steamer thing is horrible. I bought it at Sam's Club because I saw the infomercial and thought it would work. It was horrible. I used that orange glow which is really crappy, and now I have heard of this Bruce Duraluster. I hope that works, next option is carpet! (11/25/2008) By Kim RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I use the orangle glo hardwood cleaner, the kit w/ the applicator and it worked great. My floors are oak in a Ca. 1950 house. The big difference as others have pointed out is the pre finished and or sealed floors. It leaves no film and really brightens up the floors. Good stuff. (12/18/2008) By Ian RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I used Orange Glo on the original wood floors of my 1950's house and at first they look great, but now they are ruined! They are completely dull and feel gritty like all of the finish is gone. There isn't a visible film like others have reported, but they look stripped. What happened? I don't know if they were poly or waxed before. We were too dumb to find out--or know that there was a difference. Ahh... I am freaking out. The floors were gorgeous a couple weeks ago. Any ideas on bringing the shine back? (12/30/2008) By Sarah RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I am so happy and thankful to the person that put the post up about using the Windex. I was freaking out and my boss as well. We had just used another chemical on the floor the day prior and then we used the orange glo. It started to look fine on the test area but after we did the entire office this filmy coating started to form and I tried everything including a Brillo pad to get it up. We had no idea that the orange glo was doing this until I googled it. I ran out and got the Windex and now it is coming up. Thank God because my boss was very upset and he tried to fix it himself with no success. Thank God for Windex and Vinegar and water. (01/02/2009) By Danica J RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I spent over two hours reading every response and then researched the products myself. And, now I realize that cleaning hardwood flooring depends on the brand and what type of hardwood flooring you have. The product that cleans Armstrong might not clean Pergo or Wilsonart. The product that cleans a hardwood laminate might damage an engineered hardwood or a solid hardwood. I strongly encourage everyone to find out what brand hardwood flooring and what type you have BEFORE you clean it. I have Armstrong solid hardwood with a urethane finish. Like many others, I was a victim of Orange Glo, Mop 'n Glow, and Murphy's Oil Soap. I ended up with the cloudy residue on my hardwood floors. Even after I started using Armstrong Hardwood and Laminate Floor Cleaner---specifically for un waxed urethane---the oily film remained. So I knew I had to do something to get rid of it. I reviewed all the recommended remedies and spent all day trying them out (except the black tea). Here's what worked for me: I mixed 50/50 distilled vinegar and hot water, then sprayed it on the hardwood floor. I waited 2-3 minutes and then mopped it up with a terry cloth swivel head mop (I took about an hour break for lunch). Next I sprayed Windex (original formula) on the hardwood floor. I waited 2-3 minutes and then mopped it up with a terry cloth swivel head mop. This worked great! My hardwood flooring looks brand new---just like the day I moved in! Nice and clean, with a fantastic shine. I probably could have mixed the hot water, vinegar and ammonia (Windex) together and done just one mop (like someone else recommended), but I didn't. I was just so happy that I didn't have to scrub on my hands and knees like so many others did. While I believed that would work, I just didn't have the time and energy. I consider this a lesson learned. From now on I will only use Armstrong Hardwood & Laminate Floor Cleaner. If I need to touch up the shine, I'll use Armstrong Restore Hardwood Floor Finish. I'll probably never understand why Orange Glo, Mop 'n Glow, and Murphy's Oil Soap caused the cloudy residue. I'm no hardwood flooring expert, nor am I a chemist. However, I can read and all the labels specifically stated that these products are not for hardwood flooring that is unfinished, unsealed or waxed. I wrongfully assumed that use with urethane-coated hardwood was okay. NOT! I hope this is helpful information. Good luck to all of you! (01/02/2009) By Kamadejo2009 RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I too have had the same issues with OrangeGlo. The Windex seems to be doing the trick, but once I go back over the Windexed areas with a water/vinegar mix, the same haze returns to the wood. Any suggestions? Is it safe to use a Windex/water solution to mop wood floors weekly? Thanks. (01/03/2009) By NW RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I have hardwood floors so I wanted to try vinegar and water. That didn't work so I tried that all natural glass cleaner and that worked. (01/03/2009) By MRZIMM RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I've been using something called Bruce, a spray in a plastic bottle, along with a cotton terry mop from Quickie. The mop that comes with the Bruce in a kit (I got mine from Lowe's) is useless. (01/05/2009) By Anonymous RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I found a product called Thrust-out. You can get it online. It's amazing! I use it on kitchen cabinets and it works like magic. It says it's safe for pets and humans, but it works so well that I don't trust that. I have a cat and dog. I first use the Thrust-out, then go over it with the tea bag method just to make sure. Good luck (01/14/2009) By jane from S.F. RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors What is the "tea bag method"? Thanks. (01/15/2009) By Maryeileen RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I was ready to cry. My beautiful hardwood floors were, I thought, ruined for good. I used one of the squirt and mop products and it left a milky residue. My floors looked AWFUL! I tried