Warning: What you don't know can damage your floors.

During 12 years professionally cleaning homes, I felt it was an important part of my job to study the proper care of all floor surfaces and spent hours doing so. During this process it became clear that 100% cotton was the safest, best and fastest way to clean any hard floor surface.

Before we start on the actual care of floors, I will warn you that I recommend cleaning most floors with hot water only. I do not recommend disinfectants or detergents as they can ruin the sealant on the floor. Ah, but you ask, "Don't you have to disinfect your floors?" My answer? "Do you disinfect your feet?" Your carpet contains billions more germs than your hard floor surfaces. Don't worry about the few germs on your hard floor surface. Hit the mute button on those TV commercials. They are geared to sell products and what better way to sell than to make you feel guilty about a few germs.

Let's take an in depth look into the new floor care products on the market. This information comes not only from hours of research but first hand information from far too many of my seminar attendees when they speak of the damage the products have caused their floors.

Microfiber: This fabric has been touted as the neatest thing since chocolate and it does have a place of honor when cleaning glass or mirrors. When microfiber first came out, the packages warned about not using them on any kind of sealed or painted surface. Some packages still carry this warning.

Microfiber is made from 80 to 85% polyester which is plastic. Plastic scratches. Given time and repeated use, plastic will scratch the clear coat sealant off any vehicle including RVs, cars, boats, motorcycles, airplanes etc. It will scratch the sealant off wood, laminated, linoleum, marble or any sealed flooring. It will scratch the paint off a wall.

Wood floors, although expensive can be sanded and refinished. Laminated floors must be replaced. Marble floors may not be able to be restored. Linoleum at least can be stripped and waxed.

I sell microfiber but I will not sell a product to clean a surface when I know the damage that can and will be caused from its use. When questioned about microfiber scratching, even the manufacturers hesitate to answer the question directly. When they do answer, it is always affirmative.

Premoistened towel mops: The towels on these mops are so thin that the towel itself is incapable of cleaning a floor - besides being extremely expensive. The sticky residue left behind on a floor over time deteriorates the sealant just like most detergents.

Detergent of any kind softens the sealant on linoleum, wood and laminated wood flooring. You can tell that is happening because the floor is sticky underfoot after cleaning. By the time you notice that your floor has lost its shine, the damage is done The only solution is to refinish the floor.

Any kind of detergent on a tile floor is damage waiting to happen. The detergent works into the porous crevices of tile floors and it's impossible to remove it. Which means the floor ends up looking dirty even after cleaning. The tiles are also very porous. Anything that is applied to the surface goes straight to the base of the tile, which is glued on. If a cleaner has an acid or strong base, it will soften the adhesive. Over time the tiles loosen and must be replaced.

Read specific cleaning tips for different floor types: Hardwood, Stone, Linoleum.

This article may be reprinted only with proper credit given to
Mary Findley, owner of Mary Moppins, Co.