There are many ways to clean hard floors and different methods often suit different flooring types. Gone are the days when cleaning your floors simply meant mopping with a bucket of water. There are now a variety of household gadgets and cleaning products designed to remove grime and polish all kinds of floor surfaces to a high shine.
Best Hard Floor Cleaner
- Kärcher FC5 Hard Floor Cleaner
- Push Broom Rubber Bristles Sweeper with Squeegee Edge
- Vileda DuActiva 2-in1Anti-Dust Broom Plus Dustpan Set
- Bissell SpinWave Mop 2052E
- Method Lemon Ginger Hard Floor Cleaner
I’ve looked at five popular floor cleaning products in detail and reviewed each of these, looking at the performance of each one under a variety of conditions.
Kärcher FC5 Hard Floor Cleaner
Kärcher’s FC5 is a 2-in-one machine which vacuums and cleans any hard floor surface in just one step. The machine can be used with or without detergent and leaves your floors free of dust and dry within two minutes of use.
The Kärcher floor cleaner uses a smart roller system which picks up dust, pet hair and small bits of debris which could scratch or damage your floors if not removed before mopping. The rollers are easy to remove and replace and can be washed on a 60-degree washing machine cycle and reused.
To use the floor cleaner, you add water to a dispenser next to the rollers. As you clean, wastewater is stored in a separate tank which you can hygienically empty at the touch of a button. After use, all parts of the machine can be rinsed under running water and the wastewater tank can go in the dishwasher.
I used the FC5 on two surfaces in my house. My laminate kitchen floor which is a high traffic area and my sitting room which is where my dogs like to hang out for most of the day. The kitchen was no challenge for the Kärcher. It picked up crumbs and dust with ease and handled paw prints and muddy smudges in seconds. The floor was dust free, dry and shining in a matter of minutes. I was very impressed.
However, this machine really wasn’t up to the challenge of my sitting room floor which is also laminate. The pet hair proved just too much and there were clumps of fur left around the room after cleaning. This also affected the overall finish on the floor which didn’t turn out nearly as clean as in my kitchen.
In my opinion, the FC5 is probably fine for use as a 2-in-1 in a pet free home or in low traffic areas. Otherwise, you are going to have to sweep or vacuum before you clean.
Another negative for me is the weight of this unit. At 11.5 lbs, the FC5 is a bit weighty so moving it up and down stairs isn’t a joyful experience.
The Kärcher FC5 Hard Floor Cleaner is a premium price product and is available from Amazon. Delivery is free with Amazon prime.
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back to menu ↑Push Broom Rubber Bristles Sweeper with Squeegee Edge
On the subject of pet hair, I have recently discovered a great little tool for quickly and easily picking up fuzz from my floors. Sometimes you don’t want to bother pulling out the vacuum and I find that sweeping pet hair with a traditional broom just sends it flying off in a hundred different directions. Inevitably, as soon as you’ve just finished sweeping and put the brush away, the fuzz will re-emerge from its hiding place where it has inevitably found friends!
The Push Broom has rubber bristles which trap pet hair and other debris in the brush head so you can dispose of them by rinsing when you’ve finished sweeping. The brush comes with an adjustable handle so you can reach all the way underneath sofas, beds and other furniture to grab dust bunnies, balls of fur and other debris.
This brush is great for people who have allergies as it prevents fine hair, dust and ash from being dispersed into the air where it can be breathed in or settle on cushions, furniture and bedding.
As well as being great on hardwood floors, you can also use the Push Broom on carpets and rugs. It will handle all kinds of dirt and debris as well as pet hair and can even be used outdoors on patios, balconies and terraces.
The brush can also be used for wet cleaning and has a squeegee edge for drying. You can even use the Push broom for cleaning your windows. When not in use, you can reduce the adjustable handle length making the brush easier to store.
The very affordable Push Broom is available from Amazon.
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back to menu ↑Vileda DuActiva 2-in1Anti-Dust Broom Plus Dustpan Set
Okay, there’s nothing too revolutionary about a dustpan and brush set is there? Well, maybe not, but it’s something that I don’t think any household can do without and a necessity for keeping your hard floors free of dust, dirt and debris.
My dustpan and brush get used at least twice a day and are the quickest and most efficient way of dealing with small cleanups such as dropped food, broken glass and other dry spills.
Vileda’s 2-in-1 set gives you a dustpan with a removable telescopic handle. This means that you don’t need to have a sweeping brush and a dustpan in your kitchen or utility room. You simply sweep up and then remove the handle to use it as a small dust brush.
The rigid bristles of the brush help you to get right into corners giving you a more thorough sweep and you can remove the foam section for cleaning.
The Vileda DuActiva 2 set is economically priced and available from Amazon.
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back to menu ↑Bissell SpinWave Mop 2052E
I’ve written about the Bissell SpinWave before and there’s a reason why I am bringing it up again. This mains powered electric mop is truly fantastic. There is nothing that it can’t handle around the house and although it requires a bit of an investment, in my opinion, it is very much worthwhile.
The Bissell has a refillable water canister on the handle of the unit which you can fill with plain water or a mixture of water and detergent. You squeeze the trigger at the top of the handle to moisten your floor and the Bissell dispenses just the right amount of water to clean without over saturating your floor surface.
