Here is a recently submited question:
“How do I clean a hardwood floor without refinishing?”
You can use a few different off the shelf products which both clean and add polish to the floor. You should be sure that you have swept or vacuumed the floor well before using these products. Since they have solids (wax) in them, dust will affect the appearance.
You could also use a wood soap such as a Murphy’s Oil soap which will leave a bit of a sheen after cleaning. However the shine will not last with the above methods and you will have to constantly re-apply them.
If you have hardwood that is very worn you may have to apply the cleaner/polish product a few times to get the shine up as the wood absorbs the wax.
Use a hardwood floor mop and a spray bottle to apply the cleaner/polish. Spray only an area that you can effectively clean. A hardwood floor mop looks like a dust mop only the fibers are shorter with a large surface area for polishing and cleaning. If you don’t have a mop use something like a beach towel which will do an effective job of polishing, but is hard on the knees.
