How do you clean your wood floors?

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We only have wood floors in the foyer so it’s not a big space. I vacuum and then use the floor cleaner that came with it (Bryce) with an old t-shirt. It’s not a very large area so hands and knees is fine for me.

I bet they look great! Did you get wood everywhere?
 
Well our whole house has wood floors…this is what I do.
  1. Broom everyday to pick up dirt, dust etc. that can get tracked in on shoes.
  2. Every other day I damp wet mop the floors after brooming.(Water is the enemy of wood floors)
    I use Murphys Soap (1 cap full) on the floors diluted in a gallon of water. (wring out mop so it is just damp and mop the floors)
    let air dry and I am done
 
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Karin:
Well our whole house has wood floors…this is what I do.
  1. Broom everyday to pick up dirt, dust etc. that can get tracked in on shoes.
  2. Every other day I damp wet mop the floors after brooming.(Water is the enemy of wood floors)
    I use Murphys Soap (1 cap full) on the floors diluted in a gallon of water. (wring out mop so it is just damp and mop the floors)
    let air dry and I am done
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Hey Karin,
We’re on our second set of wood floors… just had them resanded / refinished last year and much to my HORROR I was told never ever ever use Murphy’s Oil Soap on them. I had been using that for years… I think it cleans great & smells good. Apparently it dulls the fiinish (so I was told) and leaves some sort of nasty build up. I see that you don’t use very much… but I was told NONE whatsoever. Maybe my finish is different from yours…?? Anyhow, I was told to use a bit of vinegar diluted in ALOT of water.

Spacecadet,
I’d check with the supplier and see what they reccomend? Congrats on your new floors! I bet they are beautiful!!!
 
carol marie:
Hey Karin,
We’re on our second set of wood floors… just had them resanded / refinished last year and much to my HORROR I was told never ever ever use Murphy’s Oil Soap on them. I had been using that for years… I think it cleans great & smells good. Apparently it dulls the fiinish (so I was told) and leaves some sort of nasty build up. I see that you don’t use very much… but I was told NONE whatsoever. Maybe my finish is different from yours…?? Anyhow, I was told to use a bit of vinegar diluted in ALOT of water.

Spacecadet,
I’d check with the supplier and see what they reccomend? Congrats on your new floors! I bet they are beautiful!!!
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I did notice that our kitchen floors which have a different finish than rest of the house was looking dull…I also use the vinegar and water when I am out of Murphy’s. My floors still shine and last time they where resanded/refinished was over 15 years ago. So outside of the kitchen floor where I do use the vinegar and water I use the Murphy’s.
But yes it is always BEST to ask the installer or manufacturer what they recommend:thumbsup: !
 
My husband and I just finished installing wood floors. We did 4 rooms, a hallway and a set of stairs. Loads of work but they are beautiful and it was a nice bonding experience. To dust them, I just use a stringy mop that I mist with water, shaking out after each room. Every other week or so I’ll use my vacuum without a roller to get the corners real good. Our house smells so much better now that we got rid of the carpet - former owners had big dogs.
 
Right now I have mixture of ceramic tile and carpet downstairs. I am thinking about installing wood floors because they look so beautiful, but I am afraid about the kitchen. I have two young children, and I am not good about sweeping every day. Won’t they get scratched up? How do those of you who have them like them?
 
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bapcathluth:
Right now I have mixture of ceramic tile and carpet downstairs. I am thinking about installing wood floors because they look so beautiful, but I am afraid about the kitchen. I have two young children, and I am not good about sweeping every day. Won’t they get scratched up? How do those of you who have them like them?
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I have wood floors in al rooms except the bathroom.
I also have two children (teen and toddler) and two cats…scratching of wood floors not an issue:) …also sweeping is not always needed:) .
99% of the time family members take off shoes at front door so really not much dirt is tracked around. In the kitchen it really is not a big issue either…we are all pretty neat hardly any crumbs or food on the floor in the kitchen…get more food dropped etc. in the dinning room than the kitchen. But just as I wipe counters in teh kitchen daily I do broom the floor daily…must be my years in the food service industry…🙂 As a side not wood floors if you spend alot of time standing are better on your back /legs etc. than tile floors.
 
I agree… we LOVE our wood floors. We have wood everywhere - including the kitchen. My very handy husband puts felt pads on everything so furniture never scratches… also we take our shoes off. As far as sweeping everyday - we have a small dog who cleans up whatever gets dropped in the kitchen. I’d highly reccomend one of those as well. I think wood is much warmer than tile & I’d never go back to wall to wall carpet.
 
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spacecadet:
we just got ours:dancing:

so what do you do???
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The husband of an old co-worker had a wood floor business. She told me NEVER use anything but a little water on a mop–not sure of the vinegar, but that’s probably fine. She said her husband had to do over many floors because people polished them or used Murphy’s Oil Soap.
 
How do you get the floors really clean with just water on a mop and no soap or Mr. Clean, etc. My kitchen floors get spilled on alot. I cook alot. My daughter is like a little pig when she eats. Sometimes I have to really scrub to get the stuff off. I don’t always catch the drips, flying chopped onion that gets smooshed, the oil that flies from frying immediatly. How do you clean that with just water?
 
I use a spray hardwood floor cleaner that I bought at Home Depot (don’t remember the name). You spray a small amount directly on the wood and then use a hardwood floor mop to spread it around and polish the floor. The mop head I use is detachable and washable. If you’re not a huge fan of sweeping, Oreck sells a vacuum cleaner that has a hardwood floor function that lifts the brushes so they don’t scratch the floors. I use that during the week and then sweep and polish on the weekends. I’ll look at the name of the cleaner tonight and let you know what it’s called.
 
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bapcathluth:
Thanks, Anglican.
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You’re welcome! And to answer your question, I absolutely love my hardwood floors. I only have one room, a hallway and staircase left to do and my home will be completely carpet free (except for area rugs which can be washed.)
 
It depends on the finish that you chose. You are lucky enough to know the person who applied your floor’s finish. Do what they tell you.
 
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