cleaning with vinegar....first diluted with water and then STRAIGHT....to no avail. I finally got on the computer and came across this site. Next thing you know I'm on my hands and knees with the Windex and clean, soft towels. WOW! Amazing!! I can't express how ecstatic I am right now. My floors look beautiful again and I will NEVER use anything else to clean them. I'm staying away from all of those hardwood floor products...even Murphy's Oil Soap. Thanks to all who shared the Windex fix! (01/17/2009) By Anita in Powell OH RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors Windex works! I can't believe it! I have been so stressed out about my beautiful floors and their disgusting film. I can't believe the answer was so easy... or that it actually works. I googled around online before trying, and I did see some seemingly credible information from the "floor industry" that supported the use of glass cleaners like Windex and Glass Plus for polyurethane coated floors. My understanding is that polyurethane is a plastic coating on a hardwood floor. You can think of it like glass. You are cleaning the "glass" surface, not the wood. Murphy's oil is for cleaning wood, not "glass" or glass-like plastic coatings. Anyway, I had an Orange Glo residue. Tried Swifter Wet Jet, problem got worse. Tried Murphy's oil. Problem seemed better, for about an hour, then foot prints came back. Tried vinegar and water. No great results to report. Tried dish soap and water. Better but not great. So you can see why I would actually even consider anything as crazy-sounding as Windex. But I had it on hand and it honestly works... really, really well. My 2.5 year old Mannington Floors look like new. What a happy ending (Yes, I am elated, this was really bothering me). You do have to get on hands-and-knees and really rub with a clean towel, just so you know. (01/17/2009) By mgillesp RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I had the problem of dulling on my hardwood floors where it was high traffic. I found Bona, it is a hardwood floor refresher it works great and doesn't need to be done very often. I also found that sweeping the floor with a soft broom was still leaving scratches that you only see when the sunlight shines on it so I now use a swiffer mop with a soft towel and I pin it on, not letting the pin come through the bottom of the cloth. I spray the cloth with a duster spray made by fuller. I order it online. The Bona refresher I ordered by calling 1-800-949-0142 visit the web www.weloveyourfloors.com (01/25/2009) By Faye RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I've been living with the horrible after effects of Orange Glo for 3 years now. It left a horrible murky film. I can't wait to try vinegar and Windex solutions this week. Thanks for these posts. (01/25/2009) By tmh - dallas, tx RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I had the same "ruined" floors as a result of Orange Glo. I called the manufacturer (BR-111) and they told me to use TSP. We mixed it per the instructions on the bottle, sprayed it on the floors and used a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser then wiped with a towel. Our floors now look just like they did the day they were installed. Call the manufacturer of your floors, they have heard it all. The customer service person answered so fast when I said Orange Glo, I actually laughed! (02/03/2009) By LT Report Spam or Abuse Request: Cleaning Hardwood Floors Archived on 01/14/2008 What is the best thing to use to clean hardwood floors? Ramona from Pinckard, Alabama Answers: RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I'll be another person to not recommend Murphy's Oil Soap. It leaves a dull scum on the surface. (06/28/2007) By Beth - MA RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I use the pledge for hardwood floor cleaner. You just squirt it on, run a damp mop, and its clean, no streaks, so easy! (07/02/2007) By lonefive21 RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors Ask a local hardwood refinisher or seller. I researched it a lot and learned not to use vinegar, murphy's oil, or any of these type of things. What I use is a professional dust mop that I bought at a janitorial store for daily cleaning/dusting. I also bought the floor system from Bona Kemi. The microfiber mop and the hardwood cleaner. I use this about every two weeks. It really works and is made by floor refinishers. Won't hurt your floor finish. http://www.bonakemi.com/products/specials/WM710013303.htm The company also has a system for laminate floors. (07/09/2007) RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I use Rejuvenate on my hardwood floor, it brings back the luster to a dull floor. It is the easiest and the cheapest way to bringing life back to a dull finish. You need to use a good hardwood floor cleaner, then apply the rejuvenate to the floor, it takes about 45 minutes for it to dry, but it looks as good dry as it does wet! (07/12/2007) By tracy RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors Please! Please! do not use ORANGE GLO HARDWOOD FLOOR CLEANER. It leaves your floors cloudy and dull. I tried two other floor cleaners and it made it worse. I had hardwood floors in the past before this product was on the market and I use plain old soap and water with a damp mop and put towels on the floor and skated through to dry them. It is work! but I am in really good shape after having five kids.... (08/01/2007) By p.simon. RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors Hi RAMONA, here in Topeka, I have tried the windex, which gummed up my buffer and never did get didn't get past the gummy mess on that section, now I'm going back in and giving it another try! (08/01/2007) By therese RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I've read the ENTIRE blog here about hardwood floors and I'm greatly discouraged with so many contradicting opinions. 