What is the best thing to use to clean hardwood floors?
Ramona from Pinckard, Alabama
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
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 laura bucalo
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)
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
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.
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
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!!
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
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!
By Stephanie
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.
By Michele
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
How about Glass Plus to clean Urethaned floors. Picks up dirt and leaves a sheen (12/08/2007)
By Chrissy
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
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
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
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 M.M
Add your voice! Click below to comment. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!
