9 Best Wood Floor Cleaners

Carolyn Forte, the Good Housekeeping Institute’s Home Care and Cleaning Lab Executive Director, has a B.A. in Family & Consumer Sciences from Queens College, City University of New York, and is a consumer products expert. She has been testing, speaking and writing about appliances, textiles, cleaning products and more at Good Housekeeping for more than 40 years.

Jodhaira Rodriguez joined the Good Housekeeping Institute in 2021. She tests and writes about home appliances, cleaning products and tips on cleaning. She holds a B.S. in forensic science from Hofstra University and previously worked in an environmental lab where she sharpened the analytical skills she applies in her testing of vacuums, dishwashers, detergents and more.

In the Good Housekeeping Cleaning Lab we’re continuously testing floor cleaning essentials like vacuum cleaners, mops, robot vacuums and steam mops. During our experts’ initial test, we tested twenty-four wood floor cleaners exactly the same way, cleaning 216 stains and scuff marks from wood flooring panels. We tested how well each product cleaned after an equal amount of passes and how many passes had to be made with each product to completely remove scuff marks and stains. In addition to performance tests, we also analyzed ease of application. All product labels were reviewed for proper safety and precautionary notices. Since then, we have continued to test new wood floor cleaning products as they become available, updating this story with the latest and greatest wood floor cleaners.

The two vacuum cleaners on this list are models we tested or from brands that we’ve tested before and performed well in our ongoing tests, which we test on different flooring panels using our custom-built, automated machine.

✔️ Product Type: Hardwood floor cleaners come in various different forms like sprays, creams, concentrated liquids and spray mops, not to mention all the different kinds of vacuums to choose from for picking up dust and debris, like canister vacuums, stick vacuums and robot vacuums to name a few. During our tests in the Cleaning Lab, our experts found that all of the wood floor cleaners we tested were able to remove at least some stains and scuffs regardless of how they are dispensed. For the easiest products to use, spray bottles and spray mops are the best choice because they can be sprayed directly on hardwood floors and require no diluting, plus they topped our tests in performance and ease of use.

✔️ Additional Uses: Some wood floor cleaners also double as wood furniture cleaners, like best value pick, Murphy Oil Soap, making it perfect for homes with lots of wood furniture and hardwood floors. You’ll likely clean most (or all) of your home’s rooms with these hardwood floor cleaners, so choosing a product with a fragrance you enjoy enough to smell all throughout your home is also something to look out for.

The best way to give your wood floors some TLC is to leave your shoes at the door, vacuum regularly to remove abrasive dirt and dust (with a straight suction vacuum or with the rotating brush turned off to prevent scratching), clean up spills promptly and keep your pets’ nails trimmed.

When it’s time to clean your floors, use a light application of one of our recommended products and work in small three-foot square sections to avoid over-wetting the floor. Make sure the area you’ve just cleaned dries promptly before moving on to the next section, as too much moisture sitting on wood for too long can be damaging. For quick touch-ups, clean in the direction of the wood planks. For deeper cleaning, clean both with and across the planks to nab dirt trapped in the crevices. Only damp-clean floors when they need it, depending on how much traffic they get. There’s no need to over-wash them; in fact, doing so can do more harm than good.

You may have read that wood floors should only be cleaned with vinegar — we don’t recommend it. Vinegar cleans on the surface, but it’s acidic and can dull the finish over time. Steam mops should also never be used on hardwood floors, even sealed ones. Excessive water and humidity cause water to penetrate the finish of the wood and warp hardwood flooring. Solid wood flooring is more easily affected by factors like humidity, water and extreme temperature changes. Abrasive cleaners, waxes, oils, furniture sprays and products containing ammonia should also be avoided to prevent damage to the seal of hardwood floors.

Carolyn Forte, the Good Housekeeping Institute’s Home Care and Cleaning Lab Executive Director, has a B.A. in Family & Consumer Sciences from Queens College, City University of New York, and is a consumer products expert. She has been testing, speaking and writing about appliances, textiles, cleaning products and more at Good Housekeeping for more than 40 years.

Jodhaira Rodriguez, Home Appliances & Cleaning Products Reviews Analyst, joined the Good Housekeeping Institute in 2021. She tests and writes about home appliances, cleaning products and tips on cleaning. She holds a B.S. in forensic science from Hofstra University and previously worked in an environmental lab.