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Dark hard floors. I am at my wit's end.


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I need to get out of my tunnel vision box here. How in the world do you guys keep your hard floors cleaned? I've heard people say that they "clean" them every day - not mopping. Well, I've just spent the last 45 minutes vacuuming and sweeping and they still are not done. My vacuum spits everything out the back. I hate to sweep. What am I missing here? Our house is probably 50-60% hard floor. I have tried to do FlyLady cleaning, but my hard floors take up all (plus more) the time that she recommends for your weekly cleaning, and I am just so frustrated. I need some suggestions on how to have a routine in cleaning them. I don't need them model worthy, but we do need an improvement.

 

Suggestions? Please?

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I have dark walnut wide plank hardwood floors and they are so, so beautiful immediately after being cleaned and then never beautiful again until I clean them the next time. 3 kids + a big dog + a husband = floors that need to be swept and mopped multiple times a day. And life it just too short for that! I do a really good job of it once a day and that's it.

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I personally liked (when I had hardwood floors) the rag/dust mop. You know, it looks like you tied a small animal to the bottom of a stick? I would put a little old english on it and it picked up everything. This was before swiffer (and I'm too cheap for that anyways).

 

I just saw this on amazon, I have the same thing for my car and it cleans everything!!!

http://www.amazon.com/Original-California-Car-Duster-Super/dp/B00008RWA1/ref=sr_1_6?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1297545032&sr=1-6

 

Lara

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I vacuum our hard floors almost every day. I have a Miele canister vac that is designed for hard floors. It has no brush so it's not so great on carpets. It works very well. When I want to clean them more than that, I use one of those flat rectangular mops.

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When we put laminate floors in 2 years ago, I bought a stick broom from Costco. It rests on a charging station when not in use, so it is always ready to go. makes really quick work of vacuming. On a rare occasion ( like when the grandkids are here and have tracked in the entire back yard) it gets swept first to get under the bakers rack and stuff and then just vacumn up the dirt pile.

 

I do not have a good mop system yet, but I do have a mop with two mop heads and I fill the sink with warm water and some Amway LOC and mop it.

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Right now I use a shop vac on my laminate floors, and then a Swiffer with an old dishcloth soaked in hot soapy water on the Swiffer. I use the shop vac because I am too old and cranky to be picking up crayon pieces, barbie shoes, and legos and such when I vacuum. Using an old washcloth on the Swiffer works well and saves money if you already have a swiffer. I have been really interested in those steam mops, anyone try those?

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I'm sure my floors would look nicer if I mopped every day, but really I just sweep. It takes ten minutes, tops, and it's fine. We only have one room with carpet in the whole house, so that come to about 1400 sqft of sweeping. Probably just 1000 if you take into account that I frequently skip the guest room and DS's room...

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I have dark walnut wide plank hardwood floors and they are so, so beautiful immediately after being cleaned and then never beautiful again until I clean them the next time. 3 kids + a big dog + a husband = floors that need to be swept and mopped multiple times a day. And life it just too short for that! I do a really good job of it once a day and that's it.

 

This is me:tongue_smilie:. My boys sweep, vacuum the rug, and mop daily-and I Do the same as needed. I will be putting in a nice stone tile in next year that hides the dirt! I can't wait!

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For hard surfaces like tile or wood, you need a cannister vacuum cleaner, or an attachment for your upright (hose + wand + nozzle thingie).

 

On days when you don't feel like dragging out the vac, you can use a microfiber mop, or a Swiffer-type mop.

 

I have dark-stained hardwood floors downstairs. I also have a white cat. :glare: My microfiber mop is my friend. I can zoom through the house in 15 minutes.

 

To actually *clean* the floor I use Bona. It's the only product I've ever used that doesn't leave streaks. Spray it on, wipe it off with a microfiber mop. Easy peasy.

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Right now I use a shop vac on my laminate floors, and then a Swiffer with an old dishcloth soaked in hot soapy water on the Swiffer. I use the shop vac because I am too old and cranky to be picking up crayon pieces, barbie shoes, and legos and such when I vacuum. Using an old washcloth on the Swiffer works well and saves money if you already have a swiffer. I have been really interested in those steam mops, anyone try those?

 

I love my steam mop. Just put water in it and let it warm up and then go over the floor. It really works well. The dried on sticky stuff I have to go over a couple of extra times and it comes right up. I never use any chemicals or soap on my floors, just steam.

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They make sandals with microfiber dusters on the bottom of them. ;)

 

And I've got them! (Not that my floors look like it...)

