How can you disinfect hardwood floors?

[Marisa6826]

Can you do a bleach wash on sealed hardwood? I know the vinegar trick, but I have it in my head that bleach is, well...cleaner.

I normally use Murphy's Oil Soap diluted in water (love the smell of that stuff), but I know my floors aren't as clean as they should be.

Any other suggestions?

TIA

-m

[1ceng1]

Bumping this since I am also wondering the same.

[JBaxter]

I only use vinegar and ater on my hardwood ( and tile for that matter) but I do on occassion use teatree oil in my scrub water.

I would NOT use bleach on hardwood.

[erosenst]

FWIW, and as odd as it sounds, Murphy's Oil Soap is actually bad for hardwood floors. On site finished floors, it makes them impossible to refinish; on prefinished floors, it makes the finish unhappy. (You can google for more technical information!)

Most mfg's will tell you that dry mopping, with occasional use of a floor cleaner such as Bruce's or Bona, is sufficient. If you have kids and/or dogs, I respectfully disagree :). I use a 3/4 water, 1/4 vinegar solution which I *very* lightly spray on the floor for most cleanings; every other week or so I use the Bona (again, spraying VERY lightly). If disinfecting is important to you, you can put tea tree oil in the vinegar/water solution. (We don't wear shoes in the house, so not much need for disinfecting floors. I'm also one of the weird people who think all the anti-bacterial/bleaching/etc is actually creating more problems than they solve.)

HTH-

[Melanie]

I don't know about hardwood floor-safety, but I would use vinegar or hydrogen peroxide before I used chlorine bleach inside.

[chlobo]

Marissa,

I just bought a hardwood floor cleaner that uses steam to disinfect. Here is a link:

http://www.epinions.com/Bissell_1867_Steam_Mop_Bare_Floor_Steam_Cleaner/display_~reviews

[squimp]

Yep, Murphy's leaves a residue. The folks who installed our floors said as much. They also recommended Bona.