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No! Under no condition should a wood floor be steamed mopped!

Wood is extremely prone to bubbling, swelling, and warping with exposure to water over time. There are products that state they are safe to use on "sealed" wood. The flaw in that statement is the idea that your entire floor is sealed.

If your floor is a prefinished floor as most are today, each board came separate. As you staple/nail them into place there is a small space left. The tops of the board are polyurethaned but the sides are not. As the steam is pressed into those spaces your floor will be permanently damaged in time.

A site finished floor where you have sanded bare wood and applied the polyurethane in your home has the same issue as above. Once the seasons change the boards begin to shrink in winter causing the polyurethaned to break in between each board. These spaces are not large and you many not be able to easily seem them while walking across. But these steam mops will allow water to make its way between the boards.

Regardless what a product states, do not use these on your floor. Bruce, Armstrong, Hartco, Tarkett, and Thomasville all state they void warranties on a floor that has water damaged caused by seam mops.

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More Advice:

NO!

Hardwood can swell with the steam from the mop. Even if the top of the boards are polyurethaned the floor is still able to get wet.

As your floor expands and contracts with the humidity in the air, polyurethane will have tiny cracks in between each board. This allows water to make it way onto the floor.

No, a steam mop should never be used on a wood or laminate floor. The steam leaves to much water on the floor, even "sealed" wood flooring. Also, the humidity causes the wood to expand and then retract every time you use it.

Wood and laminate manufactures void your warranty if you do use and damage your floor with a steam mop. Surely a manufacture knows their product best!

NEVER, NEVER use any form of wateror steam to maintain wood flooring. Water and wood don't mix. Would you use a hand held steamer to clean your beautiful dining room wood table or a $ 50,000 Grand Piano? Of course not. Then why would you trust false advertising and use steam or water on your fabulous hardwood flooring? I agree with the other comments shown prior to mine. Please use floor cleaners recommended by the wood flooring mfrs. or finish mfrs. for those floors that are sanded and finished in your home.

I am using a portable steam mop and it works great on hardwood floor.

Yes, water do damage the hardwood floor but you need to use right steamer that do not leave much water on floor after cleaning.

Speaking as a professional contractor, It is very acceptable to use a steamer to clean your floors. Industrial steamers....no, handheld portables, yes. The species of wood doesn't really matter as much as the manufacturer's dedication to quality. A lot of manufacturers use an aluminum oxide coating on their products. Outdated products will use polyurethane but a lot of the newer products are a lot tougher; some weighing in at an astounding 35 year warranty. If i was running a multi million dollar company, I would make sure that my product could withstand such a trivial thing such as water. Companies provide cautionary advice as to go the extra mile; usually not because that the said product will actually do damage.

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Q: Can you use a steam mop to clean hardwood floors?
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Can you clean wood floors with a steam mop?

No, you cannot clean wood floors with a steam mop. The steam will cause the wood to bubble and will get a mould underneath it.


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The Bissell steam mop can be used to clean a vinyl floor. In fact it can also be used on marble, ceramic, stone, laminate, linoleum and sealed hardwood floors.


Whats the best steam cleaner for hardwood floors?

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You can clean hardwood floors without damaging it by first cleaning it like you would clean on tiles. Sweep up the floor for trash and then use a bucket and mop it clean and dry.


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