What Cleaner To Use On Hardwood Floors

What to use to clean hardwood floors.

What cleaner to use on hardwood floors.

They re durable and with proper care last for decades. Don t rely on lemon juice or a vinegar and water solution to clean hardwood floors. For a natural wood floor cleaner use a common kitchen staple. One example is bona s free simple hardwood floor cleaner 18.

Higher is too alkaline and lower is okay for an all purpose cleaner but not here. For more than 100 years people have been using murphy oil soap to clean wood floors for one simple reason. Remove all furniture from the floor before cleaning with a hardwood floor cleaner. For a neutral solution you want a ph level of about 7 or matched to cured poly.

Clean wood floors with vinegar by adding 1 2 cup white vinegar to a gallon of lukewarm water. Steam cleaners put heat and excessive water on your floor which can lead to cupping and long term damage. Learning how to clean hardwood floors with vinegar will save you money on top of providing a safe cleaning method for your floors. While a steam cleaner can be a useful tool for cleaning a carpet floor it should never be used on engineered hardwood.

This is especially true for prefinished hardwood floors. Avoid using water and vinegar soap based cleaners wax or steam cleaners on hardwood floors. When vacuuming use a floor brush attachment and avoid the beater bar its rotating brush can dent wood floors. Avoid leaving any standing water on the floor for this can damage the wood.

Make sure to wring most of the water out of the mop so it s damp. Vinegar and water can dull the floor s finish over time while soap and wax leave a residue. The steam can damage the wood surface by forcing water into the veneer and the top layer of hardwood. Use a dust mop or vacuum to remove dirt dust pet hair and other debris.

Never use a steam cleaner on your engineered hardwood floor. One way how to clean hardwood floors is to use a mop and hardwood floor cleaner according to the manufacturer s instructions. They ll dull or scratch the finish. Sweep the floor and hit it with a wet mop and then move on to the floor cleaner.

Try to use a floor cleaner every month or so to ensure that your floors stay clean and in top condition. Hardwood floors bring an earthy warm beauty to your home. It s great for hardwood floors in particular but can also be used on almost any other surface from tile and linoleum to furniture anything but unsealed or unfinished wood.