Rhonda , Bona makes great wood flooring cleaning kits. You can get them on Amazon or at Target. I would not recommend water and vinegar.

You can use any product that does not contain scents, distillates or disinfectants

Floor refinishers advise to NEVER use any cleaning product that contains silicones. Silicones leave a film on the floor that can penetrate into the wood causing adhesion issues when they are refinished. Many of the brands found at the grocery store contain silicones so floor refinishers say to use vinegar and water to avoid trying to keep up with new products, etc - easier to just say avoid them all.

If you know the brand of the finish on your floor, use their cleaner. One time we had a Bona finish so I used their cleaner. Next time we had a Glitsa finish so I bought their cleaner. I think either of these cleaners can be used if you don't know the brand of your finish. These are simply neutral pH cleaners with no additives for "shine".

Vinegar is known to "etch" polyurethane finishes. This etching causes a haze...almost as if there is a film of some sort on the floor.

To decide whether or not you have an etched finish or a film coating, you can use some rubbing alcohol on a clean cotton cloth. I would rub/scrub a small area (4inches x 4inches). Make sure you are in a WELL ventilated area (lots of windows open) and NO OPEN FLAMES! Pilot lights and alcohol fumes = big boom!

I would clean this 4" x 4" area a few times (over and over again). Then assess this area along with the rest of the floor. If this cleaned patch is NOTICEABLY cleaner/shiner/nicer looking, then you have a FILM build up. That's good news if you do (but lots of work ahead of you).

If there is NO DIFFERENCE, then you have an etched finish. The vinegar has eaten into the finish and has scarred it. A buff and coat can perk up the floors. If the hardwoods are getting close to 20 years old, then skip the buff and coat and go strait to the sand/refinish - it's time to do it anyways.

I hope this helps you figure out whether or not you have an acid etched floor or a floor that has a film on it.

Cleaners with scents (Swiffers wet pads) and distillates (wax and polishes) will leave a film. Cleaners with disinfectants (Pinesol, Clorox and vinegar) will etch your finish. "Do not use" these types of cleaners.

Bona is one of many options. You are looking for a pH neutral hardwood floor cleaner that CLEARLY STATES: Does not leave a residue.

Please be aware that Bona has cleaners and it has polishes. And you cannot mix up the two. The polish will state that it will bring back the shine. That's a NO-NO.

And please be aware that OVER USE of Bona (more than 1-2 times PER MONTH) can and will leave a FILM over the floor that is devilish to remove.

Please have a look at your cleaning schedule to check if you are over cleaning your floors. A hardwood floor cleaning schedule should look like this:

1. Sweep/dust mop/vacuum routinely (2+ per week)

2. Slightly damp cleaning (water ONLY) 1x per week

3. "Cleaner" (slightly damp mop head) used 1x - 2x per MONTH

The most important thing to remember is this: cleaners only need to be used 12-20 times PER YEAR!!! Yes. Over cleaning kills hardwood much faster than "under" cleaning.

Please check how often you were using the vinegar to see if your routine (how many times per month) had anything to do with the issues you have experienced.

Then the Bona cleaner should be fine. Keep to your schedule (every couple of months) and you will have no problem with Bona cleaner.

Have you tried to see if this is a film vs. hazing/etching?

Nope...not weird. That's actually normal. Feet are greasy. Skin oils are shiny (or dull in comparison to the finish). Skin oils will push through socks....ick I know...but this is the nature of having skin. And cooking oils splash into the air and can land up anywhere on that same LEVEL!!! Yep. With open floor plans, cooking oils can land 400ft away.

And anything oily (that is left to dry out) becomes tacky. And when it becomes TACKY it GRABS dust. And the stuck-dust becomes gritty. And then that starts to feel GUMMY.

Sound familiar? So that's why we recommend a "slightly damp" mop (water only) about 1x PER WEEK. This picks up plenty of the dust and prevents it from getting gritty and gummy.

See where I'm going with this? So far, your explanation is SPOT ON normal. There is nothing "wrong" with what is happening. In fact it is what I would expect to happen if a damp cleaning is occurring every 6-8 weeks.

Add in the "water only" damp cleaning and see if you can get these floors to feel better in between the "cleaning" events. Adding in a different cleaner into your schedule won't do anything for the "week later" feeling. Only by adding in the slightly damp mop every week will reduce this feeling if icky-sticky floors.

Good luck. I'm hoping the little bit of extra effort will rid you of this problem. Of course water is pretty cheap so that's a bonus:-)

I vacuum our floors with a soft brush attachment on our central vac. I wash the floors with water only. I hand wash with a damp cloth and dry with a clean cloth. I have been doing this to our floors for 32 years. There is no residue.