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Homeowner Forum / Cleaning / August 2005Cleaning of Wood Floors
I just returned from 7 weeks in Asia and really liked the wood floors in my hotels. My wife and I are considering ripping out the carpet and tile in our 3000 square foot home and putting in wood floors. We liked the look and feel of wood floors. Is it hard to clean wood floors? Is the care and upkeep hard? We live in Florida - just the two of us in our 50s. It is my job to keep the house clean. Our home is on a concert slab - but it is high enough and never gets water on it. Harry > I just returned from 7 weeks in Asia and really liked the wood floors in > my hotels. My wife and I are considering ripping out the carpet and tile [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > Our home is on a concert slab - but it is high enough and never gets > water on it. We removed all the carpet on the main floor of our house and have NO regrets. I find the laminate flooring that we installed to be very easy to clean. Wood floors would be equally easy to clean. Most of the time I just use a Swiffer mop. I generally just attach a microfiber cloth to the mop instead of the Swiffer cloth just to save money and I find it to be satisfactory. You could use any type of dust mop you like. When the floor need to be cleaned (as opposed to dusted), I use a steam mop. I have the Eureka deluxe steam mop but there are a variety of such devices on the market made by companies like DeLongi, etc. I like the steam mop because it is self-contained like an upright sweeper, uses only water - not chemicals, has no moving parts, makes no noise, and leaves the floor practically dry. The cloths can be tossed into the wash and reused. For spot cleaning, you could use a Swiffer wet mop or the Wet-Jet mop (or similar product). lotsa snippage........ >>, I use a steam mop. I have the >Eureka deluxe steam mop but there are a variety of such devices on the [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >The cloths can be tossed into the wash and reused. For spot cleaning, you >could use a Swiffer wet mop or the Wet-Jet mop (or similar product). We have sheet vinyl floors and a new puppy and it is our rainy season. So the pup goes in and out through the cat door and I am finding it nearly impossible to keep up with the sponge mop. The sponge mop is crumbling quickly and I can't find anything hardier that I can use on a daily ( sometimes twice daily) basis so...about this steam mop. Could you use it daily? Is it a hassle to operate? Thanks for any information! aloha, Thunder smithfarms.com Farmers of 100% Kona Coffee & other Great Stuff > lotsa snippage........ > > [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > Could you use it daily? Is it a hassle to operate? Thanks for any > information! I have two dogs and a dog door. I put an absorbent rug or bath matt in front of the door (inside) and have a rubber door mat on the outside. That reduces the mess by about 90%. You can use the steam mop as often as you like. My sister has 10 Shih Tzus, so you can only imagine the mess they make when they slosh around in the water and snow and then come inside with their long wet fur, caked with mud or snow!. She also puts a large rug in front of the door and uses the steam mop. This is the one I have used for several years: http://www.allbrands.com/products/abp06767-0384.html You just fill it with water, wait for about 5 minutes, and then use it like you would a sponge mop or sweeper. The unit has a 30 foot cord and is pretty light. You can use the cloths that are supplied with it, or cut down some old towel and use them. >> lotsa snippage........ >> > [quoted text clipped - 34 lines] >pretty light. You can use the cloths that are supplied with it, or cut down >some old towel and use them. Awesome!!!! I just looked at it and it would sure work for me! Thank you. I just have to work on the shipping to HI! Lordy, the shipping is calculated out at $61 or $20 more than the cleaner. I plan to call the people on Monday. I am very grateful to you. with aloha, Thunder smithfarms.com Farmers of 100% Kona Coffee & other Great Stuff > On Sat, 27 Aug 2005 21:59:44 GMT, "Vox Humana" <vhumana@hotmail.com> > Awesome!!!! I just looked at it and it would sure work for me! Thank > you. I just have to work on the shipping to HI! Lordy, the shipping > is calculated out at $61 or $20 more than the cleaner. I plan to call > the people on Monday. > > I am very grateful to you. I found that doing a Google search just to show you the exact model. I don't know what stores you have in HI, but I have seen this sold at Lowe's, Target, and Costco. Also, there is a chain of liquidation stores that specialize in gifts, etc., called Tuesday Morning. They sold the same item with different brand name on it in a black/silver color combination for $40. You might look locally or do some searches. Ebay might also have this. Just make sure you don't get the older model. That one has special cloths held on with elastic. It works fine, but you are limited to their cloths unless you can sew and the replacements are $20 for 2. The newer, deluxe model has clamps to hold the cloths and therefore you can use your own, avoiding the high price of special cloths. This website has it for $39 and seems to have a flat $9 shipping as it was added prior to giving the shipping address. Just be sure to remove the charge to join their club and the extended warranty charge and update the check-out page before finalizing your order. http://www.heartlandamerica.com/browse/item.asp?PIN=32692&SC=WIFO0001# >> On Sat, 27 Aug 2005 21:59:44 GMT, "Vox Humana" <vhumana@hotmail.com> snipped me out.... >I found that doing a Google search just to show you the exact model. I >don't know what stores you have in HI, but I have seen this sold at Lowe's, [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] >check-out page before finalizing your order. >http://www.heartlandamerica.com/browse/item.asp?PIN=32692&SC=WIFO0001# I live on the island of Hawaii which is very rural compared to Oahu/Honolulu but we have been so fortunate in the last few years to get the big stores here- Lowe's, HD, COSTCO. I do realise the implications for the old former stores, but we have so many choices and life is easier. Thank you for all your explanations. I am getting one of these ASAP and will follow all of your recommendations. Again thank you very much. with aloha, Thunder smithfarms.com Farmers of 100% Kona Coffee & other Great Stuff > lotsa snippage........ > > [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > Could you use it daily? Is it a hassle to operate? Thanks for any > information! Have you ever heard of a star fiber mop? (I'm sure they probably come under other names as well) Here's an example of one type: http://www.asseenontv.com/prod-pages/starmop.html?gid= I bought mine at the state fair about 8 years ago. It came with the mop and two mop "cloths". You simply immerse the cloth in water, wring it out, and mop. No chemicals, and it can be used on hard wood and laminate provided you are careful about your wringing :-) Once it gets soiled, you rinse it out again, wring the heck out of it, and you're good to go. It can then be machine washed (no softener, or so they say) and dried (ditto, no softener). It's the best mop I've ever used. I've seen similar mops sold on QVC, and you might even find something similar at Costco/Lowe's. Worth a shot. I do, however, use a swiffer wetjet in the laundry room where the cat box is located because I like the convenience of mopping up the cat mess (urine) and then pitching the stinky mop cloth! My 2 pennies. Good luck! TammyM >I just returned from 7 weeks in Asia and really liked the wood floors in >my hotels. My wife and I are considering ripping out the carpet and tile [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > >Harry It is very easy to keep a wooden floor clean. I use a swivel-head dust mop twice a week. However, if you live in the strand tracking in sand can be a problem. In that case, removal of shoes before entering the house can be the solution. Wooden floors are often recommended for people with allergies. > >I just returned from 7 weeks in Asia and really liked the wood floors in > >my hotels. My wife and I are considering ripping out the carpet and tile [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > the house can be the solution. Wooden floors are often recommended > for people with allergies. I would recommend that if there is sand, that the OP avoid the pre-finished flooring that has a bevel on each edge. I lived in a house with such a floor and every bit of debris found its way into the grooves. In an area with sand, this would be very bad. >>>I just returned from 7 weeks in Asia and really liked the wood floors in >>>my hotels. My wife and I are considering ripping out the carpet and tile [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > floor and every bit of debris found its way into the grooves. In an area > with sand, this would be very bad. One big difference with wood floors is that there is NO place for the dirt to hide. Every hair that falls from your head,grain of sand or crumb becomes an eyesore that stands high above the glossy plain of your floor. > One big difference with wood floors is that there is NO place for the > dirt to hide. Every hair that falls from your head,grain of sand or > crumb becomes an eyesore that stands high above the glossy plain of your > floor. I see that as an advantage. With carpeting, the crumbs, dirt, and dust mites are all there, even if you can't see them. You will never be able to remove all the dirt from carpeting because some of it works its way into the pad and below to the subfloor. With a hard surface you can easily remove the dirt and sanitize the floor with steam or chemicals. There is no potential for odor retention. Once the floor is clean, it is like new. Carpeting only gets worse and worse with time. I find that it takes only minutes to go over the floor with a dust mop. Vacuuming the carpet takes longer and is noisy and kicks-up a lot of dust that settles on your furniture. When we removed our carpeting I was horrified at the amount of dirt that had worked its way into the padding and down to the subfloor. Also, with pets there are occasional accidents. You can't totally clean-up pet accidents on carpeting. Our dogs are housetrained, but they would vomit yellow bile-like foam periodically the would permanently stain the carpet. Since replacing the floor with laminate, they have stopped vomiting and they ear and skin allergies have dramatically improved. > One big difference with wood floors is that there is NO place for the dirt > to hide. Every hair that falls from your head,grain of sand or crumb > becomes an eyesore that stands high above the glossy plain of your floor. Wood can be finished with a satin finish. Doesn't show the dust as well...except when the sunset sunbeams are streaming across the floor ; ) I love our wood floors. Finishes are so good now that maintenance is easy. Go to a commercial cleaning/restaurant supply place and get a really wide dust mop ... like they use at half-time to dust the basketball floor. Or get a Roomba. We haven't been sick since we moved into this house (also has hot water heat so there's no dust blowing around as with forced air). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Delete the obvious to reply to me personally. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ >I just returned from 7 weeks in Asia and really liked the wood floors in >my hotels. My wife and I are considering ripping out the carpet and tile [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >Our home is on a concert slab - but it is high enough and never gets >water on it. Initially I loved my wooden floor. It was hard work sanding it and I put four coats of varnish on. A few years on it looks a mess. Despite felting every chair and table leg the floor is scratched badly in that area. Maybe I should have sat the table and chairs on a rug. Where the computer chair sits it is even worse. My dogs ruined the finish with their claws and the kids had a disco on it and 'someone' had stilettos on. So I need to re-sand and revarnish. With just the two of you your floor will be ok but for the heavy traffic of my home I find it hard work. |
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