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Need help after steam mopping hardwood

5 years ago

I stupidly used a steam mop on the hardwood floors of a home we just moved into and now they have light colored streaks on them. I tried using Bona floor cleaner and Murphy's Oil but they made no difference. Is there anything that might help besides refinishing?

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Comments (3)

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Oak & Broad
5 years ago
May need to refinish or at least screen the floors. :-( Have a floor finisher come look at the floors in person for a recommendation.
Lloyd Davis thanked Oak & Broad
veggiegardnr
5 years ago
I also think you need to have someone come look at your floors. Definitely don't put anything else on them. Specific finishes need specific cleaners and you can cause all sorts of problems if you use the wrong cleaner.
Lloyd Davis thanked veggiegardnr
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The two most misunderstood floors are hardwood and tile. Floors don't need to be sanitized. They are "germy" moments after cleaning. Never wet hardwood. Sweep or vacuum and damp mop with an "almost wrung out dry" mop made for wood floors or a microfiber mop. Steam cleaning will eventually raise the finish. I don't care what the commercials say. Don't use chemicals or cleaners on tile. Damp mopping with plain water is all it needs.Push the mop diagonally across the tile not with the grout lines. Chemicals and even the overuse of steam will destroy the grout and even the finish. It gets especially ugly if your grout has been sealed. I have fifteen year old (at least) tile in my main entry hallway that still looks brand new. Never sealed the grout. Vacuum as needed. Damp mop twice a month with warm water. I have been in homes with two year old tile that looks terrible due to the over-cleaning methods used.
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We use our steam mop on the low setting and always keep it moving quickly. Never stop to scrub long in one spot or keep it in one spot very long. The steam dries literally in seconds. We have 5/16" Brazilian Timborana pre-finished engineered hardwood floors by Indusparquet (formerly branded as BR-111) with a urethane & aluminum oxide finish. The floors look fantastic and it is SO much easier to clean with the steam mop. That being said, most mfgs do not recommend using a steam mop on hardwoods. They have to account for all usages, including people who may let the steam mop sit in one spot and just steam away. See the below recommendations that I found online ... Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.atyourdooronline.com/Steam%20and%20Swiffer%20Cleaners.pdf
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I know of several people that use and swear by steam mops on hardwood. One friend has a 100 yr old house and said her floors have never been as clean as they are now since she started using the steam mop. I do not have hard wood and was told by the manufacturer not to use steam on laminate because it can cause some of them to start to delaminate on the edges. I have a shark steam mop and can tell you from experience the floor does NOT get wet it is dry pretty much instantly. It would get more water exposure by using a wet mop which is much wetter than a steam mop. But it is up to each individual as to whether they want to try it. My friend tried it first in a closet that had the same hard wood as the rest of the house and she was thrilled with the cleaning. When I was trying to decide if I wanted a steam mop and what kind I found my answer right here on GW at the cleaning forum and if you don't think there have been tons of discussions on the topic then just check out this link from that one forum. steam mops IT is a very heavily discussed topic here at GW. LOL If I had hardwood I would likely do the same test, I would try it on a location that is not right out in the open. Or specifically ask the manufacturer of the hard wood if that is a possibility. When I steam mop my tile it is completely dry in seconds after the mop goes over it, I can't risk the slipping factor, which is why it is really good for me. And I can do it sitting in my chair because the mop is so easy to use. I would certainly never presume to tell someone what to do I think we are all intelligent enough to make those informed decisions.
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We have a 100 year old house with maple and oak floors that were refinished about 2 years ago with 3 coats of oil poly. When I look at the gaps between some of the boards, I know if this were a recent install the owner would be complaining and posting all over this board about what a poor install this is due to the gaps. Since we are not into high maintenance housekeeping, we use a steam mop and have had no problems. BUT, we are empty nesters, we only have a non-drooling dog and a cat, and we use the steam mop more infrequently than you plan to. I too don't think you should have problems, but there are no guarantees. Personally, I don't quite get what the difference is between using a steam mop and using a regular mop or being on your hands and knees with a bucket with water to clean a floor. We just installed luxury vinyl plank in our basement, and I have been reading the warnings where some people say don't use a steam mop with LVP because of possible expansion contraction issues. I don't get it for that product either and most likely will use my steam mop there too.
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SJ McCarthy
5 years ago
Ok...as Oak & Broad has pointed out, this could need a redo of some sort. I'm going to point something out here (once again I must state the not-so-obvious). Murphy's Oil soap is NEVER TO BE USED on polyurethane, urethane, acrylic finishes of ANY sort. Please throw it out. Murphy's Oil soap has been known to PREVENT refinishing...forever. If that is the case (once you speak with a wood flooring professional...and mention the use of Murphy's) feel free to start a class action lawsuit against them (I've been waiting almost a decade for this...but no one seems to want to go this route...sigh).

Next...please use the steam mop on limited surfaces...like porcelain/ceramic/stone tile (but not marble), metal, concrete, glass. That's all that is allowed to clean. And certainly not vinyl or linoleum.

OK...now that we have scared you, you can go ahead and start living on your floors. By the looks of it, you have "cooked" the finish (that's what the streaks are...they are hazing due to excessive heat from the steam = cooked finish = just like cooking an egg). At this point the finish is still functional but it is going to look ugly until it gets fixed.

It is possible that a buff and coat *could* make the difference...but with the use of Murphy's you may have removed that option. A full sand and refinish will definitely correct this (removes all finish), but the use of Murphy's oil might have caused enough contamination that this might now work. If you only used the Murphy's once or twice, you shouldn't have a problem with a full sand and refinish. But the buff and coat is most likely off the table (like 80% - 90% chance it is off the table).

Feel free to bring in a hardwood flooring professional for their opinion. Please please please mention Murphy's oil. It will give the professional the chance to make an honest assessment.
Lloyd Davis thanked SJ McCarthy

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