How do you clean your hardwood floors?

[elrohwen]

I grew up with wall to wall carpet and never learned the tricks for cleaning hardwood. I figured it would be simple, but after living with hardwood for a few years I think I'm still not doing it the best way.

Currently I use a swiffer wet (without the jets) mostly because I got it for free. I like that it can clean up anything that might've been spilled in the kitchen and I don't have to get on my hands and knees (the way I cleaned the kitchen floor growing up). I hate how it doesn't seem to pick up dust or pet hair - just push them around. The worst is that it looks like it cleaned, but once things dry I find piles of dust and bunny hair where the swiffer left it.

So, I end up sweeping everything with a broom first to get the dust and hair, and by that point it seems pointless to even use the swiffer wet except in the kitchen or high traffic areas. It's not like I'm spilling things in the corners of the living room.

How do you clean your hardwood floors? Any tricks? Is there a one step method I can use so that I won't be sweeping and swiffering everything?

 

[NewEnglandLady]

We''ve had hardwoods throughout for about six years now and I have cleaned our hardwoods once a week for those six years...and I STILL don''t have a perfect method.

I switch between using Murphy''s oil and Orange Glow Hardwood Polish. The Orange Glow gives the floors a much glossier fiinish, but I don''t like the buildup that occurs after awhile. So while Murphy''s leaves the floors a bit more dull, I''m starting to use it more and think I''m going to stick with it. If I know we''re having guests and care enough to try to impress them (which is very rare), I''ll do Murphy''s and then the Orange Glow polish on top.

Pet hair is a constant for us. Within seconds of vacuuming, the fur will start to fall. So my method is to put our boys outside (or in a crate) and then I vacuum the whole house, then use the tools to get all the fur from the corners, the stairs, fabric on the sofa, etc. THEN I get out the mop with Murphy''s and just scrub every room. On any given Sunday if you walk into my house, it will undoubtedly smell like Murphy''s Oil Soap.

 

[elrohwen]

Wow, NEL, you''re way more on top of things than I am! Then again, my shedder is much smaller than yours

Does your vacuum work well on hardwoods? I''d love to use mine, but I can''t seem to get it to work well. It tends to blow everything out in front of it on the hardwood instead of vacuuming it up. Is there a particular attachment I should use instead?

 

[DivaDiamond007]

Timely topic

Our new home has hardwoods. I put the puggie outside or in her crate, sweep the entire house with the Dyson, using the attachments to get under/behind furniture and in the corners and then get out my handy Swiffer Wet Jet and use the multipurpose cleaner on all of the floors. It seems to work for us

I love love love our pug, but after living pet-free with the in-laws for a year I can see why some people just don''t do animals. She sheds so much and year-round so the upkeep is never-ending!

 

[monarch64]

I use the swiffer vac first, with a regular swiffer on it, then I use the same vac (not turned on) with a wet swiffer on it. Pick up the dust and fur first, then wet mop.

 

[Morgie44]

I love the orange glow stuff on our floors because the poly that the previous owner used is very matte and we don''t think the original floors can withstand another sand... It gives a nice shine but build up can be a problem if you use it too much. We usually sweep a few times a week then use the orange glo once a month or so and then use plain water the other weeks.

 

[elrohwen]

Unfortunately for me it sounds like everyone uses a two step process of vacuum/sweep them some kind of wet wash. I think I need to figure out how to get my vacuum to work for me on hardwoods. Any tips? I also struggle because the bunny fur is extremely light and cottony, much more so than dog or cat hair. Whenever I try to sweep it just poofs up into the air. What''s a better method? Is there a way to use the vacuum that won''t also cause hair to fly all over?

 

[NewEnglandLady]

I know what you mean about the fur flying up into the air--our dogs undercoat (the coat that sheds) is super fluffy, so when the exaust from the vacuum blows onto it, it blows around. Sometimes I feel like I spend half of my time vacuuming just waiting for the fur to fall back on the floor. I know exactly where the exhaust on my vacuum comes out, so if I see a little tumbleweed of fur, I point the part of the vacuum which has the exhaust away from it and attack!

I finally broke down and bought a Dyson Animal this year. I never thought I needed one because hard woods are so much easier to vacuum than carpet, but I was wrong. The suction from the vacuum is very strong (then again, so is the exhaust, which goes back to the floating fur issue), so I vacuum the whole house in about 8 minutes...so long as I do it every day.

 

[elrohwen]

NEL, the Animal sounds awesome! I will absolutely get one once we have a dog and another bunny or two. Our vacuums (we have two) aren't great, but they're probably as good as I'm going to get right now. Do you use a hose attachment? I wonder if that will keep my vacuum far enough away so it won't blow stuff around. I'm starting to think that vacuuming would be a lot quicker than sweeping.

