We've recently polled about your cleaning habits, and the majority of you voted that you focus on the larger tasks of cleaning rather than the more detailed household chores. Amongst the more important larger area chores for someone living in a hardwood floor dwelling is keeping the floors free of debris. In our home, we use a three tier system of first vacuuming, then swiffing, then on every third or fourth occasion using our favourite hardwood cleaner. This keeps the floors looking great, but it's an involved process, and there is also something to be said about the waste produced using Swiffer products (or in our case, knockoffs from the 99 Cents Only Stores) on a regular basis.




I'm an every-other-day vacuum/once-a-week Murphy's Oil Soap kind of cleaner myself.
FYI for people who have cats or dogs, the cleaning substance in the Wet-Jet Swiffer (and similar products) is quite toxic for pets. Don't use it!
miki: Thank you for the advice! I don't use Wet-Jet Swiffer, but I'm sure a few pet owners do.
i have this great swifter like thing that comes with cloths that you wash rather than dispose. got it from qvc. its super for the wood floors. i don't have the cleaner advertized from qvc. i use murphys but will next time try method now that i know about it. http://www.qvc.com/qic/qvcapp.aspx/app.detail
I purchased a Karcher cordless electric broom a couple years back and it works wonders. I was skeptical it would actually sweep up anything at all.....but for crumbs and dust (i live in an apartment with slat windows which are never really sealed shut)- i'm shocked with dust bunnies i remove from the dust bin. This product does not feature a filter- but for the amount of money you spend- you'll deal). I originally purchased mine through overstock.com....but here's an e-bay link. http://cgi.ebay.com/KARCHER-K55-CORDLESS-ELECTRIC-BROOM-VACUUM-NO-BAGS_W0QQitemZ290075553267QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting
oops- i just saw the price on the link i attached $100+...I swear i paid like $15 for mine on overstock.com.
As a slave to three ungrateful but very cute cats, I would LOVE having this little baby at my house! By the way, miki, I'm an animal lover too and I hate to be a party pooper but the Swiffer wet jet toxic rumor is debunked on Snopes. (I guess that's actually GOOD news though huh?) :)
http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/swiffer.asp