So, you want to clean your hardwood floors? No Problemo – with a little bit of elbow grease, it’s actually pretty easy to maintain hardwood floors.

There are many different types of hardwood floors

  • Polyurethane coating makes the floors look clean and shiny
  • Hardwood finished wood has a waxy or oily coating which repels water or liquid
  • Unfinished hardwood CANNOT be mopped since it will damage the floors

To test if you can mop your floors, drop a few drops of water in a discreet area and if it beads, you have a floor coating.

What you need

1) Hardwood floors

2) Vinegar

3) Dishwashing liquid

4) Wringer bucket

5) Microfiber twist mop

6) Microfiber cloth

7) Rubbing alcohol

8) Warm water

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How to clean your hardwood floors

  • Put half a pinky nails worth of dishwashing liquid into a wringer bucket. Dishwashing liquid is a neutral cleaner and will help to remove dirt well without leaving a residue.
  • Add a cap full of vinegar and fill with hot water. Vinegar is a mild disinfectant and will help to cut grease without leaving streaks.
  • Soak the mop head in the bucket for a few minutes to soften. The mop has to be almost dry before mopping hardwood floor.
  • When you mop, clean in an S-shaped pattern. This ensures you get all areas of the floor cleaned. Keep your bucket around you and try not to step into areas you’ve already cleaned.
  • To be extra diligent, you can take a microfiber cloth and do a quick wipe down so no water is left behind.

Best practice

  • Sweep and vacuum once or twice a week and mop once every one or two weeks.

 Here’s a video that explains more!

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Melissa Maker is an entrepreneur, cleaning expert, founder of Toronto’s most popular boutique cleaning service, and star of the Clean My Space channel on YouTube (but she still hates to clean!). Every week, Melissa delivers new videos dishing expert advice on cleaning products, tools, DIY substitutes, and practical, timesaving solutions to everyday problems. Melissa has appeared on the Today Show, and has been featured in InStyle, Real Simple, and Better Homes and Gardens.

28 COMMENTS

  1. To protect your floor, you should place coverings such as soft cotton rugs on high traffic areas like front of the sink of the kitchen and entryways. Rugs should also be vacuumed regularly to avoid it from scratching the floor.

  2. I just watched your video on cleaning your hardwood floors – you had vinegar, dish soap, and rubbing alcohol – but you never used the alcohol. When and how do you use this in the cleaning process?

  3. but when you are trying to re-establish

    good credit, making a large purchase is never a good idea. therefore, it would be better to charge a tank of gas or small grocery bill and half to two thirds of the balance for a few months. once your credit

  4. Love the tips, would love to see you do one on tile and grout cleaning. As the owners of a carpet cleaning business that does a lot of tile and grout cleaning we see many floors that have been made worse from improper cleaning.

  5. Wow! it amazed me! from now on I ill never pay a lot of money to help me out the stain on my wooden floor. Thanks for sharing those tips and it really can help me.

  6. Melissa – can you please explain how/when to you the rubbing alcohol? You mention it in the text and show the bottle in the video, but don’t explain you use it!! Thank you!

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