Browse Forums DIY, Home Maintenance & Repair 1 Jul 16, 2010 5:41 pm Moved back in around 9 weeks ago & since been experimenting with my spotted gum flooring, trying to find the best implement to clean them without seeing the aftermath of the mopping motion, especially when it's dry & the sun streams in the windows showing it all up (which is most of the time ) Every angle I look after its dried, I can see the marks, it's doing my head in Does that make sense?? I tried a mop head, a lambs wool mop thingee, a sqwishee mop thing - the most effective method is ME, on hands & knees, hand washing then directly after the wet cloth, using a dry one straight away There's gotta be an easier method than this ..... HELP SOMEONE, ALL SUGGESTIONS WELCOME. I LOVE the floor otherwise Jazz Life is like a lolly, suck it and see Re: Wood flooring, how to clean without leaving marks?HELP 2Jul 16, 2010 6:52 pm Jazzie - I hear ya!! Hot water / cold water / dash metho / dash vinegar / wooden floor cleaners - tried it all and they all leave streaks...... Will be watching this thread closely. Some things are worth waiting for. Re: Wood flooring, how to clean without leaving marks?HELP 3Jul 16, 2010 6:56 pm I use an enjo microfibre mop. It only requires the mop head to be damp and cleans perfectly - no water marks. Re: Wood flooring, how to clean without leaving marks?HELP 4Jul 16, 2010 7:38 pm What kind of "streaks" are they? Is it the cloth dust/shedding (streaks) that's left behind, or as fb mentioned, water marks? If it's water marks, I'd say the cloth is too wet. If it's cloth dust/hairs/streaks, I'd also be very interested in learning a trick or two. Thick cotton cloths are good to work with, but they leave lots of mess behind, and some of them "shed" so much. Maybe try using the thin Chux Wipes, as from memory they don't shed too much. Any cloth always needs to be damp, not wet, not dry. Or, are the streaks simply the motion/traces showing how you moved the cloth over the floor? Another factor - what is your floor finished with? Natural oil or wax, water based, or solvent based poly? My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: Wood flooring, how to clean without leaving marks?HELP 5Jul 16, 2010 9:33 pm Lex What kind of "streaks" are they? Is it the cloth dust/shedding (streaks) that's left behind, or as fb mentioned, water marks? If it's water marks, I'd say the cloth is too wet. If it's cloth dust/hairs/streaks, I'd also be very interested in learning a trick or two. Thick cotton cloths are good to work with, but they leave lots of mess behind, and some of them "shed" so much. Maybe try using the thin Chux Wipes, as from memory they don't shed too much. Any cloth always needs to be damp, not wet, not dry. Or, are the streaks simply the motion/traces showing how you moved the cloth over the floor? Another factor - what is your floor finished with? Natural oil or wax, water based, or solvent based poly? The 'streaks' are the motion/traces showing how I moved the cloth/mop/sqwuiggee thingee over the floor I tried the lambs wool head & it's much the same. Maybe the enjo is the answer, altho surely there's got to be something else ...... our floor must be poly it's certainly not oil or waxed. I'm still hanging in here to find more answers before I go to enjo Jazz Life is like a lolly, suck it and see Re: Wood flooring, how to clean without leaving marks?HELP 6Jul 16, 2010 9:47 pm Are you using a cleaning solution? Most marks like you describing are as a result of too much detergent. I have timber floors, use an ordinary mop and have no residual problems after cleaning Re: Wood flooring, how to clean without leaving marks?HELP 7Jul 16, 2010 9:55 pm Dukekamaya Are you using a cleaning solution? Most marks like you describing are as a result of too much detergent. I have timber floors, use an ordinary mop and have no residual problems after cleaning Boy, I can't believe you don't get any 'streaky marks' Where am I going wrong I was told to use metho & hot water by the guys who clear lacquered or whatever they do to them .....that's all I've tried, altho I'd love to use a dash of eucalyptus to make the house smell nice like I used on my old floors but I'm doing as I'm told Jazz Life is like a lolly, suck it and see Re: Wood flooring, how to clean without leaving marks?HELP 8Jul 16, 2010 10:01 pm I believe it's the mop and too much water that's leaving the streaking marks, I had this with my dark tiles and asked the very same question.....answer: get a good timber cleaning solution from Bunnings and a Vileda flat microfibre mop and you must have the matching bucket. There is barely any water left in the mop after squeezing and it's a dream to use, so much quicker and no streaking on my tiles...so hopefully none on timber. Re: Wood flooring, how to clean without leaving marks?HELP 9Jul 16, 2010 10:26 pm Ahhh, now we are getting somewhere ... Since you don't have natural finishes on the floor (oil or wax), this kind of streaky (freaky streaky ) can be due to a liiiitle bit of grease somewhere in your washing water. It could be the chemicals in your additives, probably in the "eucalyptus" - I believe it's slightly oily - therefore your cloth will leave this kind of motion/rub marks. Now, this will make some people scream and pull their hair out, but I used to clean our old floors (which were finished with solvent based poly) with a slightly damp cloth washed (and often) in plain water and with a drop of hair shampoo It's beautiful. I've done it for years and years, and our floors were always like new (well, it was poly on them ). Why shampoo? It degreases everything sooooooo well (better than dishwashing liquid), but more importantly, it is very gentle cleaner for the hands . And, sometimes I used Palmolive Softwash chamomile instead of shampoo. Same result, similar properties. Oh, and never ever had any motion freaks streaks My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: Wood flooring, how to clean without leaving marks?HELP 10Sep 13, 2010 7:01 pm We have floating floorboards, I just use a mixture of 1/2 bucket of cold water and 1/2 cup metho with a squidgee type mop, the one with the yellow rectangular sponge. I squeeze the mop till it is quite dry but not too dry and it works a treat for me Re: Wood flooring, how to clean without leaving marks?HELP 11Sep 13, 2010 7:21 pm suh I believe it's the mop and too much water that's leaving the streaking marks, I had this with my dark tiles and asked the very same question.....answer: get a good timber cleaning solution from Bunnings and a Vileda flat microfibre mop and you must have the matching bucket. There is barely any water left in the mop after squeezing and it's a dream to use, so much quicker and no streaking on my tiles...so hopefully none on timber. I had wooden floorboards for over 10 years and only used hot water and metho. I did experience streaks on the odd occasion and figured out it was the mop head (yellow spongy type) either being too wet or too new. I found the older the mophead the better results I would get. Re: Wood flooring, how to clean without leaving marks?HELP 12Sep 13, 2010 10:04 pm Went back to using my original mop (didn't like the yellow rubber one ) ....... use boiling water with metho & drop of eucalyptus. Ringing the mop quite dry is the trick I think ...... no more streaks Life is like a lolly, suck it and see Re: Wood flooring, how to clean without leaving marks?HELP 13Mar 15, 2012 9:05 am check out Cleaning hardwood floors Wood flooring, how to clean without leaving marks?HELP 15Aug 16, 2012 11:26 pm The guy who sanded and polished our floors said hot water and vinegar. However these days I use Norwex microfiber mop with water only. It's like Enjo but cheaper. Renovating our 1970s home This certainly doesn't look good. I would be engaging with an independent inspector to have a look at this. As for the unscheduled site visits, most builders are quite… 1 28150 Elvis has left the building... The site supervisor quit after 2 month on the project. 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