Granite/hardwood care?

[ebpcivicsi]

So we moved and I have no experience with caring for either of these surfaces. Can someone point me in the right direction?

I know the basics via a google search, but would like to hear what Autopians have to say--we typically have higher standards in terms of correct care/long-term maintenance.

TIA!

[Accumulator]

We have a lot of both.

Can't say that I've been all that Autopian about the hardwood floors, but hey...we live in a woods, and have some big, active dogs who bring the outdoors in through their dog-door Ours aren't a thick clear/high-gloss finish, so your situation might be completely different. I've used wood floor cleaner from the installers (vingar-based by the smell of it), only so-so performance. I've also tried wood floor cleaners from Murphy's (think Oil Soap) and, uhm...whoever's stuff comes in a yellow plastic bottle. These worked OK but not great. But my favorite is MinWax Wood Cleaner, which they say is *NOT* for wood floors! Zero problems with it, I use a damp MF to apply/wipe off. Even though they say "no rinsing" I do the damp-MF wipe and wash it out as soon as it shows soiling.

Granite I simply clean as needed with Cinch Two-in-One. It's one *very* mild cleaner, sorta a window cleaner-type product (no residue). I use it on the kitchen countertops *every* night and after eight years they're still fine (no resealing/etc., just the nightly cleaning). Seems safe on marble too, and marble is a lot more fragile than granite. On both surfaces, I avoid any products that contain acids. Never resealed any of our other granite/marble, I just clean it as needed.

Not saying the above approaches are right for everyone, but they work well for me...eight years is long enough to convince me I'm on the right track. Part of it was finding stuff that I'd use regularly enough (over the long haul) to keep things nice on a day-to-day basis.

[ebpcivicsi]

Thanks accumulator! When you read all of the "information" out there it makes me paranoid about exactly what to use--especially with the moisture issue of the hardwood. That's about what I have been doing--microfiber, *very* mild cleaners and very little moisture. I will definitely check out the products that you recommended.

Sorry about forgetting that link in the PM.

[Accumulator]

Originally Posted by ebpcivicsi

Thanks accumulator! When you read all of the "information" out there it makes me paranoid about exactly what to use--especially with the moisture issue of the hardwood. That's about what I have been doing--microfiber, *very* mild cleaners and very little moisture...

If you think about it, today's hardwood is almost always well sealed with some kind of relatively impermeable coating. I just don't see a reasonable amount of moisture being much of a problem. Yeah, if you left it *soaked* for ages it could cause problems, but I just treat it like wood furniture...well, very *dirty* wood furniture in some cases

I had a catastrophic humidifier (water tank) failure that really *SOAKED* a hardwood floor...the wool rug on top if it kept the water in contact with the floor for who knows how long. Once it dried out, everything was fine, not that I woulda wanted to wait any longer than I already had.

[Bunky]

Our hardwards are sealed with polyurethane. We use Orange Glo Hardwood Cleaner and a mop with a microfiber pad to damp mop it. It works nice. I actually was mopping today

[Spilchy]

I'm not certain about the wood you have, the finish or how old it is and condition. I have an entire house with the original 85 year old oak and walnut detail a few boards in from the base boards. It is sealed with 3 coats of oil based semi-gloss industrial polyurethane. I had to move out for 5 days!

I use 1/4 cup of Murphy's Soap diluted in a gallon of water. I use a sponge mop that has been wrung out to apply and follow up with a dry microfiber pad. I do this every couple months.

In between cleanings, I use a simple Swifer glided around the floor to clean up. They work great. You do not need to wet clean them all the time.

As far as granite, I'm not certain. As I type, my kitchen is being totally gutted and I have a ton of green granite going down next week! So I'll eagerly await what people say.

I really love the new eco-friendly, lime based cleaner made by Clorox called Green Works. I use it everywhere. Clorox.com - Media Center

Here is my floor:

[milani]

When I clean my wood floors, it's a simple mist of vinegar/water and buff with a cloth diaper...

[Accumulator]

Originally Posted by milani

When I clean my wood floors, it's a simple mist of vinegar/water and buff with a cloth diaper...

That's what I'd initially used...my uhm.. oh [shoot] what's the name of that stuff?!? Wood Wise or something like that. It's a good safe approach as long as it's effective enough for you. With our dogs I needed something a whole lot stronger

Bunky- Yeah, I tried that one too and it works well. Easier for quick cleanups than my hands-and-knees work with the MinWax stuff, that's for sure!

Spilchy- On the granite, be careful with anything citrus based...citric acid isn't something I'd want on my granite/marble (Comet bathroom cleaner has it and yeah, it *will* damage granite tiles if you let it dwell just a little too long). I might be overly cautious but that "lime" bit in your Green Works makes me wonder and, well, consider what it'd call for if you messed the stuff up

Hope your granite guy's good. We switched installers after the first few rooms and the second time was the charm. Note that paying to have granite work redone is costly (back to my "be careful what you use" concerns).

I envy you those old floors! Man are they nice....

[ebpcivicsi]

Thanks for all of the advice guys--my dogs have been pretty easy oon the wood so far, but I know that darker days are ahead!

[Accumulator]

Originally Posted by ebpcivicsi

Thanks for all of the advice guys--my dogs have been pretty easy oon the wood so far....

Keep those nails trimmed We have a nightly ritual where I trim their nails (or pretend to, if they haven't grown enough to clip), I do it *every* night. After a little while they accept it as routine.

[SamIam]

Boy, I wish I'd followed that advice. Had a German Shepherd and a Belgian Shepherd who were very rough on the floor. The current dog has been much easier on the floor.

[Accumulator]

Originally Posted by SamIam

Boy, I wish I'd followed that [nail clipping] advice. Had a German Shepherd and a Belgian Shepherd who were very rough on the floor..

Well, I learned the hard way by not doing it often enough back when I had GSDs.

Even with the nails cut *very* short we still get a bit of damage, but hey, it's a mighty dog-centric household around here.

It is kinda cool having people *constantly* commenting on how well trimmed their nails are; the Beaucerons don't exactly look like dogs you'd relish doing such jobs to (though they actually stay cool when you have an OOPS).