We always recommend using ammonia free Windex and either a dry swiffer or microfiber cloth to clean every hardwood surface. You may be surprised how well it cleans without harming the finish or leaving any residue behind. You can spot clean using paper towels, or mist the floor and follow behind with the dry mop.

For more hardwood floor care tips, here's a link to our flooring blog. https://theflooringblog.com 

I use the Bona bottle of spray (handheld) and the Bona mop with the removable pad that can be washed in the washing machine.

Does anyone use hardwood floor polish, like Bona Hi-gloss? I've been told to not use anything that can cause build up.

I've read that products like Bona are bad for hardwood floors.

Our hw floor refinisher said the same thing. I'm not sure what the heck to use!

I do adore really shiny hw floor tho.

If you want a shiny finish have a floor finish apply a coat of high gloss urethane. Stay away from crappy DIY polishes. They soil and scuff rather easily and are hard to remove.

Thank you, Cancork Floor! Our wood floor guy says the same thing, but I love high shine. He says the clearer, high-shine finishes aren't as scratch resistant for having dogs (we have multiple).

Does urethane provide scratch resistance?

Keep your dogs' nails clipped short. I cut my dog's nails as soon as I can hear them clickity-clacking on the wood floor, every 10 days or so.

I've also been told to snip the excess hair from between a dog's toes. It's very slippery and causes them to extend their nails to get traction.

I just bought a Norwex microfiber mop and have been impressed so far. It has a dry pad, wet pad, and a tile scrubber pad for tile floors. Just dampen the pad with water and clean.

I'll give the windex a try. We bought a Miele canister vacum with their Parquet twister floor tool and it is awesome. Not cheap, but definitely worth it. I highly recommend it. It makes cleaning dirt, and pet hair from our floors amazingly easy. Plus we use the dusting attachment to dust our furniture. Awesome vacuum.

Cancork, can you use ammonia free Windex on engineered hardwood more than 1-2x per MONTH? I have single paned 30 year old windows in my house and a terrible dust problem due to leaky windows and therefore, need to mop more than once or twice a month. I've used Bona CLEANER and it seems to make my floors dull. I hate that stuff.

And is it OK to use just water on an engineered hardwood floor to clean? Like with the Norwex mop that uses only water. Or is it best to use some chemical?

Yes, ammonia free Windex is safe to use on just about every type of flooring.

It cleans, and doesn't leave any kind of dulling residue or harm the finish in any way. It's what we recommend using. Even on engineered wood.

Beware of Mop n Glo (or any similar products)! We were selling our old house and I definitely "over-cleaned" the hardwoods to the point where there was a waxy film on top of them. Needless to say, we got them back to normal in between home showings, but boy was I nervous I had ruined them. There should be some kind of warning label on those things (maybe there is)! Now, I just Swiffer them (dry cloth) and if I need to wipe up anything, it's just in that particular spot and only with water.

I've learned that there is a spectrum of hardwood floor shines, and if your hardwoods aren't finished to be super shiny, don't try to make them into something they aren't!

@kpyeatt - The "cleaning" part (windex or Bona or Loba or Glitsa) is 1-2 per month. You can dry dust the floors daily if you like. You can use a slightly water damp mop 1/week.

I like to have two microfibre mops on the go: One is dedicated to "dry dusting" and the other is the "damp cleaning". And ne'er the twain shall meet.

Dry dust as often as you feel you need to. Water-damp mop 1 per week. A "cleaner" is used (in lieu of the water damp clean) every 2 weeks. If you have dusty flooring because of windows then there are 3 options:

1. Change the windows and fix the original problem

2. Keeping up with the dust mopping more often

3. Keep calm and live with the dust

Over cleaning will kill engineered hardwoods very, very quickly. The dust is from the poor seal on the windows. Sweeping/dry dusting is your BEST defense against dust.

Thank you for the very helpful answer/answers. We are actually getting ready to tear out our wood floor in our back family room and put in new engineered wood floors both upstairs and downstairs so putting in new windows right now is out of the question. I haven't decided whether to put in the plastic looking (ick) but easier to clean aluminum oxide coated floors or UV Oil floors which will require a bit more maintenance but stay longer newer longer. I'm guessing I won't be using Windex if I go this route. My back family room looks dull and hazy. Probably used too much Bona cleaner on those.

Why dont you just refinish the floors kpyeatt?

And i hardly ever mop my hardwoods. You can dust mop them frequently and get stains up as needed. When i do mop them (i use a flat microfiber mop) i will use just water or a floor cleaner that i have that 'Mr clean' makes that is safe for hardwoods.

I'll suggest a) determine the manufacturer of your hardwood floors, and 2) follow their maintenance and cleaning instructions and recommendations.

Some flooring manufacturers give 20, 25 and 35 year guarantees on their pre finished hardwood flooring, that tells me it would be wise to pay attention to their cleaning recommendations.

Here's where one producer, Mercier, lists their instructions: http://www.mercier-wood-flooring.com/en_us/literature-and-documentation, look for the maintenance guide. I'll quote some points from their guide:

Step 1

...vacuum regularly. The vacuum cleaner removes dust and abra-

sive substances from the surface. Frequency: As often

as necessary

Step 2

Mercier cleaner on a mop (micro fiber), swab in the same direc-

tion as the floorboards. ... Never use fabric softener (sheets or liquid)

when washing mop covers, these products leave a greasy

film on the surface of the floor. Wash the mop cover

when it is dirty

.Warning

Never use wax, household detergent, wood

conditioner or oil-based soap on the floor. These

products can tarnish, damage the finish and leave a

greasy film, making the floor slippery and difficult to

maintain.

Mixtures of water and vinegar are not recommended

for cleaning prefinished flooring, since vinegar has an

oxidizing effect on the finish.