ETA: And sometimes I'm just lazy and wait for furry tumbleweeds to form and just pick them up by hand

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

I love my Dyson Animal!!! I too have a dog with thick fur and a fluffy undercoat that''s constantly letting go regardless of the time of year. It never ends. We also have three cats. My strategy is to sweep the HW and then vacuum the piles. Then I go over the floor with Bruce Hardwood Floor Cleaner. We had some of the floors refinished in our old house and the guy said to never use Orange Glo or MOS on HW floors. As others have mentioned, OG builds up over time. MOS does as well unless you use very very little of it in your mop water and rinse thoroughly. That''s not the real issue though. When the build up forms, dust collects in it. You might not be able to see it, but over time it will wear through the finish on your floor. He recommended Bruce because it can be used without a bucket and mop and it evaporates faster than water. Even though there''s alcohol in it (which is what makes it evaporate), there''s something else in it that conditions the wood in it.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Date: 12/4/2009 4:37:12 PM
Author: Hudson_Hawk
I love my Dyson Animal!!! I too have a dog with thick fur and a fluffy undercoat that''s constantly letting go regardless of the time of year. It never ends. We also have three cats. My strategy is to sweep the HW and then vacuum the piles. Then I go over the floor with Bruce Hardwood Floor Cleaner. We had some of the floors refinished in our old house and the guy said to never use Orange Glo or MOS on HW floors. As others have mentioned, OG builds up over time. MOS does as well unless you use very very little of it in your mop water and rinse thoroughly. That''s not the real issue though. When the build up forms, dust collects in it. You might not be able to see it, but over time it will wear through the finish on your floor. He recommended Bruce because it can be used without a bucket and mop and it evaporates faster than water. Even though there''s alcohol in it (which is what makes it evaporate), there''s something else in it that conditions the wood in it.

This is fantastic to know! Thanks, HH! I am determined to figure out what is best for wood floors before we actually buy our own house. Bruce sounds like the best solution!

Elrohweh, I use the attachments on my vacuum often--I need the house to get to the corners because that''s where the fur builds up. I also have a hand vac for the stairs since it''s easier to use than the vacuum. Does your vacuum have a rotation brush? Sometimes with those fur tumbleweeds it''s easier to just turn off the brush so all you have is the suction.

 

[Rachel9]

Hi, TG we only have wood floors in 3 rooms, we were also told not to use Orage Glo [?] I use Electrolux vacuum first then spray Bona Kemi cleanser then mop with a dry micro fiber mop in 4' sections, love it! Very nice shine and smell.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Date: 12/4/2009 4:53:13 PM
Author: NewEnglandLady

Date: 12/4/2009 4:37:12 PM

Author: Hudson_Hawk

I love my Dyson Animal!!! I too have a dog with thick fur and a fluffy undercoat that''s constantly letting go regardless of the time of year. It never ends. We also have three cats. My strategy is to sweep the HW and then vacuum the piles. Then I go over the floor with Bruce Hardwood Floor Cleaner. We had some of the floors refinished in our old house and the guy said to never use Orange Glo or MOS on HW floors. As others have mentioned, OG builds up over time. MOS does as well unless you use very very little of it in your mop water and rinse thoroughly. That''s not the real issue though. When the build up forms, dust collects in it. You might not be able to see it, but over time it will wear through the finish on your floor. He recommended Bruce because it can be used without a bucket and mop and it evaporates faster than water. Even though there''s alcohol in it (which is what makes it evaporate), there''s something else in it that conditions the wood in it.

This is fantastic to know! Thanks, HH! I am determined to figure out what is best for wood floors before we actually buy our own house. Bruce sounds like the best solution!


Elrohweh, I use the attachments on my vacuum often--I need the house to get to the corners because that''s where the fur builds up. I also have a hand vac for the stairs since it''s easier to use than the vacuum. Does your vacuum have a rotation brush? Sometimes with those fur tumbleweeds it''s easier to just turn off the brush so all you have is the suction.

Also, I use a microfiber cloth on an old-fashioned swiffer sweeper. The Bruce comes in a spray bottle and I just spray and then wipe, changing out the MF cloth when it gets dirty. I get my cloths at Walmart or Target in the autocare section. I''ve also seen them at the Christmas tree shop, the dollar store and Auto Zone. I like the auto ones because they''re big enough to put on the swiffer.

The Bona system is also supposed to be good.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

N-Have you ever cleaned out the cyclone in your Dyson? I guess you''re supposed to do it at least once every 6 months or so but I''m scared of hurting the vacuum! Cleaning the Hepa filter is easy...

