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I swear by Bona X or Bona Kemi hardwood floor cleaner & I use the Rubbermaid commercial microfiber mob!

I've found in the past that Method hardwood floor cleaner left a horrible film on my floors!

okay, then i definitely need to stop what i'm doing immediately heheh

not only do i use the swiffer wet mop thingy, but i use murphy's oil soap, too! gah! ;)

I just dampen a washcloth (wet and wring out) and tuck it over my swiffer-like cloth floor sweeper. Uses moisture to get any spills out and is just damp enough to pick up residual dust that won't come up otherwise.

I went on the EcoMist web site. Which product do you use for wood floors?

Bona is fantastic!

http://www.bonakemi.com/shop/products.asp

I use Bona X Hardwood Floor Cleaner spray. It's environmentally friendly and does not smell irritating to my nose. For reference I cannot stand the "orange" and citrus smells in most mainstream cleaning products they are way too "sharp". To get more value for the product I wet the mop, spray the product on the floor then mop. For a 300 sq foot living room area/ hallway/ entry, I rinse the mop piece (we have a terry cloth that wraps around a sponge piece type of mop) about 4 times. The sponge piece attached to the actual mop never gets dirty and airs dry, so it's really easy. I never thought I'd say this, but I actually don't dislike mopping the floor anymore!

I will third the Bona love. Looks great, easy to use, no buildup.

Bona X was recommended by my ex-boyfriend, who worked in the flooring business. Make sure you follow the instructions and vacuum first, then use the Bona!

Oh fabulous! Thank you for making this a separate post, Gregory!

My new apartment has all hardwood flooring and since I have a couple weeks to move, I really want to get in there and get everything perfectly clean before I start moving stuff in. I had a feeling that a Swiffer Wet wasn't really the way to go with hardwood floors, but had no idea how to tackle hardwood floors. Now I know exactly what cleaning supplies to stock up on for my new place!

The instructions above are very much like the Bona DVD explanation at the store where I bought it for my mom's hardwood floor.

I've used Murphy's Squirt and Mop (the Murphy's in the white bottle) for 13 years on my pre-finished wood floors and they are still in beautiful shape.

I own a cleaning business myself. We subscribe to the philosophy that either you want a clean floor or you want to use a mop, but you can't have both. We use heavily diluted Citra-Solv administered with a spray bottle, cloth baby diapers and a bucket of water. And yes, we get on our hands and knees. It's so easy to overlook tough spots if you're not down there where the dirt is. Needless to say, our clients love love love our process. Plus, it's a great workout. Bust out some aerobic cleaning. Break a sweat. :)

Egh. I alternate washing the floors with Murphy's and diluted vinegar (have for years) and they look great.

I've always used Minwax wood floor care with a damp sponge mop. No residue. For spills etc., i use with a hand sponge. btw I sweep the floors pretty regularly which i think keeps scratches to a minimum. I hear good things about Poly Care, too.

I'm going to try a damp microfiber cloth attached to my Swiffer head, though, after reading some of the above posts..

I've used Murphy's Oil Soap for two years on the recommendation of the floor refinisher.

I tried the Method wood floor cleaner on the hardwood floors in my old apartment and was not impressed. Left an obvious film. The Swiffer for wood did a better job, I thought.

Smelled OK, though.

Oh, and that Method mop pictured up above was a PoS. The mophead kept flipping over on me. I was lucky it didn't scratch the floor. Again, the Swiffer worked better.

The handle on my Method mop broke off recently. I am a fan of their wood floor cleaner though.

I was going to buy the Method mop recently until I read all the reviews on Amazon that talked about the same 2 problems as sunspot42 and snoopy - basically that the mophead keeps flipping over, and that the handle breaks easily.

Since the original post was about a dog, though, I thought I'd weigh in on dog peeing...our cocker spaniel never peed on the floor unless it was a DIRE emergency until a few months ago, when he figured out I was pregnant before I did. Since then, he's taken it upon himself to overtly take a piss on the floor right in front of either me or my husband, without asking to go out. I'm glad to learn from this post that it can stain under a carpet if I'm not careful to let it dry first.

Imagine my surprise to log on to AT and see my post!! I always wanted to be on AT...though I was hoping it would be for my interiors ;). haha Thanks!!! ,,,

Bona is also a great product! I own a green cleaning company, so I only use Ecomist Colloid W, but many of my cleaning peers use Bona!

And just to clarify...Murphy's and Orange Glo won't ruin a wood floor right away...it can take some time to eat away at the finish...but if you mention Murphy's to most manufacturers they will practically have a heart attack...GREAT for wood furniture and baseboards...HEAVILY diluted...but no good for floors. You will see your floors haze over after a few years (or maybe you wont, because you will have grown used to the lack of luster)...you can try to fix this problem with a few drops of dish detergent dilute with water, since dish detergent removes oil, and that is what Murphy's is, but it's a bit of a project and you may end up with an even bigger mess than you started with.

It also used to be true that the best mop was a hand mop..but then they created microfiber! Microfiber is a miracle of the cleaning world and negates any need to get on all fours. I don't recommend regular hand mopping if you love your knees ;) Remember, you are pre-cleaning your floors before damp mopping, so your damp mop should never get filthy to the point that it is just dragging dirt around. PLUS microfiber is meant to grab and hold dirt within it's fibers...not grab and smear..it will actually roll up the bigger dirt particles into a mass so that you can just vacuum it up...definately ups the ick factor some, but it's kind of fun to see what you are getting off your floor! Sponge mops...now, sponge mops I think they should just...stop...making...YUCK

And to the poster who said my tips sounded like it was off a DVD...I've never seen that DVD since I don't use their product...we apparently just happen to use the same method :) :)

speaking of cleaning.. I'm new to Minneapolis, anyone know a good house cleaner...
email me please at stephanie@31islandview.com

Incredibly useful and timely post. I installed dark cork flooring not too long ago and am struggling with seeing streak marks where I have attempted to clean. I will try the above method - but anybody know of a different application for cork?

i am not using microfiber on my oiled wood floor as i have been advised that in the long run it roughens the surface, making it harder to clean.

microfiber roughening the surface? Microfiber is super soft...it's strands are 10 times finer than silk...it won't scratch anything...the cloth that is included with plasma and LCD tv's is microfiber...you use microfiber to clean your eye glasses. Who told you it would roughen the surface? What did they suggest you use instead? I find that interesting.... I use exclusively microfiber and diaper cloths because they won't harm even the most delicate surface and I don't even need cleansers or water for highly polished wood surfaces. If you can walk across your wood floors with cotton socks (cotton can be abrasive in certain manifestations) then you should be ok with microfiber....

Bona and Bruce wood floor cleaner is pretty good as is Junckers' brand. Both available at http://www.mckayflooring.co.uk