Steam cleaners put heat and excessive water on your floor which can lead to cupping and long term damage.
Can you use a steam cleaner on hardwood floors.
Properly cleaning hardwood floors without damaging it.
There are really only a few acceptable and very safe ways of cleaning your hardwood floors without damaging them.
A steam cleaner by its very nature uses water heated to a very hot vapor to clean and disinfect the surface of a floor.
Or use any kind of water to clean them in fact.
However avoid using a steam mop on unsealed hardwoods as they re more vulnerable and easily damaged by excessive moisture.
Sealed hardwood floors can withstand the moisture and heat from a steam mop and they clean really nicely with a streak free finish.
That s true whether you have solid or engineered wood floors and for bamboo too.
They are as follows.
Avoid using water and vinegar soap based cleaners wax or steam cleaners on your hardwood floor.
The more i researched the more i realized that most of the websites claiming you can t use a steam mop on hardwood floors also claimed you should never mop hardwood floors.
For this reason you should avoid all these so called safe hardwood floor steam cleaners.
Over time vinegar and water will dull the floor s finish while soap or wax will leave a residue.
Most of these sites swear that a dry cloth is the only way to clean hardwood flooring.