Is the other stuff being sold the pro strength undiluted?
I use vinegar and hot water most of the time. It smells, but the smell doesn’t last long (a couple of hours maybe).
Sometimes I use Murphy’s Oil - just a capful to a gallon of water is plenty.
I like Bona okay, but my absolute favorite is Method almond scented wood floor cleaner (we buy it at Target or on Amazon). Cleans super well and smells light and AMAZING. I usually hate cleaner smells, but this is awesome. No build up at all.
We used it on Armstrong laminate floors two houses ago, and now use it on regular hardwood. Works beautifully for either surface. One thing to be careful with is that one of the Bona products (I don’t know which as we don’t have it anymore) can make floors REALLY slippery.
The Bona refinisher makes the floor slick. The cleaner does not.
@Glitterbug my D uses that in the room that she rents and she loves it!
Interesting thread. I have been using swiffer on wood which does ok. We have 20 year old glitsa finish (polyurethane and oil?) which is wearing down with dog scratches and age. We were told then to use vinegar and water, but last several years we used swiffer. When I run out of swiffer I’m switching to Bona cleaner.
The area we had carpet removed last year and replaced with prefinished wood, the company told us to use Bona. Have not needed to use anything but a dry mop yet.
This thread encouraged me to investigate the Bona. Well, it turns out there is alot of Bona choices. Their polish and their refinisher (2 in 1) seem to be almost permanent and then you have to sand the floor to refinish.
So, only question I have is- do you use the Bona cleaner with their mop and throw liquid on the floor, or do you use their automatic spray/mop? and is there a difference in the size of the mop?
I just have an o cedar mop with multiple microfiber heads. I wet the head and squeeze it out and roll it in a cloth so it is damp, not wet, i use the bona cleaner (diluted as required). i don’t like sprays as it gets up the cupboards and appliances, I use a finer squeeze bottle and squeeze onto floor and clean. Any microfiber mop will work. You can use a swiffer mop and use small microfiber cloths stuffed into the holes. I use that for spot cleaning.
I use a recipe I found online…a mixture of vinegar, alcohol water and a couple drops of dish soap. It’s on many websites and users swear by it. So cheap, no streaks and no residue. I put it in a steam mop that leaves the floor almost dry.
Having said that, I will also add that since we got our robotic vacuum, our wood floors are SO SO much cleaner. When we do mop now the mop cover barely gets dirty because there’s just not much to pick up.
I’ve used Bona for years, but I got an orange & rosemary floor cleaner concentrate as part of a welcome gift from Grove just before the holidays. I think it has diminished some of the scratches under my kitchen table, which was not the case with Bona. I spray it on the floor and use the Bona mop to spread it. Will still use Bona as well, but have been pleased with this new product.
I use the Bona disposable wet pads. Works like a Swiffer wet pad (which I use in the bathrooms).
Would vinegar and water get rid of the sticky residue?
If you don’t mind doing it on your hands and knees. Get a bucket and use as warm/hot water as you can stand. Get several towels and quarter fold them. Vacuum the floor well. Then wash the floor in sections never redipping the towel. Get a new towel when you need one. You should have 8 sides per towel. Often the stickiness is due to dirt that is deposited on the floor after the water/cleaner has dried. Most mops kind of redeposit the dirt on to the floor. Steam mops do a good job but you need to be careful and test them on an inconspicuous place on the floor. Make sure you do not set a hot steam mop down and leave it on the floor hot you will damage the finish.