Ever since seeing that the DIY Diva (who is amazing) got a steam mop for her hardwood floors, I've been thinking about them. My first inclination was that how the heck is introducing hot steam at a high pressure good for wood floors? I've always thought water as the enemy to hardwood floors. But everyone uses them!
I quickly searched the Shark website. Is this skirting around the issue?:
Can I use my Shark® Professional Steam Pocket® Mop on all floor surfaces?
All Shark® steam mops are designed for use on most sealed/glazed hard floor surfaces. We recommend that you test an isolated area of the surface to be cleaned before proceeding, as well as review the use and care instructions from your floor manufacturer.
Surfaces/Material where the steam mop should not be used:
1. Wax polished furniture or floors.
2. Unsealed or unglazed ceramic floors, unsealed wooden and wax floors and some no wax floors.
3. In cases of surfaces treated with wax and some no-wax floors, the sheen may be removed by heat or steam action of the unit.
1. Wax polished furniture or floors.
2. Unsealed or unglazed ceramic floors, unsealed wooden and wax floors and some no wax floors.
3. In cases of surfaces treated with wax and some no-wax floors, the sheen may be removed by heat or steam action of the unit.
Ideal for: (sealed/glazed surfaces ONLY):
See Manual for usage instructions
• Laminate
• Bamboo
• Hardwood
• Marble
• Tile
• Stone
• Laminate
• Bamboo
• Hardwood
• Marble
• Tile
• Stone
But still, sick of getting down on my hands and knees with a cloth after every meal to wipe up the mess of several girls, I was hopeful.
So I called the great guys at Asheville Hardwoods (I've worked with them on projects before), and they said they get 2-3 calls about this every day. He said the NWFA (National Wood Flooring Association) recently released their findings on this issue and the NWFA DOES NOT recommend the use of a steam mop on wood floors.
Bummer. I was really hoping to be incorrect with my guess. We love our floors. Oak downstairs, heart pine (which is hard to find and very expensive now), so guess I'll just add a better vacuum to our Christmas list.
Labels:
flooring
I have one on my Christmas list for our hardwood & laminate, but ours are poly coated.
ReplyDeleteAlmost all floors are poly-coated (waxing is not used much). My point was that even if your floors are "sealed" there are cracks and thin parts where the steam will get in and damage the wood.
ReplyDelete