Steam Mops and Cleaners on Hardwood

[RonB]

Does anyone have experience with any of the consumer-grade steam mops or other cleaners on hardwood floors? We have researched via Google, Amazon and various on line dealers. They and local storefront dealers for Shark, Gruene (mops) and Koblenz (scrubber) all say they are great and safe for hardwood. From research, it appears that many consider the mops to be better, on hardwood, than bucket scrubbing with a hardwood cleaner because it does not put as much water on the floor; and it removes it quickly. Problem is, most of the opinions are from retail sellers or cleaners - a little biased.

How about you guys? There are many finish experts here. Are these steam cleaners safe with factory finished hardwood flooring (BTW - Our floors are solid 3/4" Oak, tongue and groove, not engineered. The installation is on top of standard roofing felt.).

Thanks RonB

[Lee Michaels]

My wife uses a steam "mop"/"scrubber" on our hardwood floors. Works great. No problem with the floors. She says that the floors stay cleaner longer. I suppose that means if it gets clean enough, it takes a little longer to appear dirty. Autumn leaves changes that perception though. The other consideration is that you can clean with just water. Which has to be better on the finish than the various soaps, detergents, etc that is often put into the mop bucket. She swears by it. HTH

[Leon]

Before investing in something like that take a look at Bona Mop Products.

have been using this product for years. Simple and quick and inexpensive.

[dadiOH]

Why in the world do you need to steam clean hardwood floors? Or scrub them either. Sweeping and an occasional damp mop should be sufficient. I'm assuming the wood is clear coated, yes?

[willshak]

RonB wrote the following:

Leon mentions the Bonamop. I haven't seen that product before. There is always the Swiffer Wetjet. Looks similar to the Bona. Cheap, and replacement mop cloths and liquid available almost anywhere.

[clare]

My floor is "composite", not hardwood, but the steam mop does a fantastic job. I would not wet mop it.

[clare]

Advantage of the steam mops is NO CHEMICALS,, NO RESIDUE, and it removes oils (from skin etc) as well as sticky stuff (food residue) and sterilizes at the same time. Removing the oils and not leaving a residue means the floor stays cleaner longer.

[Ed Pawlowski]

I hat ours. Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but it streaks and leaves a haze on the floor. I've tried it on finished wood, laminate, and linoleum and they all look like crap when done.

Maybe it is me, but while the idea is good, the execution sucks.

[Leon]

Had the Swiffer, I am sold on the Bona, About 1 pint does 800 sqft. The vac shop sold me the first Bona kit, he sprayed the cleaner in his mouth. Pair that with a microfiber towel on the mop and you get great results.

[Doug Winterburn]

What? Does he lick the floor?

- Doug

[clare]

We use distilled water ONLY in the steam mop. We use it on the solid vinyl flooring of the kitchen and bathrooms, on the composite/laminate flooring, and even occaisionally on the "berber" carpet in the laundry/wife's office. There was some blue staining from fabric softener near the washer, and the steam mop took care of it very easily. (saved getting the carpet extractor out)

[Larry Jaques]

Isn't the Bona's head larger than the Swiffer's?

And he died of...natural causes?

Sounds like a winner.

-- Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday. -- John Wayne

[Lee Michaels]

Rem "You better start eating son, because we don't have any electricity".

[RonB]

Well, I finally connected with our flooring manufacturer product support. They "steer customers away" from steam mops. It stresses the finish and injects moisture into scratches and imperfections that occur during normal wear. He steered us toward Bona and another brand. Bona products are readily available from Walmart so I think that is where we are heading.

Thanks for the input.

Ron

[Leon]

He's a salesman, what can I say? LOL

[knuttle]

I was waiting for the answer to this question. While the wife has not decided she needs a steam mop, logically it seemed that applying steam to a composite was not a good idea as it would penetrate the material and break down the glues.

I was amused by a previous post to this thread who said he had no trouble using the steam mop but would not use hot water on composite.

Question: Do steam mops actually use steam or a spray of hot water.

I have seen some "steam" items that use a spray of hot water and not true steam.

[m II]

Steam works really well for our TigerWood hardwood, with glossy finish, floors. It tends to disperse greasy stains and blotches giving a good shine and it's quick. Every few years you will need to hit them with a detergent based cleaner to dissolve the greasy stuff you have just spread around though.

If you wear glasses you will understand this process. It works well most of the time but eventually you have to actually remove the greasy film.

Does anyone have experience with any of the consumer-grade steam mops or other cleaners on hardwood floors? We have researched via Google, Amazon and various on line dealers. They and local storefront dealers for Shark, Gruene (mops) and Koblenz (scrubber) all say they are great and safe for hardwood. From research, it appears that many consider the mops to be better, on hardwood, than bucket scrubbing with a hardwood cleaner because it does not put as much water on the floor; and it removes it quickly. Problem is, most of the opinions are from retail sellers or cleaners - a little biased.

How about you guys? There are many finish experts here. Are these steam cleaners safe with factory finished hardwood flooring (BTW - Our floors are solid 3/4" Oak, tongue and groove, not engineered. The installation is on top of standard roofing felt.).

Thanks RonB

[m II]

We have dark hardwood floors and steam does NOT remove the grease! It disperses it into a film that is hard to see. It has no other place to go.

The residue left behind is minor and will only need detergent and wetness every year or two though. A little water doesn't bother hardwood if it dries in a few hours.

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[m II]

Ours disperses steam and the wood is warm after swiping with it. It is dry in a few seconds as opposed to any spray cleaner that keeps it wet and can soak in deeper. This avoids any chemicals or wetness for year to pick up any residue greasiness. The floor always looks like brand new each time.

If you get a ding or dent in your hardwood extended steam application can pop the dent back out to the undetectable level again. I don't buy the steam in scratches over water in scratches. Somebody is pulling your chain.

I was waiting for the answer to this question. While the wife has not decided she needs a steam mop, logically it seemed that applying steam to a composite was not a good idea as it would penetrate the material and break down the glues.

I was amused by a previous post to this thread who said he had no trouble using the steam mop but would not use hot water on composite.

Question: Do steam mops actually use steam or a spray of hot water.

I have seen some "steam" items that use a spray of hot water and not true steam.

[clare]

The steam mop we have is DEFINITELY steam. The carpet "steam cleaner" on the other hand uses liquid H20.