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What is the best product to use to clean bamboo floors? My whole house is nothing, but bamboo floors so I have major square footage to clean.
By Maureenl from Overland Park, KS
I would not recommend Muphy's Oil soap. It may look like it is doing a good job, but it is oily, and the oil sinks into the wood, and creates a big problem if you ever need to refinish the floor.
The recommended cleaner when we had our bamboo floors installed was Bona Hardwood Floor cleaner and it has worked great. It hasn't left any residue or damaged the finish in the 5 years we have been using it.
I just had a prefinished bamboo hardwood installed in most of my home. I purchased the Shark sonic duo shortly afterwards. I decided to use the polish to get more shine on the floor. It did give it a little more shine. A couple of days later the floor was dusty so I decided to use the Shark hardwood floor cleaner. I don't know what I did wrong, but now I have a white, cloudy haze on the floor and some marks from the polishing that won't go away. I have been using the vinegar solution which isn't helping much at this point. I'm lost, confused, frustrated, and don't know what to do.
By Nikia
I'm having the same problem as this, I have black bamboo flooring, I did get the haze to go away some by using a magic eraser, and floor stripper and a variety of other things, but it's still messed up, I regret trying to shine it... Please let me know if you find an answer. nikia
I had same problem and while it's not recommended I used straight amonia and immediately wiped w warm water mop and immediately dried it w a micro fiber dry mop and it fixed it. No damage. Everywhere I read says no water and no chemicals but how else can you clean?
Is there a dilution for using Lestoil to clean bamboo flooring?
By MV
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My home has huge areas of pale hardwood bamboo floors, including a huge kitchen. Since there are big windows and skylights, every water spot or spill shows clearly. I have not found any safe wood cleaner (tried Murphy's oil soap, Swiffer Wet Jet for wooden floors and a lot of others).
I can easily remove the spills, but the floor always looks streaky when dry. I dry mop in the direction of the wood grain, and even go on my knees, but no great results, just aggravation. Please help.
By joyjoy2 from VA
Maybe polish the streaks with a microfiber cloth, dry. Could wrap it and tie it around a Swiffer type thing. Or put on old socks and slide back and forth on the streaks.
Do you have a squeegee you could run over the damp spots immediately after mopping? Then catch the bead of water formed with a microfiber cloth. You might just try using the microfiber cloth to clean anything, dry, and see if that helps.
Those are all the things I would probably try. (09/17/2009)
By PIKKA
I would use vinegar water. I have used this for years on my hardwood floors. They are beautiful, shiny and clean. I would use a 1/4 to 1/2 cup of vinegar to a gallon of water. Try to make sure you are using just a damp mop not leaving a lot of water behind as you mop. Also, I have found using a string mop or fabric mop is much better than Swiffers, etc. Good luck with this! Costco has a great string mop for around $5. (09/19/2009)
I just had bamboo hardwood floors put in my house. I bought one of those Swiffer Wet Jets with the cleaning solution made for hardwood. It leaves streaks and foot prints. Does anyone have any better solutions? I don't know if bamboo hardwood is different from regular hardwood in the way of cleaning. Please help. Thank you in advance.
Dana from Newkensington, PA
I just had bamboo floors installed also and I got a great product, Bellawood All Natural Soy Based Hardwood Floor Cleaner. It even removes the residue or foggy-ness left by other cleaners. And it's only $6 for a 32 oz spray bottle. Go to bellawood.com or 1-800-356-6746 to order. (07/10/2007)
By sej9317
I use an empty quart spray bottle and put one tablespoon of PineSol in it, then fill with water.
Then I wet and wring out a cleaning towel, spray my bamboo floor with the cleaning mixture and wipe/scrub with the cloth. I use a ScrubbeeDoo handle and head from Don Aslett's Cleaning Center to hold the cloth so I don't have to get down on my hands and knees, but obviously it would work just as well if you get down on them to clean.
This works really well, is very inexpensive, and I don't have to rinse. Just make sure the cloth is well-wrung out and you should have streak-free floors. The PineSol leaves a bit of scent, but it wafts out pretty quickly.
(07/11/2007)
By Katie A.
I have hardwood, not bamboo, but I doubt that there's anything different as far as cleaning. I do what the first poster does, but I use Murphy's Oil Soap mixed with water. It works great, it's inexpensive, and it smells nice. (07/12/2007)
By RDLaure
Pinesol is a light stripper. It will ruin waxed vinyl floors. Not sure long term if it good for the shine on your floor. (11/08/2007)
By Eric S.
I have had my bamboo floors for 3 years. I tried water and vinegar at first, and it was a nightmare, plus everything I've read says not to use water. The store I bought the flooring from recommended Bona Hardwood Floor cleaner with a microfiber mop. It's the only thing I use now, and works nicely although doesn't give me that "deep-down" clean feeling. I buy the large refill jugs of cleaner so it doesn't cost as much. (06/14/2008)
By Kathy R.
I was very upset when I saw that any mops or chemicals are not good enough for my bamboo floor. (I have a big German Shepard also, imagine that). One day I saw on TV the commercial with this mop. I bought it and believe me is great. If you will have it don't let the steam very much time (use the ON/OFF button) it is good for any floor and carpets. Try it. Look here: gammouda.com (01/18/2009)
By Hanuka
