how to clean wood floors?

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Forum -> Household Management -> Cleaning & Laundry

How to clean wood floors?

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mommy24 ↓

Fri, Jul 28 2006, 1:30 pm

I have wood floors that are finished and ones that aren't.

No matter what I do I can't get them clean.

How do you clean your floors?

chen ↓

Fri, Jul 28 2006, 1:37 pm

unfinished wood? you mean bare wood? raw? straight from the lumberyard? oy vei! best idea is to have them sanded and sealed with polyurethane. bare wood is a sponge. I haven't a clue how to clean it. Murphy's Oil Soap is a classic for cleaning wood but I'm not sure you're supposed to use it on raw wood.

for finsihed wood, Murphy's oil soap, using as little water as you can manage. a credit card to scrape off yucky gunk. some spit on a tissue for small black marks (or just a drop of water, though surely saliva has some cleaning properties not found in plain water? LOL

). and a good vacuum cleaner or dust mop.

chocolate moose ↓

Fri, Jul 28 2006, 1:46 pm

Def. use a special cleaner and not too much water, either.

shayna82

Fri, Jul 28 2006, 1:54 pm

my husband just got a swiffer mop, that you spray around as much or little as you want, so its just wet enough to take out stains . I just did it for the second time, and its great. the wood is not wet so It wont rot, and it looks and smells clean.

↑ mommy24

Fri, Jul 28 2006, 2:02 pm

thanks for the advise!

chen- someone saw my floors and told me that it wasn't finished wood I think it was just plain dirty and doesn't have that shine. embarrassed

I usually use a murphy's oil type of cleanser and a little water but it just never looks clean.

Shayna, was the swiffer specail for wood floors or is it for all floors?

thanks!

Estee2

Fri, Jul 28 2006, 2:16 pm

If it is finished wood, (as a gloss of polyurethane),
then even a mop with water and vinegar cleans well.

I once did an area with Windex, by hand;
it was so clean and shiny, but dangerously so --
my children kept slipping on that spot.

So, no more Windex or Pledge (also slippery, obviously) on floors ! Exclamation

↑ chen

Fri, Jul 28 2006, 2:24 pm

mommy24 wrote:

chen- someone saw my floors and told me that it wasn't finished wood I think it was just plain dirty and doesn't have that shine. embarrassed

if it's really raw wood, the dirt has probably sunk into the wood itself. How deep depends on what it was. Oil can really go in deep and make a stain that nothing will get out. Plain dumb dirt may penetrate just a little, so sanding would remove it. of course you'd have to seal it to keep the same thing from happening again.

withhumor

Thu, Sep 28 2006, 6:54 pm

I’m curious, what would happen if you made a solution of water and bleach and try scrubbing an inconspicuous spot? If it’s unfinished, it will fade and look ‘clean’ but your floor is going to be damaged every day that it is unfinished. If it’s in the living room or dining room, you should put down a big area rug,. You can buy them by the yard or for cheap at stores like pergament

shopaholic

Thu, Sep 28 2006, 9:20 pm

I'm glad to hear I'm doing the right cleaning for my wood floors. Time & time again I've been told to use a bit of Murphy's Oil & not a lot of water.

Funny thing is my mother was told to use vinegar mixed with water & at work they told the cleaning lady to do the same. I've never heard it otherwize so I don't bother.

Imhappy! ↓

Fri, Sep 29 2006, 10:42 am

a bit of vinager in a bucket of cold water and bit of murphey does wonders on a wood floor

momof6

Tue, Oct 03 2006, 11:29 am

have you been using vinegar and water on your floor a long time? Does it destroy your floors?

↑ Imhappy! ↓

Tue, Oct 03 2006, 11:34 am

the truth is I only wash my floors once a week as a rule and sometimes twice a week the hectic areas.

If the floor is mostly dusty I use only cold water (does a great job) I try not to use vinager too often like every two weeks.

gives a great shine...

don't put a lot I give a about 1/2 cup to a bucket ( I never measured just skill from the bottle) I also don't leav ethe floor wet I use two shmattes 1 wet and 1 dry.

↑ chocolate moose

Tue, Oct 03 2006, 12:15 pm

Really, you wash wooden floors that often?

↑ Imhappy!

Tue, Oct 03 2006, 12:42 pm

ya its my main living area?

raizy

Tue, Oct 10 2006, 12:02 am

I wash my wooden floors 3 times a week. dont ask murphy is slowly killing it. what am I suppose to do ? I have kids crawling on it . and sitting on it. I can not have kids get dirty from dirty floors. so ill rather kill my floor and have a clean house. and not have mothers complain that their little darling tush is all dirty!

but really is there anything else to do for a dirty floor besides washing it??

happyone

Tue, Oct 10 2006, 12:12 am

gila and water. Murphy for when it's really dirty.

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