I don't know the answer to this question for sure, but I do know steam and wood don't mix. The problem is that hardwood flooring is not truely sealed; only the face of the boards are sealed. The joints where one board connects to the other is not really sealed because wood expands and contract, breaking any sealer that might have gotten spread there when the floor was finished. Think about it...if you have a leak in on your hardwoods and they were really totally sealed, the water would not hurt it.....right? But because the floor is not sealed, the floor buckles and warps. Water goes between the joints. With a steam cleaner, the steam (and the heat) causes wood fibers to expand, possibly damaging the finish from the back side of the finish instead of the face. As much as I would love to use a steamer on my floors, I just am not convinced it is really a good thing for the wood.

I have heard the same things that ccoombs1 mentioned above.. In my last house I had engineered hardware floors and the manufacturer recommended against using steam. I never used the steam on them,but , I did use the swifter wetjet on them (b/c I was told it was ok) and noticed buckling. So in my new house I am going ot have hardwood throughout, so I question, how do i clean harwood then????

I use a microfiber sweeper mop thingy (dry) made by O'cedar for dusting/sweeping. I do damp mop them if they need cleaning, but I get the mop as dry (well wrung-out) as I can. I spot clean areas that have something obvious that needs cleaning. I think swiffer wet-jets put too much water on the wood, although a swiffer cleaner thingy seems to be OK. I also have used Bona floor cleaner sprayed on, wiped off.

I forgot about the Bona.. I used that as well, b/c everyone swore by it.. do you find it leaves the floors streaky? Maybe it was just the finish on my last floors. I always felt it was streaky.. I hope we brought ours over from the old house.. Once we move in and see what goodies we had in storage, hopefully my bona mop will be in there... Thanks ccoombs1

I never noticed any streaks, but my floor is really light and it's nearly impossible to see dirt or streaks anyway. If I had dark floors, I am sure floor maintenance would be much more difficult. I am so glad I didn't stain the floor!

I have an envirosteamer and use it on my hardwood all the time. The steam dries so quickly that it doesn't have time to penetrate. The only thing you need to remember is to not let the steam head sit on the floor for any length of time. I have tile nearby and that's where I stand the mop while it's heating up, once I start to mop the wood floors with it I just make sure to keep it moving. I've had these floors for years and have no problems. I did have a problem when I let the mop heat up on a vinyl floor, it melted it a little!

"Hard surface" means tile, concrete and other completely sealed surfaces. Steam cleaning or wet mopping hardwoods is a bad idea, and will void your flooring warranty. Wood and moisture are enemies. You need to only damp mop them at the most.

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.

I doubt I'll ever use one on my wood, but I sure will get one for my sunroom vinyl floor. Sounds great!

The finisher from the company that installed the new cumaru and refinished the existing red and white oak mix told me to get a Shark steam pocket mop and use it one to two times a month. It's what he uses in his own home. I also purchased a mop and weekly cleaning product from the company. It's from the same line as the finish they applied. I'll double check with the office manager (daughter of owner) when I make final payment. Just bought the Shark last night and now am having second thoughts. I do love the warmth of the floors on my feet despite the chilly Wisconsin temps. We are a shoes off at the door household.

During our install I was expressly told NOT to use a steam cleaner on the wood, that it would void the warranty on the factory-sealed floors. The installer said that he had seen a recent increase on claims and he found the owners were using steam cleaners most of the time.

I guess it depends on the factory warranty.

In my other house, I had swedish finish oak (done on site). I used and enviro-steamer w/o any problems for the two years we lived there.

I don't think I will risk it on my new floors.

My installer gave me a bottle of Aqua Shine Hardwood
and Laminate Floor Cleaner. He told me to use it
once a week, and also to use it on my stairs and bannister.

Spray it directly on the floor and it comes with a
terrycloth thingy on a handle to wipe it up with.
Sorry, my words seem to be failing me this afternoon!

The floor looks lovely and clean after, and there's
no build-up, and I just toss the terrycloth thingy
in the wash.

In fact, I think I'm going to do it this afternoon.
Too much Christmas. lol.

I use Bona and was told by my floor refinisher not to put any water on it as it will damage the finish.