 

[anniee19]

We have hardwood floors in our kitchen, 2 dogs and 2 cats. I am constantly sweeping up the hair with a rubber bristled broom, which seems to pick up the hair better than a regular one instead of pushing it about.
Once every other week I use my steam mop on the entire kitchen floor. I have a Eureka Enviro steamer, and I swear it works like magic. Then, about once a month or every other month I use Bona hardwood floor cleaner. I get on my hands and knees and give it a good scrubbing. Bona has been the most recommended floor product I have come across so far, and it has great reviews on most sites. It really makes a big difference in my opinion!

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Date: 12/4/2009 5:11:01 PM
Author: Hudson_Hawk
N-Have you ever cleaned out the cyclone in your Dyson? I guess you''re supposed to do it at least once every 6 months or so but I''m scared of hurting the vacuum! Cleaning the Hepa filter is easy...

No, it''s funny you bring that up because I was just thinking about that last night. I remember reading that it should be cleaned out every 6 months and I need to start thinking about doing it, but so far I haven''t had to and I''m scared of breaking something...or taking it apart and not being able to put it back together correctly. It can''t be that bad, right? I just keep putting it off (I''ve only had the vacuum a couple of months, but I vacuum so much I think I should do it every 3 months).

 

[Mrs Mitchell]

Our floors are vacuumed once a week with a Dyson Animal, more often in the rooms the dogs gets into (but she doesn''t shed too much). They don''t get wet-cleaning very often, DH is obsessive about that being bad for them (whatever). We don''t have hardwood in the kitchen or bathrooms though, and the rest of the house doesn''t really need to be wet mopped, just the vacuuming does fine.

He does use orange glow on the high traffic areas, mostly the hallway and once a year he uses a tin of good old fashioned beeswax and lavender oil in the living room, dining room and study. It really does look lovely and it smells nice too. It''s more effort that I could be bothered with, but DH finds it therapuetic, apparently. Weirdo!

 

[sbde]

i use the dry swiffer or my dyson to sweep once or twice a week and then use Bona as a wet cleaner about 2-4 times a month. i love that it''s non toxic and keeps my floors sparkling. definitely check it out for long term jardwood upkeep. linky

 

[neatfreak]

We do almost the exact same thing as HH but I use the Bona hardwood floor cleaner. I like it better than the Bruce.

And they sell the microfiber cloths in HUGE packages really cheap at Costco!

 

[zoebartlett]

We have a Dyson Animal too and I love it. We have two cats and wall to wall carpeting in most of our condo, with the exception of fake wood (pergo?) in the hallway and kitchen). I haven''t figured out how to wash our (non) hard wood floors yet.

 

[April20]

Date: 12/4/2009 5:46:50 PM
Author: NewEnglandLady

Date: 12/4/2009 5:11:01 PM
Author: Hudson_Hawk
N-Have you ever cleaned out the cyclone in your Dyson? I guess you''re supposed to do it at least once every 6 months or so but I''m scared of hurting the vacuum! Cleaning the Hepa filter is easy...

No, it''s funny you bring that up because I was just thinking about that last night. I remember reading that it should be cleaned out every 6 months and I need to start thinking about doing it, but so far I haven''t had to and I''m scared of breaking something...or taking it apart and not being able to put it back together correctly. It can''t be that bad, right? I just keep putting it off (I''ve only had the vacuum a couple of months, but I vacuum so much I think I should do it every 3 months).

Oh man, I have the Dyson animal and it''s never, ever occurred to me to clean out the cyclone. I''ve had it like three years and never thought about it once. How are we supposed to take it apart???

 

[swingirl]

Date: 12/4/2009 3:58:02 PM
Author: DivaDiamond007
Timely topic

Our new home has hardwoods. I put the puggie outside or in her crate, sweep the entire house with the Dyson, using the attachments to get under/behind furniture and in the corners and then get out my handy Swiffer Wet Jet and use the multipurpose cleaner on all of the floors. It seems to work for us

I love love love our pug, but after living pet-free with the in-laws for a year I can see why some people just don''t do animals. She sheds so much and year-round so the upkeep is never-ending!

I have a pug too. Little shedders, they are! What works for me is I brush him outside and get off as much fur as I can. But the hair balls accumulate in the corners pretty quickly. I have noticed if I brush (3 hair brushes full) it keeps the house hair-free for about a week.

 

[iheartscience]

I vacuum and then my husband picks the rugs up and mops with MOS, although I''m going to tell him to check out Bruce or Bona now! I have a Miele S4212 vacuum and it is AMAZING! And the exhaust doesn''t blow fur around like crazy, which I love. Several of the reviews mentioned that it didn''t blow the fur around, which is part of why I bought it. (I have 3 fluffy kitties who shed like crazy!) I don''t like Swiffers for exactly the reasons you mentioned-they just push the dirt around!

