I used to just damp mop with Murphy's Oil. Use about half as much Murphy's oil as the directions call for and then re-oil. I found that waxing did make the floor easier to keep clean and lengthen times between oilings.

Do you need them to be separated now and then? If not, braces of some sort could probably be attached underneath to attach them to each other. The brace could be a bar that has a notch that slides around a screw when you want them together, but if you want them apart it could be slid out of the way - like what might be under a dining room table to keep the extra leaves from working apart. I can picture this, but I don't know if my explanation makes any sense. They would need to be heavy duty. Or would you consider an area rug under the pieces? Jane

Palinpset-Well, even barefoot it is bad. :( In fact, I think the oils on our feet smudge it worse than shoes. I like the idea of socks others mentioned, but of course it is just not practical all the time. carol-I have considered that it may be the cleaner, so I will try your suggestion. Thanks. nancy-I will also try your product, the Bona X. I have Bella Wood cleaner that the dude from Lumber Liquidators suggested to me. Not sure if that could be the problem, or if it just doesn't clean that well? I will try Bona X! nanny-glad to know I am not alone in this! Thing is, the hair doesn't bother me as much as those darn smudges!!!

groveraxel, I would never get rid of my dogs. Dealing with their messes is what I signed up for when I bought them. I also don't want my house smelling like dog pee so I was hoping to come up with something that is functional for flooring given their situation. What I've done is put down a pee pad when it's cold and try to be good about taking them out regularly when I'm home (they have a doggy door). The worst part is the surprise puddles when you are wearing socks. I don't care as much about how the wood floor wears as much as I was concerned about the dog pee soaking into the wood, but the refinisher is going to take care of the one section of raw wood with poly and hopefully that protects it. We'll see long term about the spaces between the boards. So far no long term urine smell...yet. Thanks for the tip about the target doggy diapers. I had to do that with my older dog that has since passed. They add up if you buy the ones from pets mart.