Hardwood Floor Cleaner

Choosing The Right One

Remember, it is the finish you are cleaning, not the wood... By establishing what type of hardwood floor finish is on your wood floor you will know what type of cleaner to use and which ones to avoid.

Rule of Thumb always follow the manufacturer’s recommendation (if known) for proper care of your particular kind of hardwood floor.

NOT SURE which cleaning product is recommended, or available, check out the alternatives below!

DO NOT use any cleaning products that contain oil soaps or wax.

ANY generic hardwood floor cleaner from the hardware store will work as long as it doesn’t contain any oil soaps or wax.

OR: occasionally, you can use a mixture of one quarter-cup of mild or pH-neutral soap (like dishwashing soap) in a bucket of water. This solution works great, but don’t use it on a regular basis (you be the judge) because of the water content!

DO NOT use: furniture sprays, products with alkaline, abrasive cleaners or straight ammonia.

Using any of these cleaning products will violate your warranty and/or leave a residue, leave the surface slippery (like ice), will dull or scratch the floor’s finish, are time consuming to apply or leave the flooring resistant to additional coats of wax.

DO NOT use water alone or a water and vinegar solution. Either one will only leave your floors looking dingy and will not remove the dirt!

Swiffer WetJet

DO NOT use Swiffer WetJet on unfinished, oiled or waxed hardwood flooring. Per the manufacturer, it is not designed for these types of wood floors and could damage the existing finish, or wood, and make your floors resistant to future refinishing.

Although Swiffer has come out with a product that indicates it can be used on wood floors, it doesn't have the best product mix for wood floor cleaning while protecting the finish on the wood. ONLY use recommended cleaning products that protect the finish on your wood floors!

Murphy's Oil

I have used Murphy’s Oil Soap (it contains vegetable oil) to clean my wood floors, but found it left a dull film on the surface of the floor.

Although Murphy’s Oil Soap is a household name for cleaning wood surfaces, there is some controversy about using it on wood floors. Many wood professionals do not recommend it. From my personal experience I no longer use it as a hardwood floor cleaner and do not recommend it to others.

There are many excellent and safe wood floor cleaning products available to choose from that are extremely effective at protecting and preserving the quality of the wood finish and keep it looking like new!

Keep in mind that your goal is to protect the finish, which protects the wood.

I'll be adding my top wood finish cleaning product picks, soon!

to Cleaning Hardwood Floors
back to Flooring HOME... from Hardwood Floor Cleaner