Just playing the devil’s advocate here — when push comes to shove, only you can decide which manufacturer directions you trust. I’m not an expert, and this is an unbiased tale of events using a steam cleaner on our SEALED hardwood floors. If you’re looking for more information regarding our experience using a steam mop on hardwood floors, make sure to check out or YouTube video on our experience steam cleaning the house. While you’re at it, don’t forget to subscribe to our channel! Disclaimer: We’re not professionals or experts on this topic, so all we can do is share our own personal experience in hopes that it helps you in your journey! We always recommend consulting with the pros directly.
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We Used A Steam Mop on Hardwood Floors
A few months ago, I was chatting away with my mom on the phone, complaining about the constant state of grime on our floors. Having adopted two dogs, I knew I only had myself to blame for their mess. But I get so tired of lugging a mop bucket around (even if only once a week), and I’m not about to keep paying the the absurd premium of the Swiffer cleaning systems.
My mom then went on an excited rant about how much she and her cleaning lady love the steam mop she got last year. The Bissell PowerFresh Steam Mop, to be exact. And when I say excited, I mean the kind of enthusiasm you get from Crossfitters, SoulCyclists, and the like. We’re talking real dedication here. I never knew a cleaning product could conjure up such feelings of loyalty. Mom mom & her cleaning lady use the steam mop on hardwood floors and tile, so my interest was instantly peaked.
Can You Use A Steam Mop On Hardwood Floors?
A quick search on the Bissell PowerFresh revealed the following about the product.
- It’s affordable. (Less than $100.)
- It’s “safe for hardwood floors”. (At least according to the manufacturer’s website, more on that below…)
- It’s relatively environmentally friendly. (Cleans & sterilizes without the use of harsh chemicals.)
- Bissell donates up to $10 for every product sold to help shelters and rescue pets.
Um, sold. I didn’t really think twice about whether it would be safe to use a steam mop on hardwood floors, since the website said it was all a-okay. Lo and behold, when I received the product, I fell in love. Using a steam mop on hardwood floors cleans them a thousand times better than a mop and bucket. Not only that, but it’s less exhausting, keeps them cleaner longer, and dare I say, it’s therapeutic? What used to be my most dreaded and exhausting chore turned into one that I don’t mind doing every other day. I started using the steam mop on hardwood floors just as frequently as I pleased.
I fell so much in love with our steam mop, in fact, that I started prepping to release an Oak Abode YouTube video on my new favorite cleaning product. Like we do with all our videos, I did a little background researching on cleaning hardwood floors with steam mops, to make sure I’m not the only one with a great experience.
The Issue of Warping & Buckling Wood
Enter, the internet. Perhaps I should have done this much research before buying the product. (Although I’m actually glad I didn’t, and I’ll go into “why” down below.) While researching the use of steam mops on hardwood floors, I came across article after article that cautioned against using a steam mop on hardwood floors. The premise is that, despite mop manufacturer claims, the steam from the mop moves through cracks in the floor more easily than water, which penetrates below the sealer, and the moisture can cause the hardwood to warp & buckle. (Can you say “every homeowner’s nightmare”??) My stomach turned flips, and I mentally kissed our beautiful 100-year old hardwood floors goodbye. Surely, I figured, the damage had already been done, and now it was only a matter of time.
I couldn’t find a single real-life example.
But after the initial anxiety subsided, I started to think logically. We’d been cleaning with a steam mop on hardwood floors for about 4 months, and my mom has been doing it for over a year. If steam mops ruin hardwood floors, I figured something must have shown by now. Although impersonal blog posts and house cleaning forums are rife with old wives’ tails of steam mops ruining hardwood floors, I couldn’t find a single real-life example of it happening. The closest I came was reading articles like this article by HGTV showing moisture damage on a laminate floor. But even then, I did a reverse-image search on the image they used, and it turned out to be a purchased stock photo with the title “laminate flooring swollen and delaminated at the edges after prolonged contact with water“. In other words, the damage wasn’t done by steam, but rather prolonged contact with sitting water. Misleading much? Another example: this website, using this stock photo which doesn’t have a steam-specific keyword listed anywhere in its description. In fact, every single image of “steam damage” I reverse searched, I found it was copied and pasted from somewhere else on the internet referring to general water damage to hardwood floors.
