Really? Never? then how...

[neverdoingitagain]

the heck do I clean hardwood floors?! I have a crawler and if this floor hasn't been washed...ever...maybe I should let her only crawl on the lino downstairs
We just moved into a new place with hardwood floors upstairs. They are gorgeous, but alot more high maintenance than I figured. I'm not supposed to wash them, ever. They have been urethaned, so no waxing ( that just doesn't sound good, kwim?) Fortunely, its just in the hallway, main bedroom and the living room. Everywhere is tile or lino.
Unless someone knows better? Can they be cleaned?

[sunnysandiegan]

I'd vacuum them regularly and "wash" with warm water and dry immediately, as needed, like with a wet rag under one foot and a dry rag under the other foot and "skate" around...

[deditus]

The biggest thing is that water damages wood floors, so you certainly don't want to mop them or anything. You can spot clean with a lightly dampened rag, though. I used Bona products for my hardwood floors. They're pretty widely available at big box stores or flooring stores.

http://www.bona.com/en/US/Consumers/Floor_Care/

[she]

pish posh! You can absolutely wash hardwood floors! If they are polyurethaned all the better because you are not washing the wood but the surface of the coating (as long as it is well applied).

My whole house has hardwood floors and this is what I do:
regularly vacuum/sweep
spot clean spills
mop occasionally with a dry-ish mop and a gentle cleaner (Actually, I squirt the floor in sections with my spray bottle of all-purpose cleaner - water, vinegar, and tea tree oil, and then "mop". I just like doing that way, not specifically because of the wood.)

In my old house, the floor was in bad shape, big sections of worn off sealant. STILL, I mopped the floor. As long as big puddles of water aren't left standing on raw wood, it's fine! Water can damage the wood, but dirt damages it as well. When we re-finished the floors, they looked great! No deep water damage at all.

[neverdoingitagain]

:

Thanks ladies, knew I could count on you!

[texaspeach]

if your finish is in good condition there's no reason NOT to wash them. just make sure water isn't seeping into the wood and dry the floor quickly. If you had a waxed finish, you couldn't mop.

my finish is beyond messed up so mopping the floors is really bad for them (I live in an apt and there's no chance of them redoing the floors). I still mop, 2-3 times a year, and make sure to pay close attention to the places where the finish is messed up.

[dancebaraka]

maybe I am old skool, but I just use a bit of murphey's oil soap and H2o... always worked for me!
And there's nothing as comforting as the smell of autumn air, woodsmoke, & murphey's oilsoap.

[acupuncturemomma]

Just wanted to second the recommendation for Bona hardwood cleaner. It's water-based and scent-free. And specifically made for cleaning hardwood floors!

[annethcz]

Maybe I'm a bad mama, but I never washed the hardwood floors in the main rooms of our house, and I had no issues with my babies crawling on the floor. I spot cleaned in the areas where it got dirty, and swept/dust mopped once or twice a day. I would never put wax on a floor that a baby would crawl on- I know how often my babies would mouth the floor

[His Own]

That's nuts. I wash my hardwood floors all the time, with absolutely no problem. You shouldn't leave great big puddles of standing water, but if you mop in the usual slightly wet/damp way, your floors will be just fine (and clean.)

[Ruthiegirl]

Originally Posted by His Own

That's nuts. I wash my hardwood floors all the time, with absolutely no problem. You shouldn't leave great big puddles of standing water, but if you mop in the usual slightly wet/damp way, your floors will be just fine (and clean.)

Yep, absolutely.

[mirlee]

I wash my floors all the time. I have used vinegar and water, Method Good for Wood cleaner, and a very diluted Murphy's Oil Soap. It depends what I feel like using. I do it on my hands and knees with a chamois or use this http://www.methodhome.com/m/Product.aspx?id=005606

[mamadelbosque]

Mostly I vacume our floors (ALL hardwood except the bathroom and basement which are linoleum and concrete respectively), and occasionally wash them with warm, soapy water (and by occasonaly I mean, like, maybe once a year or if I spill something really gross that lil area might get mopped). Just don't soak'm down as others have noted - use minimal water so they dry quick like. Hardwood floors are WAY easy, IMO/experience!!

[staceychev]

All the new hardwood floors that are factory pre-finished come with the "don't mop" warning. That being said, I mop with soap and warm water occasionally, and use Bona on the weeks in between. (Actually, Bona makes the floor look so good, I use it after soap-and-water too.)