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Sanctuary

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The vacuum cleaner choices thread got me thinking....
We are going to be removing all of our carpet and installing hardwood floors. So, I won't be needing the vacuum cleaner nor the carpet steam cleaner anymore which means I won't have to store those beasts anymore - storage space for us is extremely limited and often non-existent. When we have a full boat, I just about have to sleep with the vacuum cleaner because there is nowhere else to keep it. Anyway, what products in terms of appliances, not chemicals, have you found to be the best for cleaning your wood floors. Most of the time I will be going over them with a Swiffer just to keep up with the dust, but periodically, I will need to "wash" them, especially in the galley (kitchen). I do have a cat that roams the living room when no guests are here, but he's never allowed in any guest rooms. So, I do need something that will not balk at cat hair, and the occasional hairball, YUK! The kitty is 18 years old and blind - he probably won't be around for much longer, but he's healthy and happy at present, so I need to count on having to clean up his hair still.
I'm interested in something on the compact side in terms of overall size, again it's that storage thing. It could be that the answer is just to use the basic Swiffer with dry and wet pads.
What are your opinions in this regard? Thanks!
 
My son lives in a re-furbished loft apartment in an old mill with OLD wood floors and just got a Shark steam cleaner thing for wood floors. I'll get a report on it for you. He's not the most patient with that type of thing, so he'll be a good source. LOL!
I've been afraid to try one of those on my old floors here (which are a mixture of oak and wider heart pine). I'd be interested also in seeing what folks have to say.
 
Plain and simple - regular old sponge mop with a bucket of vinegar and water - have been using that on wood floors for the past 15 years and just this past weekend got questions about what I use on the wood floor - "it looks so great"
 
I use the Bona mop system, which sounds like a big deal but it isn't. It has a washable microfiber pad and a heavy duty handle so you can really scrub if you have to. You get it wet and then you can use whatever else you want to spray on the floor like the Bona cleaner or, as I do, vinegar & water. Take the pad off, toss in the wash, good to go. I have a very old pseudo-Swiffer handle and I attach microfiber cloths to that for dusting. Same thing, take off and wash. What's good about using the pseudo-Swiffer is I can use old facecloths just as easily and they are very good at picking up pet hair. But the handle on that is very wimpy as it is only meant to dust, not scrub.
If I were in the market for a new 'mopping system' I would go with the Libman as that also has washable pads. No sense in buying them just to throw them out everytime. Get a couple of the washable pads so you're always prepared. And that has the spray system attached to it. Given your space constraints, I'd go with something that has a foldable head, allows you to swap out the pads for wet & dry apps and a spray bottle rather than a bulky item with the spray system attached.
 
Just bought a Shark Steam Mop about 6 weeks ago, love it, and bought another one, you can't put any product IN it but you can squirt or just use steam. One person mentioned that the head was not big enough, the new one comes with 3 different heads AND you can buy an optional giant head. Washable covers
LOVE IT LOVE IT
 
I'm so surprised you are all using water so freely on your wood floors!!!
 
Thanks for all of the responses. I, too, wondered about the water to clean the floor, and especially steam, since I'm sure that any pre-finished floor isn't finished with varnish, and probably not any solid wood floors in homes, either. My recollection is that they are finished with polyurethane. But if it's working without compromising the floor, well you can't beat that!
 
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