I also use a Miele canister vacuum. Before that, we had an upright Hoover and I went to a vacuum repair shop and bought a long hose with the hard floor attachment on the end. This made it more like a canister vacuum, without having to buy a new vacuum.

 

I also own an Electrolux cordless stick vacuum that I bought at Costco, but it doesn't work very well for me.

 

And then, I also own a Roomba.

 

I've got a vacuum addiction. Not a *vacuuming* addiction, mind you, I just like to buy them and see if that's the magic solution!

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I have a dust mop from Target that I love. It is cotton, picks up great, is washable, shakes out and much cheaper than having to buy the swiffers. I have 3 covers so I can have them in the towel laundry waiting to get clean. I keep one upstairs and one down stairs so it is handy when I have a moment to go through. I don't have any carpet in my home and I love the hard surfaces. With 2 kids, 3 big dogs and a person it a power chair we seem to get a lot of stuff tracked in.

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Another tip: We don't have dark floors but even maple gets dusty :glare:. Use a larger mop, mine is 8" x 16", perhaps some come even larger. These work well if you have a large open area. In houses with lots of small areas and corners, you may want one of those swiffers. They are smaller and easy to handle.

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Ditto on some of the previous posters: you need a canister vac. Regular vacuums typically don't work well on hard floors. We purchased a Simplicity canister vacuum just for that purpose and it worked well, but then we had to have a different vacuum for carpets. Now we have a Dyson with a hard floor attachment (basically turns it into a canister style vacuum) so we only need one vacuum.

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If your vacuum is spitting anything out, you need a new vacuum. A better one. And get the parquet head. Not a roller head.

 

I have a canister Meile, and yes, it's an investment, but I've had the thing for 8 years and it's going strong. Not a hiccup.

 

that said, I rarely use it on my hardwood.

 

I use this

 

http://www.actnatural.net/shop/category_ACT%25C2%25AE%2520Floor%2520Care/ACT%C2%AE-Floor-Care.html?shop_param=cid%3D%26

 

 

It's a micro fiber dusting system I bought ages ago-something like 13 years ago-no kidding. I use the wool dust head first, then shake the head out and sweep up the pile. Done. If I need to clean up a spill, I use the microfiber head and some water. My floors are sock clean and just with this.

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If your vacuum is spitting anything out, you need a new vacuum. A better one. And get the parquet head. Not a roller head.

 

 

 

Ugh. Do you guys ever get to a point where everything needs to be replaced? We are celebrating our ten year anniversary this year and it just seems like we need new everything. My husband is not going to be thrilled that I'm adding a vacuum cleaner to this list. Sigh.

 

Dust mop every day or two. It's fast, easy, and not wet so you don't have to wait for the floors to dry. Run the pink stringy mop over the floors, shake it out outside, voila, you're done.

 

Wipe up wet spills, and damp mop only occasionally.

 

I have something similar to this. I think I'm going to try using it this week and see how that works.

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Our new, almost 2000sq ft house is hard flooring except for our master bedroom. We have a dog and two white cats. Our living room is dark hardwood floor.

 

Every day I use my $20 (Black Friday special..lol) Dirt Devil Versa Power Vac for the living room, kitchen, and dining rooms. Never have issues with it spitting stuff back out.

 

I also have a Shark cordless vacuum but I don't like it. The spinning brush gets clogged up with hair way too easily. Which really stinks b/c it was much more $$$ than my Dirt Devil!

 

I try to use the Shark Steam Mop on it once a week. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my steam mop!!!!!!!!

 

I had a Swiffer vac at our old house. I hated it. After a while it stopped having good suction.

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Every day I use my $20 (Black Friday special..lol) Dirt Devil Versa Power Vac for the living room, kitchen, and dining rooms. Never have issues with it spitting stuff back out.

 

 

 

Do you need to buy filters for this?

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I try to use the Shark Steam Mop on it once a week. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my steam mop!!!!!!!!

 

 

We were told by both the homebuilder and floor installer to never use steam or water on the wood? Ours was NOT laminate -- but an expensive cherry handscraped wood stained very dark with Walnut. We used a dry dust mop, vacuum, and then ORECK buffer. It was a massive pain as our entire first floor was hardwood floors. :confused:

Edited by tex-mex
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I personally liked (when I had hardwood floors) the rag/dust mop. You know, it looks like you tied a small animal to the bottom of a stick? I would put a little old english on it and it picked up everything. This was before swiffer (and I'm too cheap for that anyways).

