Bissell Crosswave and wood floors question.

[blackheart]

My little sister and her husband are moving into a home with wood floors, i'll be assisting them in refinishing them and thought I would get her a crosswave as a housewarming gift. Both her and her husband are not exactly...great housekeepers so I figured something to make the task easier would be great.

My question comes down to the chemicals. What do you guys use on wood floors? I mean I know they make a formula for wood floors but I figured if there was something out there that was more accessible or perhaps worked better than the bissell formula I'd like to hear your suggestions. Oh this will be finished with polyurethane if that helps.

 

[lesinutah]

Distilled

I have a symphony and a tineco cordless which is the generic crosswave.
If you use distilled water it keeps white porcelain tile 18x18 and about 700 square feet of oak wood floors In better condition than any chemical I've tried.
My wife use simple green for all surfaces and it with distilled water works well with the tineco. Key is distilled water it naturally cleans and it keeps wood very clean.
Living in the same house 14 years. We used to seal the oak floors with a wood sealer. The first time we used and cleaned it with symphony and distilled water it brought the darkened wood light. It brought out it's natural color. White tile it cleans it just as well.
Les

 

[joshp83]

Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner

I’ve had luck with Bona Hardwood cleaner, although it might be really expensive unless you dilute it. It’s designed to be misted/sprayed onto the hardwood rather than wet-mopped.

Several of my family members swear by diluted white vinegar as well.

 

[thevacomaticiec]

for hard woof floor nothing nothing beats aerus Electrolux 3 brush polisher whit buffing pad mirror like shine guaranty.

 

[lesinutah]

Bona

I have a bona mop and bona floor cleaning cleaner. It works good better than everything other than distilled water.
Buy it from Amazon.
Les

 

[blackheart]

Hmm..

The symphony is a steamer though isn't it? I mean i can see why you would want to use distilled water in a steamer to prevent any water deposits from building up in or around the heating elements. But like the crosswave is really more of a mopping machine. really I think of it as a self cleaning rag to wipe the floors with.

Vinegar I hadn't thought of. I'll do some research into that to see if it would cause any harm to the poly. Bona I also hadn't thought to use perhaps that would be a good solution, makes sense since it's engineered for wood floors.

Hm I don't think the lux is a good fit here that's really more of a polisher/buffer type setup the crosswave is an all in one vacuum/mop type of setup. I'm trying to encourage them to clean their floors to extend the longevity. If we're going to take the time to sand/stain/and then finish the floors I want them to take care of them, and hopefully i won't have to do it again for a long time.

 

[air-waycharlie]

I just bought a Crosswave last week and used for the first time on Friday. It comes with a small bottle of cleaner provided by Bissell. Larger sizes are available.

I have a lot of hardwood flooring. It did a great job and I was amazed at how dirty the return water/solution was. We vacuum daily and I did use an older Shark steam mop about two weeks ago. I have a new house so there was a lot of "builder residue", that came off the floor even after the cleaning crew was through.

I found you have to use the Crosswave in a fairly slow motion or I had some dry patches. The floor does dry fairly quickly and it was clean. I still will use the Bona mop with the Bona solution afterward as it leaves a nice finish without too much shine.

I may try a solution of warm water and a small amount of ammonia as I used that in my other home and it never harmed the floor and left it clean without residue.

On a scale of 1-10, I would give the Crosswave a healthy 9. It is important to clean it thoroughly afterward and Bissell has made this quite easy. I totally rinsed the brush roll, (comes out/off very easily), until the rinse water was clean and set it outside to dry. So even if you are not a vac enthusiast it is easy to use.

I bought mine online at Kohl's and with delivery it was about $250.00. So far I have no regrets and plan to use it again tomorrow not only on the hardwood but the porcelain ceramic flooring as well.

 

[blackheart]

Oh?

Ammonia is what I use in mine granted I have laminate not true wood floors. It does a fantastic job on my kitchen floors. I thought I had read somewhere not to use ammonia on finished wood floors though?

 

[lesinutah]

Pic

The pic attached is my tineco cordless. The other machine I mentioned. Ammonia eats away and dries out wood fyi. It would be like spraying Windex and mopping your floor. If you have any real wood spray Windex or ammonia on it for a few weeks. You will find it dries and eats the wood.
Bona is really good floor cleaner. Pine or citrus based cleaners work good as wood sucks up the citrus or pine.
Les

 

[air-waycharlie]

Mine are not true hardwood either nor are they laminate. It is a wood vinyl type flooring that does not click clack as you walk on it in any type of shoe. I should have mentioned that in my original post. So I think the ammonia is safe.

My last home was all porcelin ceramic on the first floor and it worked great.

I think you little sister will be fine with the Bissell cleaning product as the label says it is okay for hardwood floors. You only use a small amount diluted to a fair amount of water.

 

[blackheart]

Response

Perhaps that was it, drying out the wood. I thought it had something to do with the polyurethane.

I guess I should admit I don't know what the difference between laminate and the vinyl planks are I kind of thought they were the same thing. All I know is whatever this stuff is it's definitely not real wood, i've been living here for....5 ish years and i've always cleaned it with ammonia though, whether with a floormate or crosswave and I've not seen any negative effects.

I chose to photograph this spot so the interior could be seen. This plank tends to slide under my countertops, fortunately no more than this.

 

[joshp83]

I recall reading that real hardwood is fairly susceptible to water damage, so routinely soaking the floor is not advisable. This becomes a greater risk as the wood ages and larger gaps appear between the planks. The Crosswave puts down a lot of liquid, but since it sucks it back up, that should be pretty safe. Those steam cleaners/sanitizers should be avoided for the same reason- you don’t want to inject hot steam deep into the cracks and gaps in the wood.

I use the Bona cleaner system and a couple times a year use their Bona Hardwood Polish. It keeps my floors looking good. I also use runner rugs to minimize wear on high traffic areas. It helps reduce the need for polishing, plus it gives me more carpet to vacuum.

 

[lesinutah]

True

Water by itself does but distilled has no additives and is pH balanced. If you use regular water it will ruin the wood.
I have the bins system it's awesome. 1250 square feet of tile or wood using bona is cumbersome. Its the best method other than using a vacuum or tineco. I use the tineco because it's quick and effecient.
I have neighbors that are millionaires but make no mistake I'm not rich. Their highered maids used a shark steam mop and are how I found out about the distilled water.
Vinyl planks don't leave scratches easily(depending on quality). Laminate is wood with a vinyl outer shell. The majority of laminate flooring scratch easily. If you have a engineered laminate actually don't scratch and can last up to 69 years.
If you get crosswave just get a cleaner with no harsh additives. Bona is really good but if used frequently it's expensive. Bissell floor cleaner Wis fine. I'd recommend just using distilled water to clean every couple months. Distilled water by itself works great on tile in kitchens and bathrooms. It dries and it's gone. It leaves no harsh additives it uses hot water and the spinning bristle.
Les