Can You Use A Steam Mop On Hardwood Floors
When a hardwood floor is freshly cleaned, it can leave a natural shine. Properly cleaning and maintaining your hardwood floors is critical to ensure they stay looking great for many years. This makes finding the right floor cleaning routine all the more important. You might even wonder if you can use your steam mop to clean your hardwood floors.
Think twice before using a steam mop on hardwood floors. Using a steam mop on engineered or untreated hardwood floors can cause warping and other damage. Even sealed hardwood floors are susceptible to damage due to the high moisture and extreme temperature fluctuations involved when steam mopping. While some steam mops are designed to clean hardwood floors, proceed with caution and verify they are safe to use on your floors.
Before you reach for your steam mop to clean your hardwood floors, make sure you read this article first. While a steam mop might not ruin all hardwood floors, it can do some serious damage to some of them. In fact, in most cases, it is not a good idea to use a steam mop on wood floors. To better understand why this is, and whether or not a steam mop is safe on your floors, you need to understand the factors involved, and how steam can damage the wood.
Is It Safe To Use A Steam Mop On Hardwood Floors?
In general, steam mops are not a suitable cleaning device to use on hardwood floors. Steam and heat are both enemies of wood. It can cause warping, splintering, and other damage. This is especially true on both engineered hardwood floors and unsealed hardwood floors.
It is considered safer to use steam mops on sealed hardwood floors. This is because treated and sealed floors typically have the ability to fight against water and temperature damage. Still, it is important to remember that a wood seal is not magic, and it also does not last forever. Therefore, it is still possible for a steam mop to damage treated floors in some instances. But in order to understand whether or not your specific floors are susceptible to this damage, you should understand the variables involved.
Factors To Consider Before Using A Steam Mop On Wood Floors
Type Of Wood Floors
The type of wood floors you have makes a major difference as to whether or not a steam mop will damage them, and if so, how bad the damage could be. Certain wood types are more susceptible to water damage than others. In general, harder and dense woods are less likely to warp. Additionally, engineered woods have their own spectrum of strength. Some are built to withstand significant water damage, while others can warp much easier.
Sealed Versus Unsealed Hardwood Floors
You should never use a steam mop on unsealed hardwood floors. Unsealed wood is not protected from the potential damage caused by moisture and extreme heat. Using a steam mop (or even lots of moisture in general) on untreated wood is likely to result in warping and splintering of the wood.
Sealed hardwood floors can withstand more of a beating, higher moisture levels, and more heat. Still, it is best not to risk using a steam mop on these floors, as wood seal does not last forever and can vary from place to place on the floor itself.
Tip: To test if your hardwood floor seal is strong, drop a bit of water on the floor. If it beads up instantly, the seal in that area is strong. If it seems to soak in and spread, the seal is likely fading.
Age Of Hardwood Floors
The age of the hardwood floors and the sealant should also be considered. Even if your floors are sealed, over time this seal weakens, and you need to recoat your hardwood floors. Typically, older floors are more vulnerable than new and freshly sealed floors.
Type Of Steam Mop
Some steam mops are quite strong and expressly meant for tough jobs and strong surfaces. Do not use these strong steam mops on wood. Others are designed specifically for hardwood floors, with wood and its vulnerabilities in mind.
Reasons To Think Twice Before Using A Steam Mop On Wood Floors
It Can Cause Very Expensive Damage
If your floors are untreated, or you are uncertain about whether or not they were treated (and when), then a steam mop can cause serious damage. This damage involves warping, which can be permanent. This means in order to get your floors looking flawless again, you might need to completely refinish or even replace them. This is a major and costly project to undertake.
Not Usually Safe On Many Engineered Wood Floors
While engineered hardwood has many benefits, such as its variety, durability, and cheap price, it is not usually a good idea to use a steam mop on it. The steam can find its way into the cracks and penetrate between the wood pieces, finding its vulnerabilities. Engineered wood is usually weaker underneath its tough exterior portion.
Steam Can Cause Warping Even On Sealed Wood
You might think that when you have sealed wood floors you are safe to use a steam mop. After all, sealant helps protect against moisture damage. In some cases, this is true. Keep in mind, however, that wood seal does not last forever. You need to reapply it from time to time. Also, some steam mops are quite powerful, and they might penetrate keep within the spaces between your floor, to parts of the wood that are not as well-treated.
What About Steam Mops Designed To Clean Hardwood Floors?
Keep in mind that while some steam mop companies claim their products are safe on hardwood floors, you are unlikely to find a wood flooring company saying it is safe to use any steam mop product on wood floors. This is because the moisture and extreme temperature fluctuations involved in the steam mopping process are very problematic for wood. There is an increased risk of wood warping if your wood is not sealed well, or if it has even minor vulnerabilities.
Summing Up If You Can Use A Steam Mop On Hardwood Floors
If you are considering using a steam mop on your hardwood floors, you should pause and do a bit of research first. You should never use steam mops on unsealed hardwood, engineered wood, or even bamboo wood. The steam can cause warping and other damage that can be quite costly to fix.
Some steam mops claim they are safe to use on hardwood floors. These might be safe for well-sealed hardwood. Still, exercise caution, read reviews, and confirm the steam cleaner in question is appropriate to use on your specific floors.
Related Guides:
Tom Gaffey is an expert writer who currently resides in Washington D.C. Tom has a passion for real estate and home improvement writing, as well as travel and lifestyle writing. He lived the last twelve years in Hawaii where he worked closely with luxury resorts and event planners, mastering his knowledge of aesthetics and luxury products. This is where he found his passion for home improvement and a keen interest in DIY projects. Currently, Tom resides in Washington D.C, and also working on his debut fiction novel.
More by Tom Gaffey
![How To Reset A Whirlpool Cabrio Washer [In 5 Easy Steps!]](https://cdn-fastly.upgradedhome.com/media/2023/07/31/9076531/how-to-reset-a-whirlpool-cabrio-washer-in-5-easy-steps.jpg?size=350x220)