- Even if most of your home has wall-to-wall carpeting, some floors will still need more than just vacuuming.
- We reviewed and chose the best floor cleaners for hardwood, laminate, vinyl, ceramic tile, and stone floors.
Taking care of hard surface floors is a never-ending job. Just think about what gets dropped and spilled on your floors or what comes into your home on the bottom of shoes. Sweeping or vacuuming can capture much of the loose dirt and hair, but eventually, some of the mess will stick and the floor will need to be cleaned with a mop and a good cleaner.
And while some cleaners are interchangeable, what’s needed to clean the grout in ceramic tile floors isn’t the same as what’s used to keep hardwoods gleaming.
I don’t have carpeting in my home except for area rugs, so I’ve learned to care for hardwood, ceramic tile, and stone floors on a weekly basis to keep them looking clean and fresh. And my previous home had laminate and vinyl flooring in addition to wall-to-wall carpeting, so I have tried many brands and types of floor cleaners.
I’ve also tested floor cleaners, vacuums, brooms, and mops for many years as a home economist for companies and publications. I’m always looking for the most effective, easiest to use, and the best value in products for myself and others. These are the top picks for floor cleaners for your home, plus tips on how to best clean your floors.
Here are the best floor cleaners:
- Best for wood: Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner Spray
- Best for laminate: Swiffer WetJet Wood Spray Mop and Cleaner
- Best for vinyl: Rejuvenate All Floors Cleaner
- Best for ceramic tile: Hoover Grout and Tile Plus Hard Floor Cleaner
- Best for stone: StoneTech RTU Revitalizer, Cleaner & Protector for Tile & Stone
Updated on 8/5/2020 to edit titles, prices, and links.
The best for wood
Wood floors are beautiful and add value to any home. With Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner Spray you can protect your expensive wood floors and keep them shining for years to come.
Caring for wood floors is not difficult if you follow a regular routine. The majority of damage to the surface comes from grit that wears away the top finish and creates scratches that accumulate soil and leave floors looking dull.
Using a dust mop, soft-bristled broom, or vacuum regularly is the first step. Getting the loose soil off the floor protects the finish and makes cleaning much easier and more effective.
The majority of wood floors in homes today are sealed with polyurethane or polyacrylic urethane finish. Harsh cleaning chemicals can permanently dull the finish and leave streaks. That's why when it's time to clean away spills and muddy footprints, you should choose a product formulated for sealed wood floors like Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner Spray.
I have hardwood floors throughout all of my bedrooms and living spaces and love them because they keep away allergens and, thanks to Bona, are easy to maintain. After getting rid of loose dirt, I do a quick spritz with this water-based formula and follow through with a clean mop, and my floors look fabulous. There is no rinsing needed and it never leaves any streaks.
Bona is Greenguard Gold Certified and produces low volatile organic compounds (VOC). The spray bottle can be refilled from the larger gallon size or you can use it to fill the built-in cleaner container of some mops.
Pros: Simple-to-use spray bottle, no rinsing, leaves no streaks, dries quickly, large bottles available for refills, low VOCs
Cons: Cannot be used on floors that have been oiled or waxed with paste wax
The best for laminate
Easy-to-use and a top performer, the Swiffer WetJet Wood Spray Mop and Cleaner is an all-in-one system for shiny, streak-free laminate floors.
Laminate floors are a decorator's dream because they can look like natural, bleached, or weathered wood. Or, they can mimic ceramic tile or natural stone floors like slate, marble, or granite. Laminate is much less expensive than other flooring choices and can be easy to care for if handled correctly.
The most important thing to remember is that laminate floors don't like too much water. The construction includes materials that can absorb water and swell, causing ripples and damage that cannot be repaired. My previous home had laminate flooring in the kitchen and laundry room; a leaking washer hose showed me what excessive water can do to a laminate floor.
That's why the Swiffer WetJet Wood Spray Mop and Cleaner makes cleaning them a breeze. With disposable cleaning pads and an all-in-one mop and cleaning solution, it prevents damage that a mop and bucket can cause.
As with any floor, laminate floors should be swept, vacuumed, or dry dusted before any cleaning with a mop. With Swiffer WetJet, the pads are disposable so you can begin each cleaning session with a fresh surface. The cleaning solution is loaded into the mop; with just a touch of the battery-operated micro-mist spray, you can add the solution to the floor as you mop. The spray nozzles are illuminated so you can see how much solution is hitting the floor and prevent excessive spraying.
The Swiffer WetJet Wood Kit includes a power mop, five mopping pads, a bottle of wood floor cleaner, and four batteries. The bonus is that you can easily buy refill bottles, pads, and cleaning solutions for other types of floors that will work with the same basic mop.
Pros: Compact all-in-one mop and floor cleaner, pads and cleaning solution refills easy to find, can be used to clean other types of hard surface floors
Cons: Spray nozzles can become clogged if the mop isn't used regularly
The best for vinyl
Sticky messes, spills, and muddy footprints are gone and only shiny floors remain with Rejuvenate All Floors Cleaner.