13 years ago I lived in a home with all hardwood and I tried every product on the market, despite being clean the floors just looked cloudy and dull. I must admit it even caused me to feel depressed at times. I paid a professional every 4-6 weeks to bring in a heavy duty buffer and treat my floors at the expense of $200 each visit. I finally found a product at a local owned hardware store called Bruce's One Step. After cleaning my floors I would pour this formula right out of the container onto the floors and spread it with a mop. The hard part was knowing when it was dry as it looked the exact same as it did wet!! VOILA! The floors looked BRAND NEW better than after $200 spent to buff. The most recent mistake I made, having relocated to a fabulous home with all hardwood yet again after 13 long years, was trying the Orange Glo, Bissel flip-it and swifter!! My dining room is trashed!! Lesson learned! For all of you still reading these blogs, please go online and look for Bruce's One Step. Once you get the cloud and film off the floors don't use any other products for restoring shine other than Bruce's One Step if you're fortunate enough it may be in your local hardware store. I believe Bruce's has many other products to help strip and remove the grime and build-up. Best of luck to you. (08/05/2007) By Sheri Lynn RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I can also attest that the Orange Glo left my wood floors a cloudy mess... I have read every post here trying to figure out what the best method would be to get the shine back on my floors. I tried squirting a small area (2' x 2') with windex with vinegar and scrubbed, towel dried, scrubbed again and towel dried and I could see that the cloudy build up was gone, but there is no way I can hand scrub my entire wood floor! I checked into the "Bruce's One Step" that someone else suggested but it is only to be used on waxed floors. I have polyurethane floors. Can a sponge mop with windex or a vinegar/water solution work? I physically am unable to hand and knee the entire job! (08/06/2007) By Stephanie RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I have had hardwood floors for years and I have never been able to stop the foot prints left by my kids. Just have everyone wear slippers and that problem will disappear. As far as cleaning the floors, I use an amazing product called Mystic Mop. I lightly spray the area I am working on with plain water then I go over once or twice with the mop, I then buff the area with a micro fiber cloth mop. It leaves a fantastic shine. I still get foot prints as my husband and son refuse to wear slippers but if they did the floors would continue to shine. I have tried everything out there and this is the simplest and cheapest as well as giving the best result. (08/12/2007) By Michele RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I recently had my hardwood floors refinished and the floor guy told me Never to use any kind of oil (Murphy's oil) on the floors and to only clean them with the water/vinegar solution. He recommended using the solution every three months or so and just damp mopping with hot water in between cleanings. So far it has worked well for me and is very inexpensive. (08/16/2007) By JS Cleaning Hardwood Floors I have read over all these entries and now I am even more confused. I have used the Orange Glo and I hate it. It put a milky looking film on my pre-finished hardwood floor. And you can see everywhere we have walked. I tried just using soap & water and it didn't work. I also used a spray from Fuller that said it was for Bruce Flooring. That is what I have but it didn't work either. What is the best way to get this milky film off my floors and make it shine again? I saw a product online called Quick Shine by Hollow House. Has anyone used this product? Does it work? Just thought I would ask someone -- anyone -- before I put more money into trying products. I am just sick looking at my floor with the milky film. I am ready for my glossy look back. Any suggestions are most appreciated! (08/17/2007) By Lisa RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I have double trouble, as I first cleaned with Murphy's Oil Soap, and then the Orange Glo Polish. Talk about a horrible filmy mess! I see that others have posted about the build-up problems, but I'm not seeing any solutions! I'm thinking about trying a small spot with hot water and detergent. (08/22/2007) By DMC RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors Okay... here's what I did and it worked! Mixed hot water and dish washing detergent (Dawn) I know it's radical, but I was desperate. Used a soft brush (!) and then dried with a soft towel in the direction of the grain. It worked! No more hazy white film! No more Orange Glo ever! (08/22/2007) By DMC RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors Hi All! Ok, so for the first year and a half of trying everything I got my hands on to keep my hardwoods clean, here is what I came up with to do and not to do. Do not use water and laundry detergent; it dulls the floors. Murphys and Pinesol don't completely work. the Murphys will have you busting your bottom. It gets sticky. I have two small children that are just now walking and I'm not sure how many outfits each of them destroyed from crawling on those floors. Both of their knees would be dirty and their little feet. My grandmother came to visit and seen how I mopped almost everyday, without success. So she took me to the store, picked up a new and actually a cheaper mop than I had been using (the ones that you squeeze out with your hand and have the cotton noodles hanging). Then I bought some Mop 'n Glow. The bottle says to NOT use on hardwoods, but I was at my wits end. I used it and continued to mop a 5 session on my hardwoods. My grandmother told me that it was important to keep mopping sections over and over until the mop rinsed clean. I was completely exhausted after the hour of mopping but it definitely paid off. I have shiny beautiful floors and the kids are still clean after playing in the living room. lol (09/03/2007) By Robyn RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors Regarding white film from