What type of finish is on your floor? Was it finished after it was laid? or do you have a prefinished floor? I have a prefinished floor, and use a tiny bit of dishsoap in water, and damp mop. Drying after. Mary

I use water or glass cleaner on my poly finished floors.

It depends on your floors. Ours are solid brazilian cherry with the polyurethane (?) finish. We use the Bona wood floor cleaner. When the dogs have an accident, I dry with paper towels, then spray it well with the Bona, let set for a minute, then rub dry with a clean cloth or paper towels.

The installer said if there is residue on our floors, use a strong strength (we buy the concentrate) of the cleaner, let set, then rub clean.

Best of luck!

Our floors are 4" oak - not the prefinished kind. No stain, just Street Shoe brand finish (I'm pretty sure) to seal them...

Do they sell Bona cleaner at the grocery store? This is really driving me nuts! Home again tonight and the floor just feels sticky where we used the wetjet...ugh!

I use Bona on all my floors.

I have white oak floors, finished on site. I use a steam mop to clean mine. From the reviews I read before I bought the steam mop, many people said the steam mop cleaned up all of the residue that previous cleaners had left behind.

I have to say after I use my steam mop on my floors, they literally feel so clean under foot.

Maybe someone you know has one you can borrow to try it.

cali wendy - what brand steam mop? Do you worry that the steam mop will damage the finish over time?

I haven't tried this but I also saw the segment on HGTV that this article references: Cleaning Hardwood Floors w/ Apple Cider Vinegarhref>

I use Bona but a floor rep told me I can use 1 part vinegar to 10 parts water. Always use clean cloth to dry. You should post on the Flooring forum.

We've also started using a steam mop and it feels wondefully clean. We have little ones crawling around so no chemicals here...

We use the Eureka EnviroSteamer. Hottest temperature of all the steam mops in our price range. Awesome!

Here is a link that might be useful: Eureka EnviroSteamer

My steam mop is a Haan. My hardwood floor guy said he couldn't condone the use of a steam mop on our floors. He only recommended cleaner that has an evaporative agent in it so that there isn't excess moisture on the floors.

But, the steam mop doesn't leave the floors very wet at all. The water/steam evaporates and the floors are pretty dry. The only issue I foresee is if somehow it is pushing moisture down into the subfloor area, but it just seems like a better method than wet mopping with anything (water, vinegar and water, cleaner, etc.) since that leaves the floors super wet. I used to do that on hardwoods in a previous home and I always had to towel them dry because they were so wet.

From the reviews I read, it seems like many people with hardwoods are happy with their steam mops...some of whom have been using it for years with no problems.

But, alas I am not an expert at all, so I can't say for sure that it is safe. Although I hope so because I am loving how clean it makes my floors.

I also have Basic Finishes Streetshoe on my Cumaru floors. I purchased the Squeaky floor care system from my installers and finishers. Perhaps similar to Bona but made by Basic so it's a complete system.

Don't be afraid to call your floor company and explain what happened. We lost power for 24 hours just hours after the final coat was put on our floor. The temp. in the house dropped to 52* and our skylight failed. The company came and did a spot repair that only I know is there. They felt so bad for me that they didn't charge me!

thank you all for the great advice - I will definitely be looking into a steam mop, and giving our flooring guy a call. We also have little ones running around so I really don't like using the chemicals! I have heard of vinegar mix before but have never try it...I might start there when I clean this weekend, just testing it out on a small area first.

Again, thanks for all the advice - this place is GREAT!!