As you push the SpinWave mop over the floor, two microfibre pads gently but thoroughly spin, removing dirt and polishing surfaces. The beauty of the design of this mop is that the soft pads can get right down into grooves and cracks on your floor without exerting too much pressure or doing any damage.
The manufacturer encourages users to try this map with natural detergents like a mixture of water and vinegar or water and lemon juice and I’ve had really good results with these on tiled, laminate and natural wood flooring.
Another benefit of the Bissell is that you can safely use it on wooden flooring without any risk of water damage. Unlike other moist cleaning methods, the Bissell leaves your floors almost bone dry after use so there’s no need for drying off with rags and towels like you might have to after traditional mopping.
The Bissell is a premium price product but it will last you for years and save you an enormous amount of time and effort. At just under 9 lbs in weight, it is light enough to lift up and down stairs and you can remove the spinning microfibre pads and wash them in the washing machine.
For a step by step video on how to use the Bissell Spinwave and to see just how effective this gadget is, have a look at the manufacturer’s video here:
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back to menu ↑Method Lemon Ginger Hard Floor Cleaner
Method’s Lemon and Ginger floor cleaner is a non-toxic, biodegradable detergent that is kind to the planet and to your floors. It’s also very economically priced, particularly when you buy in bulk.
This gorgeously scented cleaner comes in recycled packaging and can be used safely on all hard surfaces. It is ideal for trigger operated mops and floor cleaners like the Bissell above but you can just as easily use it with a traditional mop and bucket.
You simply add a small quantity of Method floor cleaner to the dispenser bottle of your trigger mop or to a bucket if you are using a traditional mop. Just mop as you usually would and leave your floors to dry. It smells as if you’ve just been baking Bakewell pies afterwards. Yummy!
This is also a great product for granite worktops, leaving your kitchen surfaces looking and smelling great!
I used Method’s floor cleaner with the Bissell spin wave mop above, adding just a small squirt of the product to the water canister of the mop. The method cleaner gave a little extra dirt removal power but where it really excelled was in improving the shine of the floors.
My laminate and tiled floors were really sparkling and have I mentioned the gorgeous scent? I think I may have! You really only need to use a very small amount of this product so a little goes a long way.
Method Lemon Ginger Hard Floor Cleaner is available on Amazon in Packs of 6 x 739 ml.
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back to menu ↑Choosing the Best Hard Floor Cleaner
There are so many different hard floor cleaners and detergents available that you could spend hours puzzling over what is best for cleaning your hard floors. However, I’m guessing that you’ve got better things to do with your time. To help you choose the best product for your home, there are a few key issues to consider. These are outlined below…
back to menu ↑Related Articles
Here are a few articles that I’ve written previously that tie in nicely with this one. Feel free to check them out:
back to menu ↑Your Flooring Type
The flooring surface in your home will dictate the kinds of products that you’ll need to keep them clean. A completely flat surface like laminate flooring with no grooves or indentation will respond well to a simple brush and a weekly clean with a flat mop. Always make sure that your laminate flooring is completely dry after cleaning and never replace furniture on a damp surface as this can cause staining and permanent damage to the surface.
If you have tiles, you’ll need a floor cleaner that will clean the grouting as well as the tile surfaces so an electric floor cleaner like the Bissell which has rotating heads is ideal for getting right into the grooves. If your budget doesn’t stretch to an electric floor cleaner, then a mop and bucket are perfectly adequate.
Hardwood flooring requires proper care to keep it looking good and protect it from moisture damage. Never apply moisture to an unsealed wooden surface. When cleaning sealed hardwood flooring, always use the minimum amount of liquid for the job. Never allow water to pool on surfaces and be careful not to let water sit between floorboards. An electric floor cleaner like the Bissell SpinWave will clean and polish your wooden floor, leaving it bone dry without any risk of water damage.
No matter what kind of flooring you have, you should always sweep or vacuum before cleaning. Even the tiniest of stones or a minuscule particle of broken glass could do serious damage to your floors if rubbed into the surface with a moving mop.
back to menu ↑Your Lifestyle
Pets and Children will always mean more cleaning and if you’ve got both then you’ll need to clean your hard floors regularly. Muddy paw and footprints will always require most cleaning and using a detergent will help you to remove smudges quickly and efficiently.
Always sweep or vacuum pet hair before mopping your floor or you’ll be left with nasty clumps of hair all over your floors.
Dust, hair, ash and other debris can really exacerbate allergies like asthma and hay fever so if somebody in your home suffers from these, you’ll want to remove as many allergens as possible. Be aware that harsh chemical products and detergents can often contain ingredients that make things worse. Choose natural and non-toxic agents like vinegar, or water and lemon juice, both of which work really well on most surfaces. Focus on being thorough, rather than using lots of detergent. A rubber brush like the Push Broom does a great job of trapping dust and debris in the head so you can safely rinse these away.
Be careful when sweeping with a traditional brush or broom as these often raise dust and hair into the air which is bad for allergies.
I hope that these product reviews and guide help you in picking out the best hardwood floor cleaning products for your home.
Enjoy!
