<p>I’ve read conflicting opinions. We are building a new house that will have pre-finished hardwood floors throughout the first floor.</p>
<p>Any advice? Regardless of what I use to clean them, what kind of mop-type appliance should I use?</p>
<p>After many, many years of carpeting, I can hardly wait for my new floors!</p>
<p>I think Bona makes a good product but is very pricey and to me seems to be better suited for shiny floors. I like Minwax hardwood floor cleaner just as well. I use a cotton t-shirt wrapped around the head of my sponge mop, rotating the t-shirt a couple of times and then changing it for a fresh one. Squirt the solution directly on the floor and mop. Many weeks, I even use water instead of any cleaner. For me, the key is the t-shirt which lifts the dirt better than the mop head itself. Make sure you vacuum, “Swiffer”, or sweep beforehand. I like the Swiffer in between moppings to pick up the dust bunnies.</p>
<p>I have the Bona mop. There is a place to refill the solution, and the blue cloth gets washed after each use. you just spray as you clean. very easy.</p>
<p>enjoy your floors</p>
<p>I have pre-finished in my kitchen and family room and use Bona. I’m still on the bottle of solution that came with the mop and it’s been at least two years since I bought it and my whole house is hardwood. </p>
<p>I don’t clean my floors that often though - maybe once every other month (except by the door the dogs come in.) Swiffering is usually enough.</p>
<p>Usually vacuuming is adequate for my hardwood floors, except in the kitchen and half bath. I bought a ‘mop’ at Lowe’s (probably 10 years ago) that I use exclusively on the wood floors. The mop head is basically a wash cloth (I bought 2 or three) that attaches with elastic. I use plain hot water to clean and that’s it. The cloth part detaches easily and I just throw them in the washer. </p>
<p>We live in an older home, many of the floors are original. Our floor guy did a great job of matching the new floors we put in the kitchen, etc with existing ones. He swears by ‘plain water and a rag’! I’ve followed his advice and have had good results.</p>
<p>I use Bona on my floors which are 70-80 years old. It’s great and doesn’t have to be used just on shiny floors. I resurfaced mine a few years ago with a matte finish and Bona cleans them beautifully - doesn’t leave them extra shiny either.</p>
<p>I’m afraid I’m not a good person to ask about mops - I get down on my hands and knees with a sponge - lol!</p>
<p>Generally speaking I just dry swiffer them but I Bona the ones near my doorways once a month or so.</p>
<p>We use a lot of Method brand products. I really like their Squirt + Mop floor cleaner. It comes in two scents, Lemon Ginger and Almond; I prefer the Almond.</p>
<p>The cheapest way to buy Bona is the concentrate (mix 8 to 1 with water) from Amazon. I do our downstairs once a week, down on my hands and knees, using a squirt bottle and old towels. Sweep well first.</p>
<p>Another user of Bona concentrate here. Although, ahem, I only do the hands and knees approach about once a year in the kitchen area, just use the mop the rest of the time. The mop I have fits a rectangular towel-like cover over the end, you spray it with the Bona, then mop. I change the cover halfway through. And I sweep before I do the Bona.</p>
<p>Our biggest challenge with the hardwood floor has not been the cleaning, it has been keeping the humidity high enough in the winter to keep the floor boards from separating. We live in a cold northern climate, so this may not be an issue in other areas.</p>
<p>Love Bona. I use the mop described by intparent. I usually sweep before Bona.
If you have a Bed Bath Beyond, some stores carry the concentrate. You can buy it with a coupon.</p>
<p>Bona users, in what way is Bona better than using just water with or without vinegar? Are the floors cleaner? Shinier? </p>
<p>My wooden floors are original to the house (1921) and I’ve lived in my house for over 25 years… never used anything other than water, but folks’ enthusiasm for Bona makes me wonder if I’m missing out on something good…</p>
<p>You are missing out on something good. Bona does clean nicely. A wood floor refinisher told me to use it more often on some areas that had some sticky buildup from a rug. Had cleaned for a year or so with water, on hands and knees. With Bona, the residue came off after a few months. The floors just look a little more finished with Bona, though I use it infrequently.</p>
<p>The same floor guy said that keeping grit off the floor is essential, which he said some folks don’t quite understand. I am careful with my wood floors, have folks take shoes off in the house for the most part, and I sweep traffic areas and the kitchen frequently. Daily when someone besides me is home. Keeping a stack of rags under the sink is handy for quick cleaning spots and drips, so things never get too dirty.</p>
<p>The Bona mop, with the refiller and blue towel, was less $40 at local hardware store (I didn’t price around), so in 4 years of new floors, a good investment. It beats getting on knees.</p>
<p>Water with white vinegar here. We tried Bona which works fine, but no better than the vinegar, at least on our floors. We felt the water wtih vinegar had the additional side effect of smelling cleaner. We use the Swiffer too.</p>
<p>As another posted pointed out, keeping grit off of the floor is the most important thing. We have floor mats at every entrance - one outside and one inside. This 2 mat method has worked extremely well for us. </p>
<p>Then the floors are swept fairly often. After they are swept, then I will mop them (I sweep far more often than I mop). When I had laminate flooring (looked like real wood), I used a homemade concoction of water, vinegar, alcohol and a drop of dish soap. This worked splendidly on laminate floor. I did all kinds of research when we got hardwood floors and I read that vinegar is not good for hardwood. So, I use Bona now. It isn’t cheap, but then I mop my floors infrequently enough that a large bottle of concentrate lasts well over a year. </p>
<p>And I love my microfiber mop! the Bona cleaner is in a spray bottle. I spray an area (about 3’x3’) and mop that. Then I move on to the next area. This works quite well for me.</p>
<p>I’m yet another Bona fan as I’ve mentioned on several past hardwood floor threads. It was recommended to me by the place that installed my hardwoods. I have the automatic spray mop, which is great. A container of the Bona cleaning solution fits right into the mop and you squeeze the handle to spray as you go. Very easy, no residue and streak free with a nice finish. </p>
<p>The other thing I like about the mop is how easy it is to use. It’s large enough to make short work of either big rooms or touchups and has a swivel to get into the smallest nooks and crannies.</p>
<p>I used to use Bona on our (hickory) floors, but it left a cloudy, gluey residue that I would have to lean so hard into the mop that my shoulders ached, to get it to look right. I actually considered getting a floor buffer. Then we had our floors redone, and the hardwood guy told me to use vinegar and water (mixed 1:3) and as little as possible, and that’s worked great. Our floors have kind of a soft sheen, not matte and not shiny. I don’t know why Bona didn’t work for me. Maybe I wasn’t using it correctly. I have a big bottle of the cleaner. Too bad I can’t give it to one of you!</p>
<p>I clean my wood floors (entire house except two small bedrooms) with water and vinegar about twice a year on my hands and knees. In between I use Bona in a mop that I bought at Target that has a washable microfiber head and a refillable bottle for the Bona. There is a trigger on the handle of the mop to spray the solution as you go. It is super easy and your house does not smell like a salad for three days after you clean:)</p>
<p>So I just did some more googling on this subject and it seems that there is quite a controversy on whether or not you can safely use vinegar on hardwood floors. I suspect that the vinegar is only a problem when too much is used and when the floor gets too wet with the cleaning solution. Putting the solution in a spray bottle, working on a small area at a time and using a microfiber mop to quickly wipe up the cleaning solution should solve the problem. </p>
<p>I did read in many places that you should not use Murphy’s oil soap.</p>
<p>I never use Murphys on the indoor hardwood floors… but on the porch outside in the spring it is great.</p>