Cleaning LARGE areas of pergo/wood laminate - ??

[YinYang]

So I've been reading through on natural cleaners for Pergo / wood laminates and I'm seeing 2 things...
1) someone (sorry) keeps mentioning the need to get a "neutral ph cleanser" - any examples????
2) everyone else seems to be doing the hands and knees method with vinegar and water and sometimes Dr. B's and EOs

I've got wood laminate in probably 75% of my house so hands and knees isn't gonna work very well.

Does anyone have any experience with LARGE amounts of laminate and cleaning them? I don't have the time to do the hands and knees method and need something relatively quick.

If you recommend spraying and dry mopping, can you please explain that to me in kindergarten (or similar ) language? I'm new to this and I guess I'm having a hard time understanding just spraying a squirt or two on the mop and mopping. This doesn't sound like it would really do much - ??? Yes, I'm a bit ignorant here... thanks!

[anotherKatrina]

I have 1000sq ft of laminate in my house. I use a microfiber cleaning system from here www.actnatural.net but I've seen similar products at Target.

I have a dry mophead and 2 damp mopheads. I use the dry one almost every day to gather up dust and crumbs. I push larger particles into a corner and sweep up the little pile. When the dry duster gets all gross, I use my vacuum hose to suck off all the dirt. Then it's ready to use again. It almost takes more time to type all this than to do it!

Once a week or so, I use the damp mop. I just use water. I get it wet in the sink, much more than damp, really. Then I buff the floor til it's shiny. If the mop gets dry-ish I spritz it with water. When the mophead gets dirty, I can rinse it in the sink or switch it out. This works really well for me and takes me about 20 min if no one gets in my way.

I wash these with the rest of my microfiber cleaning cloths once a week or so.

I would never use Dr. B's or eo's on a laminate floor (build-up issues) and the only cleaner I've ever used is a vinegar/water mixture. I have done hands and knees for kitchen spills, but that's it.

I think my floor is easy to take care of!

[smudge]

I also have a microfiber mop system. After sweeping up the big chunks, I spray a section of floor using a spray bottle filled with half/half white vinegar and water. Then I mop. I do the whole floor in sections. Works out pretty well.

[mamabella]

I use the microfiber towels (I get mine from the dollar store) wrapped around an old wet swifter mop head (I just tuck the towel into those little crevices on top where you would have tucked the swifter wipe in).

I get a bucket of vinegar and water (about 1:4 parts vinegar to water) and I usually put a few drops of eo - tangerine, lemon, etc. I get the towel wet, squeeze it out as much as possible then mop till its dirty. Then I rinse it in the SINK and re-wet it in the bucket. This keeps the vinegar/water/eo mixture cleaner and helps to get my floor cleaner faster.

Although...if I mopped more often I probably wouldn't have that problem

[amygoforth]

I spray with a mix of water and one squirt of Mrs. Meyer's detergent. Then I scrub and rinse with a Hoover Floormate that I fill with plain water. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to use detergent on the Pergo, but it's pretty diluted. And it works pretty well too. The dirt come up, the floor shines and my house smells good.

[whoamama]

I have a laminate floor in the kitchen, I use a regular mop and a bucket of hot water with a bit of tea tree oil for the clean smell. Easy, peasy.

[ledzepplon]

I guess I'm easy. I get a washcloth damp with water and Dr. Bronner's peppermint soap. Then I scoot it around with a mop.

The end.

[aprildawn]

You don't have to get the floor super wet. I have one of those Clorox Ready Mops. A friend gave it to me after DD2 was born because it's just so darn convenient. I've refilled cleaning solution bottle with vinegar/water/EOs, squirt some on the floor, and wipe up behind it. Right now I'm still using disposable pads , but I plan to switch to washable pads as soon as my box runs out!

My system: sweep up the big stuff, dry mop with a microfiber cloth, follow up with a quick wet mop. Each week the cleaning pad gets super dirty (dry and wet) so it must be working!