Hardwood floors: how to deep clean?

[rivan]

Two dogs, two kids under 6. Our hardwood floors throughout the house need a nice deep cleaning. Using a mop isn't great because it's impossible to get all the dirty water up, so I'm looking at something like this. It's only getting 3/5 stars though

Anyone have anything they'd HIGHLY recommend for ~2000 SF of hardwood? Consumer reports doesn't have much to say on the subject.

 

[shiner]

Nearly 3900 square feet of wood floor in our house. Use Bona and it works great.

 

[rivan]

Originally posted by: shiner
Nearly 3900 square feet of wood floor in our house. Use Bona and it works great.

We have one of those; it works very well for the normal cleanings, but I'm looking for something less "wipe" and more "scrub".

 

[Miramonti]

I wish I could remember the brand of hard wood floor cleaner that I used to use, which was specifically for hard wood floors. It came in a dark green bottle and did a great job, just like what shiner linked. That's the best method for cleaning hardwood floors while not damaging or scratching them at the same time.

 

[hanoverphist]

i have a nice kenmore carpet shampooer that also does floors. not sure on hardwood, but on my tile it would clean the grout as well as the tile. it even had a squeegee attachment to help vacuum up the excess water. at the time i got it, i had 3 kids ages 3,3 and 5 as well as 2 dogs. my floors were filthy on a regular basis, even with shampooing every month. make sure you get one that heats the water, they work way better

 

[shiner]

Originally posted by: rivan

Originally posted by: shiner
Nearly 3900 square feet of wood floor in our house. Use Bona and it works great.

We have one of those; it works very well for the normal cleanings, but I'm looking for something less "wipe" and more "scrub".

The Bona should work fine for you. Our floors deal with the wife and I, two messy boys and a 96lb dog. After a good cleaning the floors look good as new.

 

[surfsatwerk]

Originally posted by: rivan

Originally posted by: shiner
Nearly 3900 square feet of wood floor in our house. Use Bona and it works great.

We have one of those; it works very well for the normal cleanings, but I'm looking for something less "wipe" and more "scrub".

You don't want "dirty" water on your floor, so you need something like a carpet cleaner for wood floors? Back in the day when I worked as a summer custodian we had a great big contraption that would spray, scrub, and suck the dirty water off tile and linoleum floors.

Personally I'm awfully reluctant to let too much water touch my floors. A few times a year I will mop with a mild lysol solution and then rinse mop it with warm water.

 

[rivan]

Originally posted by: surfsatwerk
You don't want "dirty" water on your floor, so you need something like a carpet cleaner for wood floors? Back in the day when I worked as a summer custodian we had a great big contraption that would spray, scrub, and suck the dirty water off tile and linoleum floors.

Personally I'm awfully reluctant to let too much water touch my floors. A few times a year I will mop with a mild lysol solution and then rinse mop it with warm water.

Well that's what the thing I linked seems to do - spray a little water/solution down, scrub it a little, then vacuum it back up into a different tank. I'd have ordered it already, but for the reviews.

Ideally, I'd be scrubbing with, like, a damp cloth or something. But I'll be damned if I'm going to damp cloth even the traffic areas, much less the whole floor.

 

[Blayze]

Originally posted by: jjsole
I wish I could remember the brand of hard wood floor cleaner that I used to use, which was specifically for hard wood floors. It came in a dark green bottle and did a great job, just like what shiner linked. That's the best method for cleaning hardwood floors while not damaging or scratching them at the same time.

Bruce

That's what I use and it works great. No kids or pets though.

 

[Miramonti]

Originally posted by: Blayze

Originally posted by: jjsole
I wish I could remember the brand of hard wood floor cleaner that I used to use, which was specifically for hard wood floors. It came in a dark green bottle and did a great job, just like what shiner linked. That's the best method for cleaning hardwood floors while not damaging or scratching them at the same time.

Bruce

That's what I use and it works great. No kids or pets though.

Voila. That's it, loved the stuff.

 

[spidey07]

I would think a carpet shampooer would be fine. There is a setting for no carpet floors. There's a scrubing brush and it will put down a water/soap mixture, scrub it and vacuum the "dirty" water right up. I don't have hard wood floors but love my carpet cleaner.

 

[Miramonti]

Originally posted by: spidey07
I would think a carpet shampooer would be fine. There is a setting for no carpet floors. There's a scrubing brush and it will put down a water/soap mixture, scrub it and vacuum the "dirty" water right up. I don't have hard wood floors but love my carpet cleaner.

Technically water is a no-no for hardwood floors, even tho some people use it because they don't want to buy or fuss with more expensive cleaning products.

 

[OCGuy]

I just pay someone every other week. I leave a check on the counter, and when I come home from work, my place is spotless.

Very easy.