Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - Cleaning wood floors

ok pls bear with me as i ask about these cleaning questions.

im kinda young and dont have too much experience with cleaning or what things are called.

im gonna get a bonna mop being that its so highly recommended.

im thinking of getting this:

IS MicroFiber Mop w/ Pads
New 5" x 14" velcro microfiber mop with two pads. One pad is a microfiner cleaning pad, and one is a microfiber dusting pad.

so the microfiber, i use for dusting right? when ur dusting, do you sweep with the mop and end up with a pile at the end, or does it get trapped in the mop? to me it just seems easier to vacuum, i have a central vac installed and ill get the good extention for it.

sweeping my floor is bad since its black and being that its prefinished, there are gaps between each planks and the dirt just gets all stuck in there. i dont sweep with the broom anymore as it filles the cracks with dirt. then i have to put alot of elbow grease to wash the dirt out of there.

how does the mop pad work on this? i plan on using water and vinegar as ive been using now (cant use chemical since i have a bird in the house). do you wet the floor or the mop? either way dont you end up just spreading the dirt? if you have flooring throughout the house, do you use several pads for one cleaning?

when im washing my floor now, by hand or with the sponge mop, if i dont rinse after a few strokes, you see streeks after. it just speads the dirt. the floors get very dirty as we are in construction.

i currently wash it with the sponge mop once a week. the only water that gets left behind is on the first pass i do with the mop, following up with a towel would fix

help!

i just watched the video they have on their site, thats a good idea for ppl like me who are pretty cluless.

i think it answered most of my questions.

the only thing im still unsure is if i can use the bona mop with water and vinegar (the little video says not to use vinegar but i guess they are trying to sell cleaning product too)

has anyone used both products (vinegar and the bona cleaning product) are they equaly good?

i think i will skip the dry mop and use the vacum and just buy the wet mop and go from there

if you've got actual beveled grooves in between your planks, i'd be using a vacuum of some sort (but no rotating bristles), or you'll never get dirt out of them.

keep moisture from cleaning products to a minimum. i wouldn't squirt anything ONTO the floor. whatever kind of of mop you've got, ring it out to only slightly damp.

you're doing this right: to keep it from streaking (and with such a dark floor, heaven help you!), clean a small section & dry with a towel, rinse the mop, then move on.

i've heard the pro's here recommend both vinegar/water and bon ami (sp?) products. with a prefinished floor, never use anything with wax or oil in it.

The vinegar/water solution is effective for hardwood floors with poly finish. If you purchase a commercial cleaner, make sure the label specifically states safe for polyurethane finish. The Bona Kemi hardwood floor cleaner is frequently recommended in forums.

ive been searching for a bona mop locally. found 2 retailers close to me. went to the first one, they had bona products but out of stock on the mop so i had them order one in.

a week later i go in to pick it up and he 's got his mirage mop. im like, this isnt what i asked for. but he said they are all the same.

well i figured id give it a shot since my floors were dirty and i didnt watn to use the sponge mop or do it by hands again (that is way too much floor for my knees!)

i wasnt impressed at alll, the thing would turn over each time i tried to clean towards me. and the smell of the cleaner reminded me of a smelly pet store. ill try to get my 30$ back but i dont count on it.

went to the other store and he had it there. i asked if the kit had the wet and dry pad and he said yes. i get it home and it only has the blue micro fiber pad. i thought the blue micro fiber was for dry cleaning and anohter white one was for wet moping.

what do you guys use?
also how often do you wash the blue pad, after every use? or just kinda dust it off and use it for a few times?

ps the blue dry pad works really well for now (vac isnt installed yet)

also you guys say no rotating brisle? guess i cant use my 150$ dirt devil hand vac i got? :wall:

pps whoever invented beveled seams needs to be shot. :D