 

I just saw this on amazon, I have the same thing for my car and it cleans everything!!!

http://www.amazon.com/Original-California-Car-Duster-Super/dp/B00008RWA1/ref=sr_1_6?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1297545032&sr=1-6

 

Lara

 

:iagree: I use a dust mop sprayed with vinegar. Mine is a big rectangle with a removable terry cloth cover. I have a couple covers. I spray the dust mop, run it around the floors real quick, then throw the cover in the laundry.

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And I've got them! (Not that my floors look like it...)

I also use a Miele canister vacuum. Before that, we had an upright Hoover and I went to a vacuum repair shop and bought a long hose with the hard floor attachment on the end. This made it more like a canister vacuum, without having to buy a new vacuum.

 

I also own an Electrolux cordless stick vacuum that I bought at Costco, but it doesn't work very well for me.

 

And then, I also own a Roomba.

 

I've got a vacuum addiction. Not a *vacuuming* addiction, mind you, I just like to buy them and see if that's the magic solution!

 

I returned the Electolux I bought at Costco 2 years and got the newest version. My old one was not holding a charge anymore. Gotta love Costco..no questions asked, they just took it back.

My new one is orange and it is amazing! It has yet to run out of battery on me when I am cleaning, and there is a ton more dirt in it when I dump it out.

So..return it and get a new one.

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I love my steam mop. Just put water in it and let it warm up and then go over the floor. It really works well. The dried on sticky stuff I have to go over a couple of extra times and it comes right up. I never use any chemicals or soap on my floors, just steam.

 

This. LOVE the Shark; actually bought it for DH for Father's Day (it's what he wanted!!), and he handles the floors. Mopheads go directly in the washer, floors are disinfected, safe on all floors (no more funky mops from the bathroom). We also clean the couches and the carpets.

 

I live on five acres with two dogs, two cats, horses, chickens and goats, plus I run a cottage school out of my house. The Shark makes it beautiful. We do sweep daily and take shoes off, but only sweep in the kitchen, and Shark once a week.

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I have ceramic tile and use a cordless bagless rechargable vac by Electrolux called Ergorapido. It is a little more expensive (about $99) but it holds a charge for about 20 minutes and has a hand vac that can be removed and used separately. It does NOT work that well on carpet but it is GREAT on Tile! The kids love to use it too as it has a great swivel head. I then use a bissel steam mop deluxe. I was very skeptical about mopping without a cleaner but it works well. Also quick and easy with water only. Realy works, just don't use too much water on hard woods. Only drawback is cord could be longer!

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I like the "squeegy" mops with the sponge head that is squeezed out by rollers. I routinely "sweep" my floors with this, which does a good sweep and a basic was. I was with more water once a week or so. Also - the longer the mop head, the more area you will cover with each pass!

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We were told by both the homebuilder and floor installer to never use steam or water on the wood? Ours was NOT laminate -- but an expensive cherry handscraped wood stained very dark with Walnut. We used a dry dust mop, vacuum, and then ORECK buffer. It was a massive pain as our entire first floor was hardwood floors. :confused:

 

You are correct. Water and steam are very bad for hardwood floors. They will shorten the lifespan of your floor. Vinegar is also bad, the acidity will eventually eat off the varnish.

 

I use a dry dust mop for regular cleaning and Bona for when it gets really dirty.

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I've always wondered how your mom's floors were always so spotless. What does she do?

Are your floors darker than mine? I know mine are super hard to keep clean. The dust just blows in the front door and lodges under an end table in the family room. And then there's the dog hair. Ugh.

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  • 2 months later...

 

Every day I use my $20 (Black Friday special..lol) Dirt Devil Versa Power Vac for the living room, kitchen, and dining rooms. Never have issues with it spitting stuff back out.

 

 

I broke down and bought this. It was under $20 and man was it worth it. I LOVE it; I don't know who loves it more - me or my son. I'm so glad you shared this! Thank you!!!!!

 

I've always wondered how your mom's floors were always so spotless. What does she do?

Are your floors darker than mine? I know mine are super hard to keep clean. The dust just blows in the front door and lodges under an end table in the family room. And then there's the dog hair. Ugh.

 

My mom's house is always spotless. She's cleaning constantly, though. Really. My mom's are the darkest, but mine are darker than yours. They aren't hardwood, though. My mom uses Bruce's Hardwood Floor Cleaner from Home Depot. She says it's in a green spray bottle and is the best. In a pinch, she's used Pledge Wood Floor cleaner in a yellow bottle. Also, I think she swiffers it a couple times a day. Ours are especially bad this time of year when we leave the windows open more.

