Thanks! The Bona Kemi products always get good reviews.

Ummm, okay, I may have read this wrong, but the way I read it, a mild vinegar/water solution is actually fine for your hardwood floors, because the floor refinishers only tell you no because they want your floors to wear out faster. Is this correct?
I am currently saving to have my floors refinished by a chemical stripping company that promises to have it done in a third of the time for half the price of traditional sanding/refinishing methods. Until then, the high traffic areas are bare. I use Murphey's to mop once a week. I do have to wet-mop because I have children and animals, dry-mopping would not do. What's wrong with Murphy's Oil Soap? I have not found the Bona Kemi products in stores.
One final question. Once my floors are sealed, can I use Quick-shine types of products on it to help the finish last longer?
Sorry if I sound like a Doof (LOL!) but I have never had hardwood floors before and I am really, really clueless as to their care.

Bona Kemi is not sold in stores (even Lowes or Home Depot). It's made by a Swedish company, you can buy it on line. I used Murphy's soap in the past, it smells great but I find it leaves a dull,streaky somewhat "gummy" finish on floors. I don't like it. I now use Bona floor cleaner and their refinisher on my hardwood floors.

Hi,

I was also a bit confused by the OP. What's wrong with Liquid Gold? That was recommended to me for use on my hardwood floors. They are parquet and not sealed with a coat of polyurethane. I was under the impression that Bona Kemi products can only be used on finished or sealed floors. Hence, wouldn't be very good on my floors. Am I wrong?

Also, I found Bona Kemi products at Ace Hardware stores.

Karen

From what I've read, Murphy's reacts with the poly and prevents subsequent coats from sticking- so you can't just screen and recoat the floor to refresh it, you have to actually sand down and remove all of the old poly.

Surely there is something besides Bona that is acceptable to clean the floors with? I refuse to use it...it's hard to find around here and very expensive for me to use, since I have heavy traffic downstairs and need to really use a lot of cleaner. Plus I would have 2000 square feet of hardwoods to clean every week.
I actually have been using the Minwax hardwood cleaner and it's not bad. My floors are pretty much stripped, because of my small children and extremely heavy traffic. I'm having them redone in the next few years.

why not a steam mop?

For those with hardwood floors I just purchased a microfiber mop from Norwex. I just installed new hardwoods throughout my home and couldn't readily find the product Mannington recommended. You just use water to clean. It cleans beautifully and is chemical free. It removes more bacteria than bleach. Check it out.

I've been a professional cleaner for 17 years (and still with most of my original clients!) and the absolute best and cheapest thing to clean with is a splash of clear or lemon (not sudsy) ammonia in warm water. Using just a splash in a bucket of water will not harm the floors--I have homes that have not have the floors redone in the time I've cleaned for them and they are still beautiful and unharmed. The key is to use very little water. For me, the best tool is a mop called the Sh-mop (lots of places sell them---you can google to find them). Rather than a sponge to wring out, you get removable terry cloth covers to use. I wring them out so they're just wet enough to pick up dirt and sticky spots, but not so wet that they leave the floor with any standing water. When one gets dirty, you put another one on the mop so you are never cleaning with dirty water. Plus, they save a lot of time because the cover much more surface than a regular mop. I hope you find this useful!