Orange Glo and/or Halloway House wood floor products seems to be a huge problem. I read everyone's feedback and tried everything. I'll never really know what worked for sure, but the thing that finally removed the film for me was Mr. Clean. I diluted it in water, rinsed, and dried it with a soft towel. I could see the white powder from the polishes coming up as I applied the Mr. Clean. I'm sure most of you figured this out, but just in case....the mop set up that comes with the Orange Glo Starter pack can be used with ANY rag. At least something was worthwhile in that package. This comes in handy when you have to mop the floor 500 times to remove the polishes. (09/13/2007) By Christina RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I had heard that pet owners should be careful of certain cleaners since pets lay on the floor and then often lick their fur. I haven't tried anything yet, but I think I'm going to try the vinegar and water solution. I'll just start with a small amount of vinegar (maybe 1/4 cup to a gallon of water). (09/20/2007) By Lynn RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I called around a few floor dealers several told me to use Murphy's Oil. With 3 kids the floors always seem dull, dirty or sticky after mopping w/ Murphy's Oil. So another dealer told me never to use Murphy's on the hardwood floor (it leaves a film). That I must now clean my floor with TSP to remove the film, then damp mop it and then to use Polycare. He also said after the Polycare treatment to just use water to mop the floor. (09/20/2007) By Monica RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors patg: Thank you so much for your advice regarding how to clean off white, smudged residue from hardwood floors. I tried every product imaginable and the 2 cups of ammonia per gallon of hot water did the trick. I took a wet cloth and wiped the floors then used a micro buff rag and wiped off the damp floor. This process was time consuming doing a small portion of the floor at a time, yet it looks wonderful! NEVER again will I use any Orange Glo or Murphy's Oil products, I'm going to clean with Bruce's One Step. Thanks again! (09/21/2007) By Raina RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I have beautiful Jatoba (Brazilian) Cherry hardwood floors that were installed 2yrs ago. I have NEVER used an over the counter cleaning product such as Murphy's oil or Orange Glo...the floor gets vaccumed 2x/week (more often during the summer months) and I use a damp microfibre cloth to spot clean any obvious marks such as footprints or sticky messes. Once every 2 to 3 months I get down on my hands and knees and clean every square inch of floor with a damp microfibre cloth and a spray cleaner recommended by the company who installed the floor. The key is a clean cloth....I will use 2 or 3 per room and have used upwards of a dozen cloths cleaning my main floor. The floors look fantastic and people are always complimenting me how great they look...even though they only get 'washed' every season. Of course, we don't wear shoes in the house. I know many people don't want to get down on their hands and knees (and I can hear the moaning), but it's the best solution. (Sept 27/07) (09/27/2007) By Vesi RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I used to use Bruce's cleaner on occasion and would spot clean with damp cloth and ALWAYS had beautiful dark wood floors. Unfortunately do to the inconvenience of going to the flooring place to get it I tried Orange Glo. AWFUL, cloudy, dingy and nasty floors is what I'm now inconvenienced with. Once I figure out what will fix my mess I will go back to my old ways. Pleased to find the local (and national) "HOME" store now carries Bruces. Hope this helps. (10/13/2007) By Rachael RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors For all of you out there trying to maintain your hardwood floors - it doesn't have to be that hard! The point of having hardwood floors is to have very little maintenance. You really only need to use cleaners if you have spills or scuffs. For the most part, you can just use a terry cloth mop. One of the most important things you can do is make sure you have all of the dirt off the floors. (walk off mats help tremendously)PLEASE ask the retailer you purchased your floors from what to use or invest in a product like the Bruce Cleaner that is made just for hardwood floors. Make sure your cleaner says on the bottle that it is specifically for your type of hardwood floor. I am all for being thrifty, but thrifty does you no good if you ruin your hardwood floors. These websites are from trusted sources. Please take a look and also look at the care section for other floors on the following site: www.wfca.org http://www.wfca.org/hardwood/care.aspx http://www.woodfloors.org/consumer/maintReg.aspx (10/19/2007) By A former hardwood salesperson RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors Yikes! I just had hardwood flooring installed a few weeks ago. Seeing all of the contradictory advise on here, I am afraid to do anything to them! For now, I guess that I will just vacuum and dust regularly, clean up spills as they happen, and use area rugs in high traffic places. (10/21/2007) By Stephen from Boston RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors Our floors are only 2 years old. Light Bavarian Cherry Wood. We just can't seem to get rid of this greasy like film? Any suggestions on what type of product works best? (11/04/2007) By Kim Rose RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I just tried the Shark steam mop and it's bad. It made my floors into a greasy streaky mess after 2 uses. I have small children and cannot go more than 2 days without needing to clean my hardwood. What will get this film off of my floor? I've never tried any of the oil products or the Orange Glo and will never. What about the water and vinegar? Somebody help me please. (11/08/2007) By Stacey RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I came on this site to find a solution to cleaning my hardwood floors; we recently exposed them after yrs. of being covered by rugs. Yea! Many people on this site are saying that there are many contradictions on this page and that they are more confused than ever as to what to use. On the contrary, I found this page to be very helpful. People are clearly saying,"DON'T Use Orange Glo, Murphy's Oil Soap or products such as Fuller that claim to be good on "certain" hardwood floors EVER!" I initially thought that you couldn't use water at all but here are the things I learned on this page. 1.Yes, you can use a water based solution if you only dampen the mop or rag you are using. 