 

[DivaDiamond007]

Date: 12/4/2009 8:04:42 PM
Author: swingirl

Date: 12/4/2009 3:58:02 PM
Author: DivaDiamond007
Timely topic

Our new home has hardwoods. I put the puggie outside or in her crate, sweep the entire house with the Dyson, using the attachments to get under/behind furniture and in the corners and then get out my handy Swiffer Wet Jet and use the multipurpose cleaner on all of the floors. It seems to work for us

I love love love our pug, but after living pet-free with the in-laws for a year I can see why some people just don''t do animals. She sheds so much and year-round so the upkeep is never-ending!

I have a pug too. Little shedders, they are! What works for me is I brush him outside and get off as much fur as I can. But the hair balls accumulate in the corners pretty quickly. I have noticed if I brush (3 hair brushes full) it keeps the house hair-free for about a week.

We''ve been giving her a bath about once every other week and also giving her a good brushing outside. I agree that it cuts down on the furballs rolling around the house.

Our Dyson is also the Animal DC17 and we''ve had it 2 or 3 years. I never thought to clean out the cyclone. Sounds like a project for DH!

 

[zoebartlett]

Date: 12/4/2009 7:21:16 PM
Author: April20

Date: 12/4/2009 5:46:50 PM

Author: NewEnglandLady

Date: 12/4/2009 5:11:01 PM

Author: Hudson_Hawk

N-Have you ever cleaned out the cyclone in your Dyson? I guess you''re supposed to do it at least once every 6 months or so but I''m scared of hurting the vacuum! Cleaning the Hepa filter is easy...

No, it''s funny you bring that up because I was just thinking about that last night. I remember reading that it should be cleaned out every 6 months and I need to start thinking about doing it, but so far I haven''t had to and I''m scared of breaking something...or taking it apart and not being able to put it back together correctly. It can''t be that bad, right? I just keep putting it off (I''ve only had the vacuum a couple of months, but I vacuum so much I think I should do it every 3 months).

Oh man, I have the Dyson animal and it''s never, ever occurred to me to clean out the cyclone. I''ve had it like three years and never thought about it once. How are we supposed to take it apart???

Good question! I''ve never thought to clean out ours either (and I have no clue how). The most I do is empty and wipe down the canister and the little mesh part under it.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Date: 12/4/2009 7:21:16 PM
Author: April20

Date: 12/4/2009 5:46:50 PM

Author: NewEnglandLady

Date: 12/4/2009 5:11:01 PM

Author: Hudson_Hawk

N-Have you ever cleaned out the cyclone in your Dyson? I guess you''re supposed to do it at least once every 6 months or so but I''m scared of hurting the vacuum! Cleaning the Hepa filter is easy...

No, it''s funny you bring that up because I was just thinking about that last night. I remember reading that it should be cleaned out every 6 months and I need to start thinking about doing it, but so far I haven''t had to and I''m scared of breaking something...or taking it apart and not being able to put it back together correctly. It can''t be that bad, right? I just keep putting it off (I''ve only had the vacuum a couple of months, but I vacuum so much I think I should do it every 3 months).

Oh man, I have the Dyson animal and it''s never, ever occurred to me to clean out the cyclone. I''ve had it like three years and never thought about it once. How are we supposed to take it apart???

April, you have to detach the canister. There''s a little button at the top on the back, near the long red stick think that''s in it. You press the button and the whole clear canister comes off leaving just the cyclone. Apparently it''s okay to clean this out using water, but like NEL, I''m scared of damaging something. I usually just take it outside and lightly tap it against the wall to release any loose dust. I sure would love to know how to clean it out really well though...it smells like gross old dog and frito feet combined.

 

[lovelylulu]

Does anyone have a suggestion recommendation for vacuums (it seems that votes go to the dyson animal) that work well on hardwoods/dog hair - if it''s lightweight (carry up to the second floor) would be a bonus!

Thanks!

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 12/7/2009 12:47:13 PM
Author: lovelylulu
Does anyone have a suggestion recommendation for vacuums (it seems that votes go to the dyson animal) that work well on hardwoods/dog hair - if it''s lightweight (carry up to the second floor) would be a bonus!


Thanks!

Another vote for the dyson. You could try and see if the Dyson Slim would work for you-lighter weight.

 

[lovelylulu]

thanks neat. I think that there is also a lightweight dyson ball. it''s just the price.

ouch.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Yes they''re expensive, but worth it IMO. And like I said, they all come with 5 year warranties.