Edited by Guest
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Ugh. Do you guys ever get to a point where everything needs to be replaced? We are celebrating our ten year anniversary this year and it just seems like we need new everything. My husband is not going to be thrilled that I'm adding a vacuum cleaner to this list. Sigh.

 

 

 

 

K- if you want a cheap solution while you save up for a Miele (which is my top recommendation) I suggest you buy yourself one of these:

 

Sh-Mop

 

Get 1 duster cover and 3 wet cotton mop covers. It works really well. It's sorta like a swifter except you needn't run out and buy thousands of swifter sheets and the handle of the sh-mop is far superior to that of the swifter. I love this dang thing and really don't know how I got along without it. Once you get your Miele, vaccuum every day instead of dusting with the Sh-mop, then get your mop cover slightly damp and place it over the Sh-mop head and your floors will be beautiful every day. I spray mine with a diluted cleaner just for a clean smell, but you can actually just use warm water. Good luck! The right tools mean everything in housework.

 

Margaret

Edited by Margaret in GA
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I vacuum our hard floors almost every day. I have a Miele canister vac that is designed for hard floors. It has no brush so it's not so great on carpets. It works very well. When I want to clean them more than that, I use one of those flat rectangular mops.

 

I love my Miele. It was recommended by the wife of our hardwood floor installer. We do have another attachment for it that works on carpet, but I love love love it for our hardwood floors. It's build well. We've had it 1 1/2 years and I have the feeling it's going to last a very long time, so in the long run it should save us money. We used to burn through vacuums every year or 2.

 

Once a week we go over the floors with Bona and a terry cloth mop-like thing. Sorry.... really can't think of a better description for it right now.

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We were told by both the homebuilder and floor installer to never use steam or water on the wood? Ours was NOT laminate -- but an expensive cherry handscraped wood stained very dark with Walnut. We used a dry dust mop, vacuum, and then ORECK buffer. It was a massive pain as our entire first floor was hardwood floors. :confused:

 

This is my problem, mine are original hardwood floors put down in 1948. I cannot use a steam mop or anythingwet like that. I swiffer, vac, and really need to take the time to wax them very soon.

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I have a very large surface of hard floors and I wouldn't recommend a Swifter unless you're prepared to go through several pads to do one cleaning. That can get pricey!

 

I have a mop that takes terricloth heads. I clean a section of the floor, remove the cloth mop head and rinse well, wring out, place in cleaning water and repeat. This way I'm using a CLEAN mop head on the entire surface.

 

I also have a microfiber dust mop. I will use that on the floors and it is SO easy. If I want to do a little spritz, I can do so, again remove the microfiber top, rinse, and use a CLEAN microfiber mop head for the surface.

 

Our downstairs, all hard surface, if maybe 2000 sf. It's a lot of time/work to keep the floors clean, especially with 3 dogs and 3 cats. It's a breeze now. If your vacuum is spitting out, you need a new vacuum. Is it spitting because you're using a beater brush? If so, those aren't good for hard surface floors. I, personally, love Bissell. I push a button to turn the beater brush on and it has great attachments. (I'm NOT a fan of central vacuum.)

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For hard surfaces like tile or wood, you need a cannister vacuum cleaner, or an attachment for your upright (hose + wand + nozzle thingie).

 

 

To actually *clean* the floor I use Bona. It's the only product I've ever used that doesn't leave streaks. Spray it on, wipe it off with a microfiber mop. Easy peasy.

:iagree: I vacuum with the hard surface attachment every few days, then clean with Bona every few weeks.

 

How long has it been since your floors were refinished? If it's difficult to keep them looking nice, it's probably time to have them redone. Ours were done 2 years ago and maintenance is very easy.

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I have a good old fashioned dust mop that I got at target and love it. I have a couple extra heads so can change when needed. Yes, I need to step out the door and shake it off and sometimes I take the hand vac to it to get some of the stuff that doesn't easily shake off. Much cheaper than swiffer, cotton head so very washable. I have one for upstairs and one for downstairs.:001_smile:

Oh, by the way we have 3 bigger dogs and 2 birds so dirt does come.:lol:

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Kid, meet swiffer.

 

 

 

I have issues with swiffer on my new dark hardwoods -- they are somewhat rough plank, and the silly swiffer pads catch on them, leaving fuzzies.

 

I tried the Orange Glo hardwood cleaner, and I thought it worked well, but my floor guy said not to use it -- that it will build up on your floors. So I'm going to get some overpriced stuff from his store that probably won't work any better, LOL.:tongue_smilie:

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