Wood Floor Cleaning Instructions - 2025 Update
1. Vacuum or Dry Mop to Pick Up Loose Dust & Dirt
This step removes the dry surface dirt and grit, pet hair, and anything loose on the floor. Previously when I wrote the article I favored using a dry microfiber pad and carefully walking up and down the room, like a “mop boy” does on a basketball court.
The problem here is that once you’ve gathered the loose dirt and ended in a corner or area of the room, you still have to grab a vacuum to immediately clean up the pile of dirt and to vacuum off the microfiber mop head after each pass. It only took me several years but I’ve come to the conclusion that using a battery-powered stick vacuum is really the way to go.
The bottom line is that you’ve got to remove all of the loose dirt prior to wet cleaning the floor, or your results will not be very good.
2. Mist the Floor With Mr. Clean Wood Floor Cleaner
Now that the floor is free of loose dirt, we’re going to use Mr. Floor cleaner and some elbow grease to release dirt and grime from the floor, suspend the dirt in the cleaning solution, and pick it up with the microfiber mop pad.
To do this, spray the cleaner on the floor in a small area, (mist, not puddle) and then using a good amount of pressure, use the mop to “scrub” the floor. The microfiber pads will supply the mechanical friction required to release the dirt that the Mr. Floor Wood Floor Cleaner has loosened. Once loosened, the microscopic grime will be suspended in the droplets of cleaning solution that will ultimately absorbed by the microfiber mop pad.
Depending on the amount of grease and grime on your floor, you may need to spray and go over the same area a couple of times. Keep going back and forth over the floor until the cleaning solution is absorbed by the mop and any dampness is gone. This is a critical step because if you see that the floor is still wet, that means you’ve got cleaning solution with suspended dirt still on the floor. To get a haze-free shine, all of the solution must be absorbed and picked up off the floor.
If your mop pad gets dirty, you will want to switch out to a clean pad over the course of cleaning a larger area of flooring.
3. Remove Any Haze Remaining on the Floor
If you’re really a fanatic about a clean floor, go one step further and after you’ve cleaned the floor with Mr. Floor Cleaner, buy a bunch of 16” x 9” bar towels, fold them in thirds, put them under your mop handle, and buff the floor. You’ll deepen the shine and will pick up any solution that may have dried on the floor. You’ll be shocked at the results!
Click here for instructions on deep cleaning a wood floor.
We’re always here to answer any questions. Thank you again for selecting Mr. Floor Wood Floor Cleaner.
