Hardwood floors are beautiful additions to any room, but they can also be expensive and require a lot of maintenance. So, there are a lot of different floor cleaners for hardwood. But if you have another kind of flooring, you may be wondering if you can simply use the popular Bona hardwood floor cleaner instead. We have carefully researched if this famous brand of hardwood cleaner will work on laminate, vinyl, or tile flooring.
It is technically possible to use Bona hardwood floor cleaner on other hard surfaces, such as laminate, vinyl, and tile. However, all hardwood cleaners are designed to be weaker than ordinary floor cleaners. That’s because hardwood requires a special finish on its surface; unfortunately, traditional floor cleaners can disfigure this layer of finish. So, the Bona hardwood cleaner won’t perform correctly on surfaces that aren’t wooden.
You may have some old Bona hardwood cleaner after moving out or possibly asked a neighbor for any extra floor cleaner on hand. But not all cleaners perform the same way. Keep reading to learn how Bona hardwood cleaner will interact with other floors, how to clean it up, and how often to use it.
Is Bona Hardwood cleaner safe for vinyl floors?
Hardwood cleaner is much weaker than vinyl floor cleaner. This means that Bona’s product won’t damage any vinyl tiles. However, you should keep in mind that no brand of hardwood cleaner is ideal for vinyl. It simply won’t be able to clean a vinyl floor thoroughly because hardwood cleaners aren’t tough enough to fully penetrate the vinyl and clean out the filth.
In fact, each Bona product label will explicitly state which surfaces it is intended for and that it should only be used on those particular surfaces.
There may also be unwanted side effects. For example, Bona hardwood cleaner can potentially develop a kind of debris on vinyl tile flooring. This could possibly make the vinyl somewhat sticky. Vinyl is a plastic material, which means it isn’t porous at all.
This can make it easier for residue to develop across the surface. Avoiding that residue is one of the main reasons to use Bona’s hardwood cleaner exclusively on hardwood floors. Instead, you should use vinyl floor cleaner, which is available in multiple different brands.
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Click here to see this vinyl floor cleaner on Amazon.
Can I use Bona wood floor cleaner on laminate?
Laminate floors are usually synonymous with floating floors. Floating laminate floors are installed with interlocking tongue and groove pieces instead of getting installed directly into the subfloor. You can read this post to learn if wood laminate requires an underlay.
Laminate floors are often considered to be imitation hardwood. That’s because laminate flooring uses an image layer to mimic real wood. But laminate flooring still has a core with a base of engineered wood, called particleboard.
So even though laminate flooring technically doesn’t have true solid wood on the surface, it still has wood chips in the core. And it also has a wear layer that should not be damaged by overly harsh floor cleaners.
So, Bona hardwood cleaner is usually successful in cleaning up laminate floors too. In fact, most hardwood floor cleaners advertise that they'll specifically work with laminate right on the label.
Click here to find this hardwood and laminate floor cleaner on Amazon.
Can you use Bona hardwood floor cleaner on tile?
Although it was already suggested against using Bona hardwood cleaner on vinyl floors, floor tiles are available in many different materials. You can often find tile flooring available in natural stone, like marble. In fact, you can even find carpet tiles that are applied one at a time.
You can read this post to help decide if you should have carpet or laminate flooring in a basement.
But hardwood cleaners won’t work especially well on any of those. Bona agrees that you should use the Bona hard surface cleaner instead of the hardwood formula for most tile surfaces. This will make sure that the tiles won’t become sticky with unwanted residue. So, even though Bona hardwood cleaner won’t damage the tiles, it can still make the flooring unsafe.
Click here to find this marble and tile floor cleaner on Amazon.
Each kind of floor tile will demand its own cleaner. For example, using the wrong floor cleaner on porcelain or ceramic tiles can discolor them or cover them with streaks. Some people even use vinegar and water for some floor tiles, which could cause serious damage to hardwood floors.
Do you have to rinse Bona floor cleaner?
One of the greatest advantages of Bona’s hardwood floor cleaner is that the product functions all on its own. You don’t have to dilute it with anything, like most other floor cleaners. And after you apply the cleaner, you don’t actually have to rinse everything down with water.
This is especially handy since hardwood floors do not mix well with water. Although most wear layers are water-resistant, sitting water can still potentially cause damage over time.
So, you just need to use a microfiber mop to clean up the Bona cleaner itself. Bona happens to sell their own mop, which is recommended on each of their cleaners. This mop can generally help give you better results when you apply and clean up the cleaner.
Click here to find this Bona hardwood floor mop on Amazon.
If you’re using the Bona floor cleaner, this refers to the tool that applies the substance. Keep in mind that the pad on that cleaner should be rinsed from time to time. Otherwise, you could end up dragging dirt from one room to the next.
How often should you use Bona Hardwood Floor cleaner?
If you’re using Bona’s hardwood cleaner correctly, then you should only be applying it to hardwood surfaces. Hardwood floors can require different amounts of cleaning, depending on three primary things:
- the amount of traffic on the floor,
- if the hardwood is properly finished,
- and what quality of protection you gave the surface layer.
You can read this post to learn if you should use oil based wood stains or water based wood stains for various uses.
Click here to see this Bona hardwood floor cleaner on Amazon.
Generally speaking, experts like Home Depot agree that you should use the recommended hardwood cleaner for your finished floor once every month. So, this should also apply to Bona hardwood floor cleaner.
If your floor is unfinished, then you should avoid any hardwood floor cleaner. These floors are far too delicate and require special treatment too. Usually, you can use a cloth to rub mineral spirits across the wood. That way, you don’t need to use water and soap. These are commonly used on finished floors, but they can ruin unfinished wood. The moisture invites mold and warps the wood.
Summary
Bona hardwood floor cleaner can be a very useful tool. It takes care of sensitive wood floors without damaging the finish. Meanwhile, tougher cleaners could leave unsightly streaks and ruin the surface layer altogether. Now you know the proper use for Bona hardwood floor cleaner. So, you can easily make an informed decision about which floor cleaner is right for you, no matter what material it’s made of.