I then scrolled through page after page of reviews on the Bissell PowerFresh Mop, both on the manufacturer’s website and Amazon. Although there were a few one-star reviews regarding the longevity of the product, I couldn’t find a single person complaining about damage from using a steam mop on hardwood floors. In fact, I found dozens of five-star reviews from people praising how well it’s worked on their sealed hardwood floors for 5+ years.
Update – Since posting this article, we’ve received many emails and comments on our video; many from individuals sharing that they use steam on their hardwood floors regularly without issues, and some from individuals who said they did experience damage from steam on hardwood. One gentleman sent me photos of what he says is damage caused by steam. It’s been interesting hearing all sorts of experiences – still, 3 years later, ours has been very positive. I am very curious as to what makes steam cause damage on hardwood for some, but not others. User error? Sealer quality? Poor installation? Mop type? We may never know! (All I can say is, as of 3/6/21, we’re still loving ours!)
Let’s be realistic about cleaning a house with dogs.
The more I researched, the more I realized that most of the websites claiming you can’t use a steam mop on hardwood floors also claimed you should never mop hardwood floors. Or use any kind of water to clean them, in fact. Most of these sites swear that a dry cloth is the only way to clean hardwood flooring. I’m sorry, have you seen my dogs? Perhaps this would work for an adults-only family with no pets. Our house is lived-in. Dirt is tracked in and out, along with who-knows-what else. There’s no way I could keep it clean with a dry cloth. And with a steam mop, the floors only take about 30 seconds to dry. With a wet mop, it takes them 10+ minutes to dry, and it doesn’t clean nearly as well.
Steam Cleaning Laminate Flooring
Regardless of where you buy your flooring, you’ll most likely find that using a steam mop on hardwood floors will void the manufacturer’s warranty. The same goes for most laminate. There’s something to be said for this fact, and I’m sure it’s not baseless. Using a steam mop on hardwood floors is undoubtedly riskier than simply cleaning with a dry cloth. But for us, the risk is worth the reward until we see real-life examples indicating otherwise.
I’d still never use a steam mop on unsealed wood floors. And I’m still a little apprehensive about using a steam mop on laminate flooring. We use it on our Costco laminate flooring in the master bedroom every week, but we also try to use common sense. I keep the steam on the lowest setting, and I don’t let it hover over any one area of the floor longer than absolutely necessary. And most likely, until I see some photographic proof of steam-mop-caused damage to laminate flooring, I’ll continue to do so. (Don’t worry, I’ll update you if we’re the ones who end up providing said evidence!)
Exercising Caution & Common Sense Steam Cleaning Hardwood Floors
Again, I’m no expert on the subject. But here are the steps we take to try to reduce potential damage from using a steam mop on hardwood floors.
- Make sure the floor sealer is in good condition.
- Keep steaming on as low of a setting as possible. (I only increase the steam if I’m cleaning a particularly nasty area of the floor.)
- Don’t let the steam mop hover in one spot any longer than absolutely necessary.
- Don’t steam mop the floors soon after waxing. (I have no idea how long the appropriate wait time is, but I can see how hot steam would melt/damage a waxed surface.)
When push comes to shove, only you can decide which manufacturer directions you want to follow. But after the plethora of wives tales with zero evidence circulating the internet, I just wanted to put our damage-free (so far) steam mop on hardwood floors experience out there.
Here is a link to all the steam mop products we use, including the exact steam mop we use, as well as the off-brand mop covers we get on the cheap.
What is your experience using a steam mop on hardwood floors? Does it work on your laminate flooring? We’d love to hear your experiences, too!
In case there was any question, YES. We absolutely love using our steam mop on our tile floors, as well!
This post contains some affiliate links. If you use these links to buy products, we may earn a small commission, which helps us keep the blog running. Thanks!