2.A product called BRUCES 1 STEP seems to be coming HIGHLY recommended by people on this site that have tried it; I didn't see anyone dispute it. All are saying that it WORKS GREAT! 3.Also people on this page are RUMOURING that Vinegar and Water (which is an affordable solution) works and some claim that it even comes recommended by the people who are selling the hardwood floors. 4.Another solution I saw recommended on this page is to find out what kind of hardwood floors that you have; go to the nearest store that specializes in hardwood floors and ask them exactly what product to use for your specific type of floor.(seems like a pain to me and the products they recommend may end up being expensive; but I could be wrong) 5.To get the FILM and dirt up use Mr. Clean, I tried it in a small spot and thought it worked great However, I was afraid to try it on my whole floor until I found someone else on this site has tried it and it worked for them. "Mr. Clean recomends you dilute it in order to use it on finished wood." No one disputed it and I won't either. Ps. to the mop & glo user; I LOVE mop and glo (I use it to shine my REGULAR floors AFTER a good Mr. Clean cleaning - the results are great for a long time) but if mop & glo is telling you NOT to use it on hardwood floors you may want to call the manufacturer of mop & glo and find out the reason; maybe there is a long term effect that you are not seeing yet, who knows. I want to say thank you to the people on this site for all your tidbits of information as I said I found them very helpful. Good luck to everybody and don't stress, enjoy the beauty of your hardwood floors I know I do. (11/12/2007) By By Theresa RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I use a damp mop, very damp and mix a little vinegar with it. I have new polyurethane and it does wonders. As i said I wring my mop until until it is barely damp. It brings back the shine. I do this a couple of times a week and use a dust mop the rest of the time. It doesn't loose it shine, but the vinegar makes it even shiner. I would definitely recommended a damp mop diluted with vinegar. I could not stand to go 2-3 months without my floors being mopped. My children are grown, so i don't have that problem. I use vinegar a lot as a household cleaner. (11/16/2007) By Charlene RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I have been buying my wood floor cleaning products from http://www.cleaningwoodfloors.com/ and they have been great about recommending the right products for what I have needed to do. They also provide some resources I found to be useful, including troubleshooting tips and a FAQ section. (11/26/2007) By RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors Don't use a Swiffer Wet Jet! It left a filmy mess. I am having some luck using Windex and a plain Swiffer to get it up. It takes some elbow grease too! (12/05/2007) By Anissa RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors How about Glass Plus to clean Urethaned floors. Picks up dirt and leaves a sheen (12/08/2007) By Chrissy RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I am trying to find a way to clean my client's floors without leaving streaks. So far from what I have seen on this page the majority of people are saying Mr. Clean. So I am going to try it. Thanks. (12/12/2007) By TRACI WHYTE RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I have 85 yr old red oak hardwood floors, that were refinished and sealed with semigloss poly in July. The hardwood guy said to use vinegar and water which only dulled the shine and made the floor sort of tacky. The floors are beautiful, although asked a neighbor what she uses to clean floor, she said Orange Glo hardwood. Cautiously, I used it in small area and it felt smooth and looked shiny. The orange glo worked okay until 3-4 months later, a horribly film built up and I have researched a way to get that smooth slippery clean feel back and the shine too! Out of desperation, I tried the ammonia and hot water with a non scratch sponge, and spent the next 3-4 hours scrubbing and wiping down the dry microfiber cloth small areas 4 feet aprox. This is my whole first floor. Wow, my floors are back! Shiny, gloss and beautiful color. I didn't think I could get it back to look like newly finished. I had bruises on my knees from all the vigorous scrubbing, but the only way! I do this every month, now my husband helps, but the results are really something to be proud of. People always comment on the beauty of the wood, asking if it's just been done. Hope this helps former Orange Glo users to get their floors back. (12/25/2007) By Laura RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors Well, what has always worked for me is to get on my hands and knees and wash the floor with a solution of dishwashing liquid and water, and then rinse with vinegar and water. Finally, I dry with several terry towels. The dishwashing liquid is mild but slightly to the alkaline side, so it removes grease and household dirt very well. The vinegar removes alkaline-based soils and helps to completely rinse the detergent from the floor - far better than plain water can. Don't mix the two together, thinking you can avoid a step! Each will only cancel out the benefits of the other. Cheers, and rock on! (12/27/2007) By Viola RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I used vinegar and hot water and they came out great, I bought a house 