Hardwood floors are not easy to care for since you will have to be picky with the products you use on them. Owners of this type of floor will have to do careful searches on the product’s compatibility with wood instead of willy-nilly dumping different liquids on their home’s surface.
You recently heard about Murphy’s oil soap as a good cleaner for floors, but still in doubt with many questions pop up in your mind, such as:
- Can I use Murphy’s Oil soap on hardwood floors?
- Does Murphy’s oil soap make floors slippery?
If so, let’s relax! Put your concern aside and follow our blog to explore more about this product!
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Can I Use Murphy’s Oil Soap On Hardwood Floors?
According to the manufacturers over at Colgate-Palmolive, the answer is “Yes.” The majority of those who have used the product also vouched for its usefulness on hardwood floors without much side effect.
First of all, a lot of people avoid using oil-based soap on their hardwood floors for a good reason. As hardwood floors have a polyurethane coating on top to prevent them from being affected too much by external factors, the oil from cleaning products may react negatively to the coat, making the floor susceptible to water stains and similar problems.
Still, Murphy’s Oil Soap is naturally gentle, so you will not have to worry about this type of reaction too much! Even though there is still a small chance of your floor reacting to the oil component of the soap, watch out for signs of cloudiness!
What Might I Use Murphy’s Oil Soap For?
Murphy’s Oil Soap has a wide range of different uses in any aspect of life, so anyone from any occupation should be able to implement it into their work in some way. Its main function, however, is still to give wood furniture a shine after a proper wash.
Murphy’s Oil Soap is very popular among those interested in equestrianism. Horseback riders have full trust in the bar of soap to clean any accessories related to their hobbies, such as saddles, bridles, and straps. Artists can also benefit from the soap, as their brushes become free from residue paint after a few dips.
Additionally, the soap’s capacity to disinfect and deter odor has caught the interest of gardeners worldwide. A diluted version of the soap can help scare away any grubs and insects and make the plants grow more healthily!
Apart from wood surfaces, Murphy’s Oil Soap is also great at cleaning cars, vinyl, tiles, and stains on clothes and fabric.
How To Clean Hardwood Floors With Murphy’s Oil Soap?
All in all, your floor will adapt to the oil soap treatment well as long as you use it correctly or the product has not reached its expiry date yet.
No more time-wasting with our tedious advice now! Let’s dive into the guide on how to clean hardwood floors with Murphy’s Oil Soap now!
- Prepare the oil soap, some water, and a large bucket. You can use whatever type of mop you want for this task.
- Add a quarter cup of soap and a gallon of lukewarm water into a big bucket. Be sure to add the water after the oil soap in order to prevent the two components from separating.
- Mix the content of the bucket well using the mop you plan to clean the floor with. Wring the mop so that you will have just enough liquid on its fiber.
- From here on out, start to mop your floor like you would with other cleaning solutions. Let dip the mop back into the solutions every few wipes.
- If you happen to have a watered-down version of the soap already, you can directly apply it on the ground and wipe it as normal with a damp mop. After that, you will not have to use the bucket anymore!
- Let the cleaner air dry itself on your floor! There is no need to clean the mop and wipe the oil off the wood’s surface.
Although Murphy’s Oil Soap does not leave a slippery residue on your floor, you might need to watch out if the floor becomes sticky or loses its original shine! Believe it or not, we almost “kiss” the slippery floor when we first apply this method!
This results from the oil coming in contact with polyurethane, creating a distinctly sticky coat on top of the original protective coat. In this case, you should stop using the oil soap for a while or look for a way to replace the topcoat.
In What Ways Can You Remove Murphy’s Oil Soap From Your Wood Floor?
If your floor ends up looking worse than before, you might have to stop using Murphy’s Oil Soap and start removing the product from your floor. Here is how you can do just that:
How to Remove Murphy’s Oil Soap from Hardwood Floors
- Prepare a bottle of ammonia-free window cleaning solution, a sponge, a dry towel, and your trusty mop. Do not use window cleaners with ammonia, or the finish on the hardwood floor will be further damaged.
- Then, apply the window solution to your floor. Make sure to spread the liquid out, or you will have to spend a lot of time spraying and mopping all over again.
- Let the solution stay and do its magic for a few minutes.
- Subsequently, take your sponge and start scrubbing away the sticky residue on your floor. Work quickly to prevent the residue from drying up and sticking to the wood in clumps.
- Dampen your clean towel and take away the residue before it has a chance to attach harder on the floor.
- Finally, mop the floor carefully with a cleaner that is not oil-based. Let the surface naturally air-dry, and your floor will regain its original shine!
What Are The Disadvantages Of Using Murphy’s Oil Soap?
Even though Murphy’s Oil Soap is very effective on certain surfaces, wood manufacturers do not recommend consumers using it on wood or using it too regularly due to these reasons:
Quite troublesome in the first use
If you are not used to using oil-based products, you will also be more likely to use Murphy’s Oil Soap incorrectly. Pouring it into the bucket before water or using cold water will cause it not to mix well and leave a layer of slippery oil on the intended surface. As a result, you end up wasting your time getting rid of the mess.
Not a lot of people have the mind to fix the hardwood planks after these types of products have damaged them.
Short expiration date
Since the soap is made from oil, it tends to expire faster than other commercially made products. If you want to give the soap a shot, we suggest buying the Spray & Mop version to test it out first.
Final Note
In the end, the true answer to the question “Can I use Murphy’s Oil soap on hardwood floors?” is a solid “Yes, if you can deal with its quirks.”.
Be sure to look into the type of protective coat your floor has before putting the product in use, or you will end up damaging it further!
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