Everybody says to use vinegar, and water to clean hardwood floors, but they never tell you how.
First you need to vacuum, and an after market horse hair bristle, floor attachment. They cost about $12. You get them at the vacuum cleaner store, which in many cases is in with a sewing machine store, I don’t know why.
Vacuuming once a week or every other week is the best thing you can do for your floors. Keeping ahead of dust, dirt, and debris helps save the finish. You can also sweep, but vacuuming is best. Many people prefer a soft cloth, or lambs wool cloth for picking up dust. It’s like a sweeper. You see them all the time in the stores.
What we found is that the sweepers, over time, leave dust deposits in any spacing between floor boards. You are also dragging the dust around, and you need to dispose of the dust as you go, so we think vacuuming is best.
We use a small blue cannister vacuum from Sears that costs about $100, then buy the attachment. It’s a great investment.
Now for the vinegar part. It’s 10% to 20% vinegar to water. We use a spray bottle, and a damp cloth. We use a terry cloth. Ours are bar rags. We’ve found they hold together the best.
We use a broad flat surface cloth covered mop, but use the terry cloth over that. We rinse the terry cloth as needed, and ring it out well to be damp. We spray a section with the vinegar, and water then damp mop. We start in one corner then work our way out the door.