4 months ago, and it is a 125 yrs old, it had carpet in the dinning room and front room so I pulled back the carpet to see what was under it and found it had hardwood floors . I had them redone. I used swifter cleaner for hardwood floors and it left them very streaked , so tried half cup of vinegar and 1 gallon of hot water and dried them with a cotton towel and the streaks are gone and they have a great shine again. (12/28/2007) By LYCKRISH63 Report Spam or Abuse Request: Cleaning Hardwood Floors Archived on 06/28/2007 I have never had hardwood floors before. Ours have a polyurethane coating, high gloss. It appeared that the floor was smudged with footprints. Using a Bona product. Another similar product was recommended but it still has dull smudges. I tried an Orange Glo product but it was streaky. Then tried a Swiffer product for hardwood floors, now it's really streaky! Can anybody tell me how to get back to the high gloss, smudge free, shine we first had? R.P from Purcellville, VA Answers: RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors Try warm water and a little ammonia, wash with a rag then buff with a dry rag. By patg RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors We have a "Shark" steamer. It cleans our hardwood floors great! Read the instructions first and if it safe for your type of floor, the hot water is a plus because it disinfects as well. By Joanna RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I use the vinegar and water solution to clean. Then after it dries, I spray a little Endust with a soft dry cloth to make the floor shine. By EC RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I use Orange Glo and every so often wipe the mop with water. Than when it dries, I use Future. It's not too bad. But I am still searching for something to make it glow! By Sylvia RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors If water and vinegar left any sort of film, it just means your floors were that saturated with dirt/other products. The water should be HOT or very warm and sometimes you need to mop 2 - 3 times. As far as wearing off any finishes, not so - vinegar is not very acidic, it's made from natural products so it's nearly impossible for that to happen. I promise after 2-3 moppings with the vinegar/water solution, your floors will be gorgeous! If streaking still occurs, you may want to contact the person who refinished your floors and find out what product he put on there. By Stephanie RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors Stephanie, I don't know where you got your info but VINEGAR IS ACID DILUTED TO A 5% SOLUTION! Just look at the back of any bottle of vinegar and you'll see the words right there. Or do a simple web search for the definition of vinegar. And just because something is "pure and natural" doesn't mean it can't ever do harm. Our stomach acid is Hydrocloric Acid diluted to a 3% percent solution, pure because there is no other chemical mixed in, found in nature, but NOT harmless. Chlorine gas is pure since it is an element with no other elemental atom or molecule attached, found in nature, but NOT harmless. I'm a researcher and I've done much research on this subject. First, you must know the finish on your floor. If it is oil-based stain, then cleaners for polyurethane finished floors will cause problems. You will need to wax instead and buff regularly. If floors smear, it is usually because either they were WAXED at some point in the past or there is still fatty substances (meat fat, cheese, salad oil, the list is endless) left on the floor that were not adequately cut and removed with the cleaner. Vinegar can leave a nice shine at the end of a good cleaning job but it will not cut grease adequately. Only detergent can do that. Have you ever tried cleaning greasy clothes with vinegar? The key is a light touch. Use a small amount of any neutral detergent in water and do not soak the floor. If the mess is still there or streaking occurs, then you need to do it again and again until the substance is completely removed. Also, it is worth noting that for modern finished floors, vinegar is no longer endorsed by the National Wood Flooring Association. To restore shine, you either need to buff the area or use a polish such as Orange Glo cleaner and polish. If your floor finish is not in good condition to begin with, then the shine may never return and the acid in vinegar, although very weak, will only hasten its demise. But you can use a product like Quick Shine to put a durable shiny coat on top. Or try Orange Glo Refinisher, as long as you have a polyurethane finish and NO WAX left behind. If wax was ever used in the past it must be stripped using a good wax stripper before applying any other type of floor product. Or you must rewax. You can't use both. Wax is tenacious, will sink into wood, and will always interfere with any other type of product you try until it is completely stripped. Also, as wax breaks down from wear it will mix with water and smear. It is a soft substance and can create indentations such as paw and foot prints if not maintained properly. Hope this clears up the confusion! By finch RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors- Thinner My mother-in-law uses paint thinner to clean the floors about 3-4 times a year. It's a horrible smell for the first week, but it takes off any stains and gives a nice shine. Since it dries quickly it won't damage the wood like water. By crystal RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I used Orange Glo for years and eventually had a mess of a build-up. Today I tried Sam's Club floor stripper and it worked beautifully. By mrh RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I use Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner. You just spray it on and use a swiffer-like Bona mop with a microfiber cloth to clean the floors. It is environmentally friendly too. By NC RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I own a house cleaning business and have tried A LOT of different cleaners, most of