Cleaning & Organizing
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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
cleaning hardwood floors
We just moved into our 1941 home with all original hardwood floors. I dust mop everyday b/c the dog hair quickly gets out of control. What do you use to do a deeper clean and how often? I always saw my parents use pinsol and I love the way it smells but I dont think it really makes the floors shine. Murphys oil seemed to leave a residue on the floors in the house we used to live in, havent tried it here yet.
Re: cleaning hardwood floors
I don't use products on my floors. I have a cat who strangely likes to lick floors. I don't need to be running my cat to the vet because he ingested something he shouldn't have. I already don't look forward to cleaning baby poo and spit up out of clothes... I don't need to add floor cleaner residue to the list of things to attempt to get out of the laundry.
I put hot water (heated to boil in a tea kettle) in a squirt bottle, spray a small section of floor and mop it up with a microfiber mop. I dry sweep the floor every day to clean up the cat hair tumbleweeds and litter trackings and try to mop every other week. Sometimes I'm feeling particularly lazy and it goes a little longer.
In case you have pets, Pine Sol is toxic to animals. Orange Glo will in time wreck your floors. It seems to work for awhile, but give it time... you'll be scrubbing the build up off the floors like everyone else who tried it has (seriously... google "Orange Glo ruined my floor").
http://pandce.proboards.com/index.cgi#general
Try this one: http://www.realgoods.com/product/home-outdoor/green+living/cleaning/floor+renew.do
It's expensive and I used just about the whole bottle on my floors, but I haven't found anything that compares to the way they looked after using it. I even went on a hunt in the grocery store and bought like 5 floor cleaners just to find a cheaper alternative. But I figure if I use this stuff just once a month it'll keep me happy. The shine lasts awhile too, unlike some floor shines that fade in a week. I also bought a mop that reuses microfiber cloths. I would definitely recommend using microfiber rather than cotton. Somewhere along the way I read cotton cloths can smear some cleaners.
I have *a lot* of hardwood in my home. First and foremost, I reccommend taking off shoes and boots in a designated area. Keep up on dusting (a dry swiffer will work). Do a heavy cleaning once weekly with water and vinegar solution - 3 parts water, 1 part vinegar. I use a large microfiber push mop, but you can use whatever you want. Keep your cleaning tool damp (not wet) and make sure the floors can dry quickly... I used to follow my cleaned area with a towel for drying, but that's unneccesary.... just wring out your mop very well and floors will dry on their own.
Initially, you will smell the vinegar, but it is absolutely non-toxic, and actually absorbs odors. The smell dissipates quickly. It is cheap (especially when you buy the big bottles at Costco) and easy!
P.S. If I'm having guests visit, I like to use Method's hardwood floor cleaner, which they say you can use full strength, but I dilute heavily. (One bottle has lasted me nearly 2 years.) It leaves a nice almond scent and does not leave residue. It is supposedly safe (for kids and pets), but i still prefer the water+vinegar combo.