Hardwood floors

stoneycakes

What do I do to make them shiny?  Can I wax them with something natural?

nanabanana06

I wash my floors with Murphey's every few weeks. The natural oils get them nice and shiny.

YellowLily2013

When the hardwoods are finished they are either coated with a wax or polyurethane coating. This is what makes them shiny. Once the floors have been properly finished then there are different products that clean and keep the floors shiny. The ideal product depends the finishing.

I think most wood floors probably have a polyurethane coating since its easier to maintain.

But with either method it's likely that you'll need to have your hardwoods refinished at some point.

You want to avoid excess water on hardwoods. I've heard that steam mops are bad for them... But this is a debatable thing. As is vinegar supposedly.

Another tip, you always want to dust mop or vacuum before moping otherwise the fine particles can scratch the surface (making it less shiny).

Also, waxing a polyurethane coated floor is a huge no-no.

musicalsilver

YellowLily2013 said:

When the hardwoods are finished they are either coated with a wax or polyurethane coating. This is what makes them shiny. Once the floors have been properly finished then there are different products that clean and keep the floors shiny. The ideal product depends the finishing. I think most wood floors probably have a polyurethane coating since its easier to maintain. But with either method it's likely that you'll need to have your hardwoods refinished at some point. You want to avoid excess water on hardwoods. I've heard that steam mops are bad for them... But this is a debatable thing. As is vinegar supposedly. Another tip, you always want to dust mop or vacuum before moping otherwise the fine particles can scratch the surface (making it less shiny). Also, waxing a polyurethane coated floor is a huge no-no.

Where did you hear this one?  The guy that refinished our floors told us that we should exclusively used diluted vinegar to clean our floors and not use anything else.

YellowLily2013

I can't remember where... But it can be drying and dull the finish.

But like I said... There's lots of different finishing techniques and the care for each is different. And it's a very subjective thing.

If your guy recommended it for your finish and you've had great results with it. Woohoo! That's awesome.

stoneycakes

YellowLily2013 said:

When the hardwoods are finished they are either coated with a wax or polyurethane coating. This is what makes them shiny. Once the floors have been properly finished then there are different products that clean and keep the floors shiny. The ideal product depends the finishing. I think most wood floors probably have a polyurethane coating since its easier to maintain. But with either method it's likely that you'll need to have your hardwoods refinished at some point. You want to avoid excess water on hardwoods. I've heard that steam mops are bad for them... But this is a debatable thing. As is vinegar supposedly. Another tip, you always want to dust mop or vacuum before moping otherwise the fine particles can scratch the surface (making it less shiny). Also, waxing a polyurethane coated floor is a huge no-no.

Well this is a bummer, YL.  My floors are definitely finished with poly.  I guess they just need a new coat.

unaveragejane

I use a Bona mop on mine. It doesn't make them shiny, but they had a fairly matte finish to begin with. I like that the bottles are now refillable and the pads are washable instead of disposable. The spray is supposed to be very safe, but I have never actually researched the formula to see for myself.