them either leave a dull finish, streaks, or once you step on the floor leave foot prints. Whet I love to use it's the Floor-mate, it's a machine to safety clean your floors and it dried them too, you are supposed to use the provided solution but I just use REALLY hot water and it leaves the floors really clean and no residue behind. If you don't want to buy the machine, you can also just use HOT water and a mop, and work on a small area and then dry it with a terry cloth mop, and some elbow grease the first time, and it'll leave your floors looking really good. You can also use some water to lightly spray in the stains and by the time you get to them, they'll come right off, I finish off the floors either with a swiffer cloth to pick up any hairs or a dry terry cloth mop. I know hey say that water damages your floors but I've used this for years and I've never had a single problem. Of course it just depends the amount of water you use, don't go and dump the whole bucket. www.pollyscleaning.com By Polly's Cleaning RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors We built our home two years ago with hardwood floors, pre-treated wood. We've always used Eureka's Deluxe Enviro Steamer for hardfloor surfaces. I LOVE IT! It used NO chemicals, NO floor cleaner, just water....which it heats...very very hot. And actually steams cleans everything off the floor. In fact, it sanitizes the floor. It never dulled my floor. So, much to my dismay, it broke. I substituted with Orange Glo, and what a disappointment! My floors are horrible! There is a terrible hazy film that just wont come off! Today I am trying the vinegar and water to see if it will help....luckily my steamer is back to work, and I will never use any thing else again! I'll let you know how the vinegar and water turns out. Wish me luck! By Melanie RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors To everyone just tuning in DO NOT USE ORANGE GLO ON HARDWOODS - IT WILL RUIN THEM!!!! By John RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors Hello everyone, I am so happy to see that I'm not the only person who has wrecked my new hardwood floors with commercial cleaners. Mine have had paw prints and kid prints on them since a week after we moved into our new dream home. I have used EVERYTHING including vinegar and hot water as well as the steam cleaner. After visiting this site, I figured I would combine advice that was posted, and the results are BEAUTIFUL!! I have the hardwood floors that I had installed 6 months ago!! I was scared to death to use a stripper, and know that ammonia works to do that job. So I used Windex. I sprayed it on the floor and used a swiffer max to spread it. After which I got on my hands and knees with a towel and hand dried it. I could feel a sticky substance on the floors as I did this. Afterward, the floor looked VERY DULL, but the streaks and paw prints were GONE. I did this a second time and felt little flakes coming off. I was in a panic thinking I was going to have to refinish my floors, but after drying it with the towel a second time, my original floor was beginning to gleam underneath! I guess I had to remove the layers of crap that have made my floor look soooooo bad. I finished it off with my Shark steam pocket, and whoa, put your sunglasses on. It's my gleaming wood floors again!! I have learned one thing. My master bedroom has hardwood floors that I have only swiffered all this time, and they still look brand new. I guess when it comes to wood, Less is Best! No more commercial cleanings for me. Hope this helps someone. Good Luck! By cleanqueen RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I have also ruined (I hope temporarily) my polyurethaned hardwood floors with Orange Glo. I bought an Orange Glo kit that included both a cleaner and the refinisher, but when I just now read the labels, one of them says, in small print, to never use it with the other. In short, they make two hardwood floor products that should never be used on the same floor, and they package them with their mop in a starter kit. Nice. My kitchen, living room, dining area, and dining room are a streaky mess. It's going to take forever to fix this by myself. I'd like to sue Orange Glo. I tried a vinegar solution, and I tried hot water. If I scrub and scrub with a cloth, the waxy stuff comes up and the floor is OK underneath, but it took me 15 minutes (and hurt my fingers) to do a teeny spot. If someone finds a machine or cleaner that will take this goo all off at once, please let me know! By Cathy RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I was so glad to find this website. I have new hardwood floors & ruined the with OrangeGlo. I tried the cleaner the manufacturer suggested but it hasn't helped. The floor is cloudy, spotted and awful. I tried cleaning a small area with the vinegar solution and it seems to work. By Joan Stewart RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors My entire house is wood or tile floors. I sponge damp mop or swiffer damp mop the tile first and when the mop is almost dry, then I run it over the hardwoods - picks up all remaining dust and shoe prints, scuff marks etc. For final shine, I use paint thinner! (it's what was used when floors were installed and cleaned) I put cut up old t-shirts around the swiffer head - keep the paint thinner in a spray bottle and lightly spray the t-shirt - your wood floors will shine. It also removes anything sticky and leaves the most incredible shine!! Then just toss the t-shirt ! The odor does not linger. DO NOT use ORANGE GLO or Murphy's Oil on your wood. By kjreynolds Report Spam or Abuse Tip: Cleaning Hardwood Floors Archived on 12/04/2006 Daily cleaning of hardwood floors can be a challenge, especially if you have pets. The best tool I have found for daily maintenance of my hardwood floors is a good vacuum cleaner. Mine has a low setting made for flat floors and it works well for pet hair, dust and paw prints. Make sure you let muddy paw prints dry before trying to vacuum. Answers: Request: Cleaning Hardwood