You can use a hardwood floor cleaner, such as the Bona hardwood floor cleaner or the Bruce hardwood and laminate floor cleaner. Dirt, oil, and grime build up over time and aren't completely removed with weekly cleaning. To thoroughly clean hardwood floors, use a hardwood floor mop and hardwood floor cleaner diluted according to the instructions on the label. You may want to do this cleaning in the spring or just before and after the holidays.
Using a hardwood floor cleaner made with white vinegar can help clean heavily soiled hardwood floors. It's important to dilute white vinegar using ½ cup of white vinegar for every gallon of water, as it can be too strong and harmful on its own. Some examples of good water-based hardwood floor cleaning solutions with a neutral pH are the Bona Free & wood floor cleaner, which does not contain dyes or aromas, the Weiman hardwood floor cleaner and the Pallman wood floor cleaner. How often you clean hardwood floors will depend on several factors, such as the number of family members, lifestyle, pets, and the traffic your hardwood floors receive.
No, you can see where years of washing or cleaning have left the dirt in areas that were too difficult to clean properly. While several steam mops are marketed for cleaning hardwood floors, none of the major hardwood flooring associations recommend cleaning wood with steam. You can adjust how often you clean wooden floors depending on the time available and the current state of floor cleaning. Keep a polished look with these tips for cleaning hardwood floors, choosing the best cleaner for hardwood floors, removing stains, and more.
Learning to clean hardwood floors with vinegar will save you money in addition to providing a safe cleaning method for your floors. The best way to scrub hardwood floors with a surface finish is to saturate a sponge with the cleaner, drain off excess liquid until the mop head is damp but not dripping, and then scrubbing 3-foot sections of the floor at a time using circular motions to remove dirt and grime. Others rely on the use of vinegar and think that if you dilute it abundantly with water, they won't notice their floors dulling and that it's a great “green” way to clean. What's worrying is that vinegar is acidic and that acidity can degrade the finish of wooden floors and make them look dull.
It's a process that's much cheaper and less time consuming than complete refinishing and that allows you to significantly increase the time between complete wood floor restorations. Read on to learn how to identify your floor finish and select materials to remove dust, deep clean and remove stains. If the stain is deeper, lightly sand the floor and clean it with fine steel wool and odorless mineral spirits.
