I used the Bona spray bottle with microfiber cloth stuck to the bottom of the stick thing that comes with it for a couple of years and thought it was doing a somewhat decent job and would also every once in awhile clean it on my hands and knees with a damp cloth yet I always wondered why the heck it felt somewhat sticky and also if you walked on it barefoot and your feet had any condensation on them whatsoever it would leave trails everywhere in the house you walked. After having a child it made me think twice about spraying a chemical down on the floor they were crawling on and then them putting their hands in their mouth and whatnot, which led me to try the shark steam mop which I saw on a late night infomercial and while it did work somewhat it took forever and you had to constantly pump it to get steam and therefore it was easy to use excessive steam when it finally started coming out and then leaving drips everywhere and puddles even. After a few months ths flimsy shark broke from me trying to push down on it hard to get out a spot of something on the floor basically because it doesn't heat up hot enough to even clean that up. Finally I dug around on Amazon and stumbled onto the Eureka Steam Mop, this thing is awesome. It feels like I am cheating when I am cleaning it takes so little time, it heats up much hotter than the shark so therefore it sterilizes the floor and easily cleans of any mess with no effort and from time to time I have to check that it is actually working because the water evaporates so quick you can't even see it ever sitting on the wood except for a few seconds. This Eureka steam mop is very hard to get ahold of usually because it is out of stock quite a bit and the only downside I have seen is that the replacement pads are hard to find and get ahold of. I ordered some direct off of the companies website and they didn't ship forever so I called them up and they said they cannot keep them in stock ever because everytime they are in stock they all get bought up in no time and she said everything related to this Eureka steam mop does because it is a huge seller for them. I totally understand why...haha My cleaning lady was shocked how good this unit was and has actually had all of her clients buy them now too and they have all had the same exact results I did. So I guess if your happy working your butt off keeping your floor clean the old school way and spaying chemicals and breathing those in then keep doing it, yet if you want actual clean floors not getting build up on them and to clean your floors in a quarter of the time with this unit and some distilled water then go for that as well. Just search on Amazon for Eureka 313A if you would like to check it out and see the 640 reviews on it from actual customers yourself or click the link I attached, free shipping and no tax. Spoken like a true Amazon junky....lol Michael Here is a link that might be useful: Linky ==> Best Floor Cleaner I Have...

I have been using the Bissell steam cleaner on my floors for a few years now. They have never looked better. No streaks anywhere. We have solid wood brazillian cherry,which are dark and glossy so they normally show everything. I echo the poster who said that the steam dissipates very quickly, so does not really seem to be a threat to the wood. I tried Bona and many other cleaners, but the steam mop is by far the best. We also have tile and marble floors, and I love that I can go right through the house with one device. I'll never go back to another method. There is much more discussion on these cleaners on the Cleaning Forum.

As much as I love them, my dogs are the bane of my existance...and just made me realize, they are why I do so many topics on cleaning floors! lol Muddy paw prints only go so far and I use damp paper towels wiping them up. But try washing drool. That's why I bought a Hoover Floor Mate I only use it on tile and when the kitchen floor has excess slobber. It does a good job but I have to go slow. Slobber is one of the worst things to clean after a floor dries. It's a must that I have a cleaning agent for my floors. Anyone want two giant dogs? :)

Concrete can have issues with 'flat' and level. In fact it is one of the worst substrates to get to sit level. It takes +++work (subfloor prep) to get it ready for a rigid floor - like hardwood. Even if this is a new build, concrete prep needs to be done. If this is a renovation, I'm guessing carpet was removed? Carpet hides HORRIBLE subfloor conditions. How much did you pay for the subfloor preparation? For concrete I like to see a range (listed AS A RANGE on the quote) from $2-$4/sf. Yes. I know that looks pretty big. It should be. Concrete is a PITA to level/flatten. Now onto the door...if there was carpet there, I'm going to guess the door used to catch the carpet just a snick. But the door didn't care because the carpet CRUSHED under the door and it was no big deal. Now you have a rigid, non-compressing, hardwood floor that stops the door in it's tracks. That's an issue. You need to trim the door or rip up the hardwood and grind down the concrete. Those are your two choices. As you can imagine, the door is easier.