I get asked, all the time, what I recommend for how to clean wood floors. My answer is always the same so I figured it was time I wrote an actual post on it!
Let me start by saying that I have tried a lot of different products, always in search for a product that wouldn’t leave my floor with a nasty residue, one that was easy to use, a product that wasn’t harmful for my floors or my family, etc.
After trying just about every product on the market I was pleasantly surprised when Jennifer, from Blissfully Ever After, introduced me to Basic H. I had been using Orange Glo Hardwood Floor Cleaner for a few years and I had always been happy with it. However the hardwood floors we have in our current home are a different type of hardwood then we had in our other home and I had started to notice that the Orange Glo was leaving a waxy residue on my floors. I had never had that problem before, but there are so many different types of hardwood flooring and each one is a little different.
So… when Jennifer told me about Basic H I was excited to give it a try. I have been using Basic H to mop my floors for about 8 months now and I am still loving it. It is an all natural product so it’s safe for my floors and my family, it doesn’t leave a waxy residue, and it’s super easy to use!
Here’s my “mop the floor” routine:
First I vacuum. One of the things I love about my Dyson is the hard floor attachment. It makes it very easy to vacuum up the floors before moping!
Then I pull out my Scotch Brite Microfiber Hardwood Floor Mop. I absolutely love this mop! It has a swivel head which is great for mopping around furniture and toilets and the microfiber cloths are removable so when I am finished mopping I can pull it off and toss it in the washing machine! The best part is that this mop is less than $20 and it lasts forever {I’ve had mine for almost 2 years}!
I start by getting the mop head wet and then wringing it out. Then as I mop I spray the floor with the Basic H and then mop that area. I spray about a 3 foot section at a time. Let me tell you, this is such a fast and easy way to mop the floor and because there are no chemicals in the Basic H it dries very quickly!
I actually love this combo {Basic H & Scotch Brite Mop} so much that I’ve started giving it to my friends as house warming gifts. My friend Tricia moved into a house that is all wood flooring and she was ecstatic when I gave her this as a gift!
I hope this answers all of your questions about what I use, and how I mop my wood floors. The last thing I want to say is that if you have hardwood floors that are supposed to be waxed, then I would still highly recommend the Orange Glo Hardwood Floor Cleaner. If your wood needs wax then this is a great product because it’s not too waxing like a lot of products on the market are.
Have fun moping!!!
About Anna
Anna, you say you begin to clean hard wood floors by getting the mop head wet. You mean with WATER, right?
I start by getting the mop head wet and then wringing it out.
Thanks, Diane
Yes, with water. :)
Anna
Hello Anna, I like the information that you have given, thanks for sharing your tips with us. I just want to ask you that if I have stain on my hard wood floor then what should I do?
Can you suggest me some tips for that.
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What kind of stain, what is it from? Can you email me a picture? askannamoseley {at} hotmail {dot} com.
Thanks!
Can I use the same tip for the laminate floor??
Yep!
I have had a dyson for several years and have all the extra cleaning solutions but didn’t really know how far I could go with the cleaning till I saw your clip. Thank you so much!
I am a homemaker, mother of 3 (a boy/man 21 and two girls 13 & 15). I am very busy with all their activities so I’m always on the move. I have the girls clean as much as possible but still like to keep up the cleanliness of my home. I have a overstuffed home office that is tight on space and filling up with alot of stuff. Any suggestions for streamlining my office clean out project?
That’s a good questions Genevieve! It probably requires a whole post but I’ll do my best. :) As far as paper clutter goes, my favorite thing is the NeatDesk. It’s a digital scanner that scans your receipts, invoices, bills, etc. into a program on your computer. It’s amazing and keeps paper clutter to a minimum! I think it’s a MUST for any home office. Here’s a link to my review: http://askannamoseley.com/2012/01/conquering-paper-clutter-with-neatdesk/.
Also here’s another great post that a contributor just posted on my site. It’s got lots of great ideas for organizing in a small space: http://askannamoseley.com/2012/10/small-space-organization/.
I hope these can help you out! :)
Hi! I am excited to try this product! I was using orange glow too and started to get a film…we just built a new house and i am leery to use that and mess up our brand new floors! i use a seam mop which works great for getting any spill spots and dog prints up ( two kids and a dog, i feel like i need to mop every day to keep up with it!!) so my question is can i use this product along with my steam mop? spray then steam over it?
Yep, that’s what I do. I know you can’t use cleaners in a steam mop so I spray the floor with this mixture and then steam over it (I got a steam mop after I wrote this post).
Hi Anna,
Any idea how to get dirt/dust out from between floorboards?
We have beautiful hardwood floors, however during renovations in our house, lots of white drywall dust got into the cracks and is really noticeable.
Any help would be great :)
Thanks,
Stephanie
I would blow it out with an air compressor. I think that would be the easiest way! :)
Thanks for the tips! What type of dyson do you have? We will be moving into a house soon filled with hardwoods. We have the dyson dc33 which says it can be used on hardwoods because it is multifloor and it has a dial with 2 options (carpet and bare floors) but I am still a little leery of using it on the brand new hardwoods. Do you know anything about that vacuum?
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I had the Dyson All-Floors model. It also had the dial to switch from carpet to hardwood floors but I always used my hard floor attachment instead because I felt like it was better for the floors/softer on them. Here’s a link to where you can buy one: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004W2GTMA/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B004W2GTMA&linkCode=as2&tag=askan01-20
Anna, we just added on to the house. I got a new kitchen the new floor is laminate. {The instrustion said no water just dust mopp. But that is stupid for the kitchen. So, will Basic H work on my floor?
Yes, that or vinegar would be the best thing for it! :)
Noticed you said you just bought a steam mop. What brand? I had a Shark and tossed…totally useless on my laminate kitchen floor. Once it was dam it was nearly impossible to move! I didn’t put pressure,as down force, on it. I just couldn;t get it to “work” for me.
I tried one at an Expo and it seemed to work great but was leery esp. since it cost well over $100.00!
It’s only sold at shows and on QVC.
I have the Oreck VersaVac, here’s my review of it:http://askannamoseley.com/2012/10/oreck-versavac-review-giveaway/ . I love it and HIGHLY recommend it!
How much basics H to how much water?
I just use the recipe on the bottle for all-purpose cleaner.
I love Shaklee products. I use Bona on my wood floors and you use it just like your Shaklee product. I have been happy.