How to clean hardwood floors
Find out which finish your floor has, then clean it the way that finish wants: dry every week, damp now and then, and never soaking wet.
The short answer
Vacuum or sweep hardwood floors every week, and mop them with a cleaner made for your floor’s finish, on a mop wrung out until it’s only damp. Skip steam mops and wet mops, which the National Wood Flooring Association warns against, and vinegar, which Bruce and Bona warn against.
Find your floor first
Most of the arguments online about vinegar, steam and soap come from treating every wood floor the same. They aren’t the same. A sealed floor, an oiled one and a waxed one each want something different, so take a minute to find out which one you have.
- Is it wood? Vinyl and laminate can look exactly like it, and they want their own cleaners. If you rent, ask your landlord.
- Is it sealed? A sealed floor has a surface finish, like polyurethane, that sits on top of the wood like a clear coat.
- Or is it oiled or waxed? Wood floor pros use this test, described in the National Wood Flooring Association’s magazine: dampen a white rag with mineral spirits and rub a spot nobody sees. If the rag picks up a glaze or some color, the floor has wax or a penetrating oil. A polyurethane finish shows nothing. Use a few drops, open a window and keep the rag away from flames.
| Your floor | Clean it with | Never use |
|---|---|---|
| Sealed (polyurethane or another surface finish) | A pH-neutral cleaner made for wood floors | Wet mops, steam mops, vinegar, oil soaps, wax or polish |
| Oiled (a penetrating or hardwax oil) | The oil maker’s own soap, or plain water | Cleaners made for sealed floors, and wet cloths that say they aren’t for oiled wood |
| Waxed | Dry cleaning: a broom, a dust mop, a vacuum on the bare-floor setting | Water-based cleaners and wet cloths |
| Not sure yet | Dry cleaning, and a dry or slightly damp cloth for spills | Anything wet, until you know |
The National Wood Flooring Association suggests asking a wood flooring professional for a maintenance schedule, since schedules depend on the use, the wear on the finish and how you live.
How often to clean a wood floor
In CozyHaus the floors are three chores: the kitchen floor swept every two days (4 minutes), all floors vacuumed every week (25) and all floors mopped every week (20). On wood, that matches what the floor people say, give or take the mop.
- Every few days: sweep where the crumbs fall, in the kitchen and by the door. Bona goes as far as dusting and sweeping every day.
- Every week: vacuum on the bare-floor setting, as the National Wood Flooring Association’s homeowner’s handbook says.
- Every week to every month: a damp mop with a wood floor cleaner. Bona says every week, and the handbook says every month. Weekly suits a kitchen; monthly is fine for a bedroom.
How to mop a hardwood floor, step by step
- Dry first. Sweep, dust mop or vacuum on the bare-floor setting, so grit doesn’t scratch the floor under the mop.
- Pick the cleaner for your finish from the table above. On a sealed floor, that’s a pH-neutral wood floor cleaner.
- Mist, don’t pour. Spray a fine mist on a small section at a time, as Bona suggests.
- Damp, not wet. Use a microfiber mop wrung out until it’s damp, not dripping. Start in the far corner and work backward toward the door.
- Leave no water standing. Wipe up any wet patches with a dry cloth. Bruce warns that standing water damages hardwood.
- Let it dry before you walk on it, then rinse the mop head and hang it up.
Sticky, cloudy or streaky floors
- Sticky: usually cleaner left behind, or a spill that got spread around. Go over it with plain water on a well-wrung cloth or mop, then dry it. Repeat until your socks stop sticking.
- Cloudy, or a milky film: often a build-up of products the finish didn’t want, like oil soaps, polishes and shine products, which Bruce lists among the things to avoid. Stop using them. If the film is thick, ask a wood flooring professional what will take it off.
- Streaks: too much cleaner, too much water or a dirty pad. Use less, change to a clean pad and dry as you go.
What the makers say about vinegar and steam
| Who | Vinegar | Steam mops | Wet mops |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Wood Flooring Association | Not named: use a cleaner made for your floor’s finish | Don’t | Don’t |
| Bona | No: it’s an acid, and it breaks down the finish | Not covered | Can leave too much water; mist instead |
| Bruce | No: avoid acidic substances like vinegar | Not covered | Doesn’t recommend mopping with water |
| Shaw | Not covered | Don’t | Don’t |
Questions people ask
Can you use vinegar on hardwood floors?
Better not. Bona says vinegar is an acid that breaks down a floor’s finish, and Bruce lists acidic substances like vinegar among the products to avoid. The National Wood Flooring Association says to use a cleaner made for your floor’s finish.
Can you use a steam mop on hardwood floors?
No. The National Wood Flooring Association and Shaw both say not to, because water and steam can damage the finish and the wood over time.
Can you use a spray mop on hardwood floors?
On a sealed floor, yes: a light mist of a wood floor cleaner and a pad that’s damp, not wet. On oiled or waxed wood, check the label first. Swiffer’s own wet cloths say not to use them on unfinished, oiled or waxed wood.
How often should you clean hardwood floors?
Sweep or vacuum every week on the bare-floor setting, and more often where people walk most. Mop with a wood floor cleaner once a month, as the National Wood Flooring Association’s handbook says, or every week, as Bona and CozyHaus do.
Why are my hardwood floors sticky?
Usually it’s cleaner left behind, or a spill that got spread around. Go over the floor with plain water on a well-wrung mop or cloth, then dry it.
Sources
- Floor chores, minutes and how often: the CozyHaus chore catalogue.
- National Wood Flooring Association, Maintenance
- National Wood Flooring Association, Homeowner’s Handbook to Real Wood Floors (PDF)
- Hardwood Floors magazine, How do you identify what kind of finish is on an existing floor? (30 June 2021)
- Bona, Can you use vinegar on hardwood floors?
- Bona, How to clean hardwood floors
- Bona, Floor cleaner FAQs
- Bruce, Hardwood floor care tips
- Shaw Floors, Hardwood floor care and maintenance
- Rubio Monocoat, How do I clean Rubio Monocoat floors or wood surfaces?
- Swiffer, How often should you clean your floors?
Let your phone remember the floors
CozyHaus plans the chores that fit your home, a few small ones a day plus one big job, and does the remembering for you.
See what it does