Floors What is the best way to clean hardwood floors? I have found that with cleaners like the Swiffer wetjet or Murphys oil soap and others leave a film and streaks whether I dry it with a cloth or let it dry naturally. I also tried to dilute the cleaners thinking I've used too much. Most of my main floor is hardwood and I miss the shine! Loni Feedback: RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors Some of us just cannot get on our hands and knees any longer! I drop a terry cloth towel (now a cleaning cloth) onto the floor and step on it to rub the floor dry. No more sore body, just clean floors. (10/31/2006) By hsorbits RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors Mr. Clean I have polyurethane floors. My cleaning lady uses Mr. Clean to clean my floors. My floors never have a film or dull finish. They sparkle and shine. Read the back of the carton. You mix 1/4 cup of Mr. Clean with 1 gallon of water. I vacuum first with an Oreck vacuum cleaner. Then I use a soft mop and Mr. Clean. It turns out nice every time! (11/10/2006) By michelle Report Spam or Abuse Request: Cleaning Hardwood Floors Archived on 10/31/2006 What is the best way to clean hardwood floors? I have found that with cleaners like the Swiffer wetjet or Murphys oil soap and others leave a film and streaks whether I dry it with a cloth or let it dry naturally. I also tried to dilute the cleaners thinking I've used too much. Most of my main floor is hardwood and I miss the shine! Loni Answers: RE: Hardwood Floor Cleaner I am all about vinegar and water for wood floors also. I responded to a similar question but a hardwood floor company suggested 4 oz. to 1 gallon of water. And they are against commercial cleaning products. Shannon (06/11/2004) By sjk RE: Hardwood Floor Cleaner Have you tried 4 oz. to 1 gallon? That doesn't seem like enough. I used 1 cup to 1 gallon, and it didn't work too well. (12/14/2004) By Miranda RE: Hardwood Floor Cleaner I am curious to try this vinegar and water tip on the hardwood floors. I am helping my father prep up his rental apt. to rent out, and there is a lot of dust on the living room/dining room floors from the latest home improvement project. So, I am figuring that using this water/vinegar solution will clean up the dust residue and give the floors a nice shine. Wish me luck, and I will be writing to let you how well it comes out. (03/25/2005) By Patricia RE: Hardwood Floor Cleaner Use a 1:1 solution of vinegar and water to clean hardwood floors. It's cheaper than the commercial cleaners and chemical-free! (06/21/2005) By Dianne RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors We recently had our hardwood floors re-sanded and polyurethane. The man who did our floors said only to clean them ONCE a year with vinegar and water. Other than that, simply sweep often and spot clean with plain water--anything else and you risk damaging the finish. (06/22/2005) By ght RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors Vinegar smell is short lived. I clean with it daily. (09/07/2005) By Jennifer from CA RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I have polyurethaned wood floors. Can't imagine not cleaning them every week, especially in the kitchen. Vinegar and water works fine and there is no smell! The vinegar smell dissipates after a few minutes--and it works well (09/21/2005) (09/07/2005) By KathleenLI RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I have been trying for weeks to remove the cloudy look to my hardwood floors. I believe that murphy's oil soap is what put it there. I will NEVER use that again! It's driving me nuts trying to get that terrible dull coating off the floor. (09/22/2005) By Valerie RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I use windex on my hard floors. They turn out really nice. (09/25/2005) By Joyce wis RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I use a bucket of hot water and a little Murphy's Oil soap. Lemon oil works well too. (09/26/2005) By Tanya RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors Use cheap shaving cream on your floors. Spray it on and then wipe it off. Gives the floor a nice shine. (09/26/2005) By sjackie2000 RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors Try cleaning your floors with armstrong dura-luster. It comes in a spray bottle and the floors look great. I have a problem finding it and at present, I'm all out. I tried min wax and I didn't like it at all, left my floor dull. The person that put my floors down said vinegar but I don't think it's as good as the cleaner and does not smell good either. (12/12/2005) By lizzy195 RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors i just used the water and vinegar on my floors and i loved it. I used about 1/2 a cup to 2 gallons and did it throughout my house. (01/03/2006) By Dana RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I use Bruce hardwood floor cleaner just spray it on and wipe off. The flooring company recommended only using this stuff you should never use water to clean hard wood floors. You can get the floor cleaner at Home Depot or try any company who sells hard wood floors. (01/25/2006) By Jeanette RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I tried the water and vinegar solution and it left a cloudy film on my hardwood floors. I'll never use it again. I only use cleaner recommended by the professionals. It's worth the money. (06/05/2006) By Kate RE: Cleaning Hardwood Floors I used vinegar on my floor, and it took the finish off. I will never use it again. (06/23/2006) By Gail Vinegar and Water My floors are polyurethaned. Since house construction I have only ever used vinegar and water (1 cup vinegar to 1 gallon of water). I damp mop the floors then dry them (on hands and knees) with a soft towel, essentially buffing them. I get lots of compliments! I do this about every 3 to 4 months. In between cleanings I just sweep with broom, then use the swiffer or pledge dusters to pick up any remaining dirt and for a shine. (10/25/2006) By CMW Report Spam or Abuse