Vinyl floors are built to take lots of abuse. That's why they end up in kitchens, bathrooms, laundry rooms, and mudrooms. And Rejuvenate All Floors Cleaner is the best cleaner for removing the mess and leaving vinyl clean and streak-free with no rinsing.
A friend recently bought a starter home and asked for help setting up her kitchen, pointing to the dingy vinyl floor, and said, "I'm going to replace this awful floor as soon as I can." I suggested we try Rejuvenate and see if the floor could be saved.
After sweeping, I sprayed Rejuvenate on the floor and used a microfiber mop. Because the formula is pH-balanced to neutralize contaminates and contains ingredients that will remove old wax build-up and strip away grime, it left the floor looking great. I didn't have to rinse or repeat the mopping. The formula is non-toxic, fragrance-free, and Greenguard Gold Certified with low chemical emissions.
My friend was thrilled with how clean the floor looked but wished it didn't have so many scratches. On my next visit, I brought over Rejuvenate All Floors Restorer and told her to give it a try. The Rejuvenate Restorer fills in scratches, helps prevent sun-fading, and improves traction. She now likes the floor enough that she has decided to keep it and save her money for other projects.
Pros: Cleans floors with no rinsing needed, restores shine, non-toxic and fragrance-free, the spray bottle is reusable
Cons: Not readily available in all mass-market stores
The best for ceramic tile
Ceramic tile floors are easy to clean except for all those grout lines. Luckily, we discovered Hoover Grout and Tile Plus Hard Floor Cleaner.
Taking care of ceramic tile floors should be a breeze. The tile is resistant to stains, it doesn't scratch easily, and lasts for decades. But then there is the grout, that porous mixture of sand and cement that binds the tiles together. If grout is left unsealed, it absorbs stains, attracts dirt, and can be damaged by any strong cleaners. Grout was the bane of my floor-cleaning chores until I found Hoover Grout and Tile Plus Hard Floor Cleaner.
If you have light-colored grout like I do, don't ever look under the door or bath mats. You'll be shocked at how much of a difference there is in the color of the grout that is protected from daily use and the rest of the floor grout. I was prepared to spend a couple of days on my hands and knees scrubbing until I tried Hoover Grout and Tile Plus.
After reading the directions and discovering it is highly concentrated, I knew just how much to mix with water. Using too much won't make cleaning any easier. You'll actually have to do some extra rinsing if you overdose. The cleaner can be used in both an electric floor cleaner or with a good mop. The key to successfully getting the grout back to its natural color is using hot water with the cleaner to help cut through the grime.
I was thrilled with how easily it cleaned the floor. Only a couple of tough spots needed a bit of extra scrubbing with a brush. The scent is clean and not overpowering. With regular use, the tile and grout have stayed looking great.
Pros: Concentrated so you use less, biodegradable, septic-safe, can be used with electric floor cleaner or with a mop, performs well, lightly scented
Cons: Not readily available in mass-market stores
The best for stone
If you have expensive slate, granite, or marble floors, you want your investment to last and look great. StoneTech RTU Revitalizer will help make it happen.
I once attended a party at a home with gleaming marble floors in the vast entrance that was large enough to welcome 20 to 30 guests. Because it's my job, I just had to ask the homeowners how they kept the floor looking so grand. The answer was StoneTech RTU Revitalizer, Cleaner & Protector for Tile & Stone.
While stone floors may seem indestructible, they are actually very sensitive to products, stains, and spills that contain acids. Any spills that contain wine, citrus juice, or vinegar should be cleaned up immediately because they can etch even sealed stone floors. Harsh chemicals like chlorine bleach or ammonia can be quite destructive to such an expanse of flooring.
I don't have the luxury of stone floors but I do have stone countertops. And once I learned about StoneTech products, they have been my go-to. The liquid not only cleans but revitalizes the stone and protects it. Because no sealant lasts forever, just normal foot traffic eventually removes the finish. StoneTech helps the sealant last longer and maintains the natural beauty of the stone.
StoneTech Revitalizer comes in two scents, citrus or cucumber. You can purchase it ready-to-use or in a concentrated formula to add to water. The ready-to-use formula is available in a spray bottle as well as a gallon jug for refills. To clean your floors, simply spray a small area and clean with a microfiber mop. No rinsing or drying is necessary. The cleaner is non-toxic and biodegradable.
Pros: Gentle on stone floors but tough on dirt and grime, nontoxic, two light scents available, refillable container
Cons: Not readily available in mass-market stores
Tips for cleaning your floors
Floor care doesn't have to be difficult if you have a good floor cleaner, the right type of mop, and complete the task on a regular, routine schedule. Waiting until the floor is filthy will only make the job back-breaking; weekly care can be done in minutes.
Start by sweeping or vacuuming to remove loose soil and hair. If you don't, you'll just be swishing it around and often leaving it behind. Use a clean mop head or disposable pad to prevent soil from re-depositing, and remember to allow plenty of time for the floor to dry before tracking in more dirt.
Take a minute to read the instructions on the back of the floor cleaner bottle. Some products go directly on the floor, while some need to be mixed with water; some require rinsing, but some don't. Following the directions can help you be more successful.
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