Kat wrote:
> "~patches~" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Kat wrote:
> >> A hand held steemer. I have one and it works wonders.
> >> Our house used to be a rental, no one cleaned behind the stove in 10 yrs
> >> or more ... worked like a charm.
> >
> > I'll second the hand held steamer! I have one and just love it. It will
> > clean just about any mess you can imagine. I have the Bissel Steam Mop
> > for floors as well. Both steamers are excellent, easy to use, and help
> > eliminate toxic chemical cleaners from your home..
>
> I'm thinking about the Bissel, but can you use it on wood floors? I think
> that the steem would damage the wood, but maybe not if it is quick to dry?

Steam will destroy real wood floors, in fact real wood floors should
never be wet mopped... NEVER use any water whatsoever. To clean a
hardwood floor vacuum and dust mop, then use one of the hardwood floor
maintenance systems, Bonkemi has a good one, I use it all the time,
it's effortless, takes ten minutes an average sized room, and my floors
look better than new. No floor wax either, just use the maintenance
system, that's all you need. Btw, the cheapest place to buy the
Bonkemi maintenance products is from their website... I get the
concentrates and mix em myself, even cheaper... why pay to ship all
that water and extra containers.

> We ripped up all of our carpet and found amazing wood floors under, but w/ 2
> dogs and 2 kids, wood floors can be a lot of work.

No work whatsoever, not if you follow recommendations above and if
initially they're properly finished for the kind of traffic they'll
receive... best done by a skilled professional with professional
equipment, not some putz with a rental sander. The guy who did my new
kitchen floor is an expert (his father did all the other hardwood
floors in this house but is now retired. I was amazed at all the
tricks he employed, and all the unique tools and equipment... I learned
(and was shocked to discover) that a professional sander/buffer costs
some $50,000.00.... floats on an air cushion like a hovercraft, all
computerized, with high precision laser depth/leveling controls, and
sucks up virtually all the dust, but screams like a jet engine, gotta
employ special ear protection. After witnessing how effortless and
perfect my job turned out I would never consider doing it myself, no
putz with a rental sander either. Hunt around until you find someone
who really knows what they're doing, check credentials and refernces.
A first class finishing job should cost about $3.50 a square foot, and
that includes repairs, like filling in splits, nail holes frm tackless
carpeting, and drilled holes from abandoned phone and cable wire, and
buffing out and filling in burns (cigarette burns are common, as are
ember burns in front of fireplaces) ... a professional knows how to do
repairs so you can never find those blemishes again.

Remember, never wash a wood floor, definitely no steam.

Of course if you're a slob no kind of flooring will last long... I
would think if mud, sand, and dreck is constantly tracked in carpet
will hold up the least... have you considered black top? hehe

Sheldon