what is the best way to clean wood floors (hardwood, laminate, refinish)

[cheese9988]

Originally Posted by AmericanRoadGirl

Murphy's (the Oil Soap folks) makes a wood floor cleaner that I use and like. Leaves no film.

+2 I use Murphy oil. I have 100 year old hardwood floors, cleans and leaves a nice shine. I usually use a floor vacuum then wash twice.

[firefightermom]

I also use Murphy's Oil Soap...I use it on my cabinets and railings also.

[dad2jules]

We used to have 3 Siberian Huskies who would reek havoc on our wood floors. We would use a product called Quick Shine on them and they would look great.

[misplaced1]

What VIM cleaner do you use? I tried to do a search on the web but haven't quite figured it out. Thanks!

Originally Posted by Grega

I have lived with wood floors my whole life (43 years) so you can imagine how much I've cleaned them! Here's the trick to get a perfect shine, no film, no slip, healthy rich looking wood, and its safe:
1. take a bucket of water and give the floors a no chemical rinse.
2. be sure to leave a small amount of water on the floors.
3. now with a new clean bucket of water mix 1 to 6 parts VIM cleaner and 1 part vegatable oil.
4. let it settle together for about 5 minutes and you will have the most incredible wood cleaning solution you've ever used and ever will use!!
5. give the floor a good mopping or sponging and you will be the lady or guy with the most envious floors in the neighborhood!!

An old recipe from my great granda! My mother still lives in that house and the wood is amazing!! Enjoy

[kcam213]

I just tried Murphy's oil soap on my hardwood floor. I think it has that poly urethr... finish/sealing.

I get water spots/ water marks where the floor has air dried. I used a barely damp microfiber cloth mop and that squirt and mop Murphy oil soap.

It looked okay if I hand dried the floor, but that was very tedious on my hands and knees.

any suggestions? It seems like something that is NOT water based (therefore nothing that is diluted in water) would work better.

[Threerun]

The old guy that finished our hardwood floors in our last house scolded us on Murphy's Oil soap. He said only dilluted vinegar and water, which is what we then used for years. My wife would add a few drops of lemon oil to the bucket as well.

Worked great, no build-up, nice and clean every time (and cheap as heck too).

[dsh1127]

Originally Posted by AmericanRoadGirl

Murphy's (the Oil Soap folks) makes a wood floor cleaner that I use and like. Leaves no film.

I use this also and really like it. I only use it once a month or so, and just use water the rest of the time.

[Threerun]

Murphy's Oil soap on poly is not recommended at all. My finisher said it will build up and make resanding a must for any new finish.

I thought it was odd he recommedned vinegar and water, but hey- he's been in the busines 40years.

Here's a good write-up, says the same thing.

http://www.colehardware.com/hotline/2003/07/hdwdflrs.htm

And I remember seeing this a while back. This issue comes up a lot here at C-D
Hardwood Floor Maintenence - What's different than CA?

[Beth56]

Originally Posted by Threerun

Murphy's Oil soap on poly is not recommended at all. My finisher said it will build up and make resanding a must for any new finish.

I thought it was odd he recommedned vinegar and water, but hey- he's been in the busines 40years.

Here's a good write-up, says the same thing.

http://www.colehardware.com/hotline/2003/07/hdwdflrs.htm

And I remember seeing this a while back. This issue comes up a lot here at C-D
Hardwood Floor Maintenence - What's different than CA?

My floor finisher told me the same thing.

Vinegar and water was also recommended.

Never use oil soap.

[WellShoneMoon]

I'm a big fan of Orange Glo Hardwood Cleaner & Polish, although the guy who advertises it on TV is pretty annoying. I vacuum the floor first, and then apply the Orange Glo according to the directions. It leaves a great shine. Warning: Don't set your bottle of Orange Glo on your Corian countertop -- the stuff leaves a ring on the countertop that won't come off. Now I always put a paper plate under the Orange Glo bottle to catch the drips.

I won't use Murphy's Oil Soap, because my mom used it ALL THE TIME when I was growing up and I got so I couldn't stand the smell.