Top 10 Best Cleaning Agents for Hardwood Floors to Keep Them Shiny

Hardwood floors instantly elevate a space with a timeless look and feel-but keeping them clean and pristine-looking (sans streaks) is a different story. Hardwood floors are easier to clean than pulling out an upright vacuum, but they still need to be regularly maintained, lest some truly awful stains penetrate the sealed coating and damage them irreparably. Finding a reliable wood floor cleaner will not only keep your hardwoods looking shiny and fresh but also extends their overall life expectancy and reduces the signs of wearing. This guide explores the top 10 cleaning agents specifically formulated to maintain the shine and longevity of hardwood floors, based on extensive testing and expert insights.

Top 10 Best Cleaning Agents for Hardwood Floors

1. Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner

With a newly improved formula, quick drying time, plant-based formula, and impressive testing results, the Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner is our winner. This EPA Safer Choice-certified cleaner is unscented, residue-free, and works to gently but efficiently remove dust, grime, and dirt to reveal your floor’s natural shine. We also love that this impressive cleaner is ready to use; just spray and mop-no dilution or mixing needed. It excelled in removing tough stains on the first pass, including tomato paste and crayons. It also has a pH-neutral formula free of parabens, ammonia, phosphates, and phthalates. This expert-approved pick is for unwaxed, unoiled, and polyurethane-finished wood floors, which means you may need multiple floor cleaning products if you have other floor types in your home. Shop on Amazon.

• Pros: EPA Safer Choice-certified, no residue, quick-drying, effective on tough stains.
• Cons: Limited to hardwood floors, not suitable for waxed or oiled finishes.

2. Murphy Oil Soap Concentrated Wood Cleaner

A little goes a long way with this wood floor cleaner concentrate from Murphy. All it takes is 1/4 to 1/2 a cup of this solution per gallon of hot water to help you lift deep-set stains and discoloration from your floors. Reviewers swear by this wood floor cleaner as long-time fans and even love its super fresh citronella oil scent. It’ll even work on other sealed surfaces if you have tiled or laminate floors that need a little extra attention. Just be aware that some users with dogs say that this potent wood floor cleaner is potentially irritating to their paws. Shop on Amazon.

• Pros: Economical, biodegradable, works on multiple sealed surfaces.
• Cons: Strong citronella scent, potential irritation for pets.

3. Quick Shine Multi-Surface Floor Cleaner

The Quick Shine Multi-Surface Floor Cleaner has a streamlined, even spray to cover your entire mess. This was super effective on tile, but it’s safe for hardwood and laminate floors, too. We put this floor cleaner to the test on pesky stains like dirt, crayon, and tomato sauce. We wiped the floor clean after 2 minutes, and there was no visible residue left behind. It’s EPA Safer Choice-certified, so it’s free from harmful ingredients and safe for the environment. It does have a light citrusy scent, but we think it’s fairly faint. Shop on Amazon.

• Pros: Versatile for multiple floor types, streak-free, eco-friendly.
• Cons: Single mist setting, less effective on grout.

4. Aunt Fannie’s Hardwood Floor Cleaner

Vinegar and water is a classic cleaning combination for all types of sealed surfaces. So, if you want to go the natural route but want something that’ll specifically help you clean your wood floors, this cleaner concentrate from Aunt Fannie’s will do just the trick. Available in five scents that range from fruity to herbal, this white vinegar- and essential oil-based organic cleaning product contains no harsh chemicals that could linger in the air or on skin. Shop on Amazon.

• Pros: Non-toxic, plant-based, multiple scent options.
• Cons: Requires dilution, may not tackle heavy stains.

5. Method Squirt + Mop Hardwood Floor Cleaner

For really cleaning hardwood floors, Method’s easy-to-use wood floor cleaner is our pick. Testers squirted this formula across the floor and mopped it away to reveal a beautiful-but not slippery-shine. Formulated without formaldehyde, ammonia, petroleum, phosphates, phthalates, parabens, added dyes, or added scents. This refill bottle comes in a large quantity for greater value. The formula dries quickly and doesn’t require rinsing. Shop on Amazon.

• Pros: Eco-friendly, no rinsing needed, non-slip finish.
• Cons: May require more product for tough stains.

6. Rejuvenate All Floors Cleaner

If you want to give your floors some much-needed shine while cleaning them, we recommend the Rejuvenate All Floors Cleaner. It makes quick work of everything from dirt spots to crayon marks. Plus, it added a noticeable shine to our floors. And, the versatile formula can be used to clean laminate, vinyl, tile, and other sealed flooring types. Unlike other scented cleaners, this spray is pre-mixed and doesn’t require dilution, meaning the scent can be overpowering for those with sensitivities. Shop on Amazon.

• Pros: Enhances shine, versatile, effective on multiple stains.
• Cons: Strong scent, not ideal for sensitive users.

7. Pine-Sol Original Multi-Surface Cleaner

Pine-Sol is a well-known brand that works as a disinfectant to kill 99.9 percent of viruses, including the COVID-19 virus. We also found that Pine-Sol has a more powerful and pleasing scent than many of the 19 cleaners we tested, while doing a solid job at cleaning hardwood floors. We added a ?-cup of solution for each one gallon of water. It effectively cleaned our stains with relatively less effort and left behind no residue and limited stickiness. Shop on Amazon.

• Pros: Disinfects, pleasant scent, minimal residue.
• Cons: Requires dilution, not specifically for hardwood.

8. Fabuloso Lavender Multipurpose Cleaner

Fabuloso Lavender Multipurpose Cleaner is known for its effectiveness and slightly floral yet industrial clean scent. We think this is the best value hardwood floor cleaner, especially in the 128-ounce bottle that can make a whopping 64 gallons of cleaning solution to last you more than a year. It’s versatile enough for wood, porcelain, linoleum, and other hard surfaces. During testing, we found that it dried quickly (within two minutes), and left behind no sticky residue. Shop on Amazon.

• Pros: Cost-effective, quick-drying, versatile.
• Cons: Strong scent, requires dilution.

9. Zep Hardwood & Laminate Floor Cleaner

As one of the most affordable products on our list, Zep Hardwood & Laminate Floor Cleaner is a no-brainer. Zep breezed through most of our cleaning tests with ease. While we did notice that it left teeny tiny red wine stains behind in the grain of the engineered hardwood flooring, this was only the case after the stain had been sitting on the floor surface for days. The 32-oz version comes in a nice spray bottle that is easy to wield and store. Shop on Amazon.

• Pros: Affordable, easy-to-use spray bottle, odorless.
• Cons: May not remove set-in stains.

10. Better Life Naturally Dirt-Destroying Floor Cleaner

While our favorite hardwood floor cleaner is the Better Life Naturally Dirt-Destroying Floor Cleaner, any of the products on this list will give you a clean, streak-free floor with enough elbow grease-the testing was that close. This two-pack of Better Life Dirt-Destroying floor cleaner is 100 percent plant-based for homes with children and pets. Shop on Amazon.

• Pros: Plant-based, safe for kids and pets, streak-free.
• Cons: May require more effort for tough stains.

Comparison Table of Top Hardwood Floor Cleaners

Testing Scenarios and Performance

We tested 19 unique products in The Lab and in our own homes, scoring each hardwood floor cleaner on its effectiveness, scent, ease of use, and value. During our testing, Bona’s Hardwood Floor Cleaner was the only product to receive perfect marks. This cleaner is designed specifically for hardwood floors (versus being an all-purpose floor cleaner), so it did amazingly well-even in a home with two dogs. We found that it has no scent vote: 0