If you have hardwood floors in kitchen...

[Anonymous]

Buying a house with hardwood in kitchen. We rented one like this a few years ago, and didn't like it.

Everything else in the house is good, so I'm letting go of my issue with hardwood in kitchen.

Tips on daily cleaning? (Yes, i googled, but it's all general. I want some real-life answers).

[Anonymous]

I have had no issues with cleaning my hardwood. I just vacuum and mop them as needed. I think they are much easier to clean than tile because I dont have any grout stains.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have had no issues with cleaning my hardwood. I just vacuum and mop them as needed. I think they are much easier to clean than tile because I dont have any grout stains.

What do you mop with, just water? any particular product?

[Anonymous]

Why do you need daily cleaning? I sweep crumbs etc. off of mine about 2x a week and let cleaners do the wash/hardwood cleaner mop shine every two weeks. The floors look OK.
Ours came with the house we bought last year. I would have preferred tile in kitchen ten times over, but didnt want to redo existing floors, so I am rolling with it for now. Dont love them, but love the rest of the house.

[Anonymous]

NP. Murphy Oil Soap for wood is best IMO.

[Anonymous]

I prefer hardwood in the kitchen -- better on feet and gives a much warmer feel to the room.

[Anonymous]

We vacuum weekly, mop monthly. I use bona and a damp mop. LOVE them and prefer them to everything else. Dishes don't break, no grout to scrub, no streaky tile and it's softer on your heels than tile.

[Anonymous]

What? HWF in the kitchen is AWESOME (unless it's those new super dark floors that dhow tons of dirt). Agree re: daily sweeping and weekly cleaning, I use a swiffer wet or Murphy's.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks all. I feel a lot better about it now. It's a really pretty African Oak. I'm picky on hardwood colors too. It's a perfect balance of light and dark. It's throughout the main rooms of the home (just not bed and bath).

We have to do something daily because of kids, whether sweeping or swiffer mop. I'll plan to use your recommendations on a monthly-ish mop and products suggested.

On our shopping list is a leak pan for the dishwash/fridge.

Thanks again.

[Anonymous]

I get you OP. All the little drips from the sink to dishwasher, dishwasher to counter, dog water dish, all the crumbs. I have to clean them every day, but I guess I would with any floor type. I am also resigned to scratches and dents from dropping things (kids, dogs).

They are good for all the reasons above, so enjoy them, and expect to refinish them. Vacuum, damp swiffer, bona. I go around with a squirt bottle of water with a tiny bit of vinegar when I'm feeling very industrious, and rub with a paper towel, because those don't come out from just swiffering.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks all. I feel a lot better about it now. It's a really pretty African Oak. I'm picky on hardwood colors too. It's a perfect balance of light and dark. It's throughout the main rooms of the home (just not bed and bath).

We have to do something daily because of kids, whether sweeping or swiffer mop. I'll plan to use your recommendations on a monthly-ish mop and products suggested.

On our shopping list is a leak pan for the dishwash/fridge.

Thanks again.

I'm not a fan of sweeping or swiffer, get a stick vacuum cleaner or a little pull behind vacuum. I don't think sweeping works.

[Anonymous]

We have a padded mat that runs the length of our kitchen. It is protects the floor and cushions our feet when cooking/cleaning dishes. My husband ordered it from amazon-I think it was originally intended for a garage, but it looks fine in the kitchen. It is a slate grey color, rubber, and can be rolled up to clean under.

[Anonymous]

Hey there, so I also love my hardwoods and would never do anything else. No hard floor to break things on (dropping, or just harder on my back). I have small kids and a husband that does dishes and drips everywhere. Just sweep and wipe up drips (small ones will do nothing really). I think having a mat under the sink area might be worse because you feel ok letting it get wet and soak up, and then damp sitting on hardwood = problems, so I'd stay away from that.

Occasionally, we clean with a swiffer like mop using Bona for hardwoods. (Ok, our maid does, but it's def not every day!).

[Anonymous]

I thought Murphy's is bad for wood floors?

[Anonymous]

We have hardwood in the kitchen and throughout the house. I use a Hoover Linx stick vac on the hardwoods and then spray-mop with Bona.

We had a huge shelf come crashing down last year (thanks, painters!) and while the floor got badly dinged up, the wood absorbed the blow far better than tile would have. We will eventually refinish the floors, but in the meantime, fine sandpaper and a stain pen made the particularly nasty dings much harder to spot.