This oil can and WILL penetrate THROUGH the floor's polyurethane finish and onto/into the wood. The worst that can happen: your floors will never take more finish again… ever. Murphy's Oil Soap is a contaminant…
Store Bought Cleaners:
These may look like great options when you're shopping around, but some of these will do more harm than good. One of the biggest culprits is Murphy's Oil Soap. Even though it says it is safe of wood, it actually leaves an oily film on the top of the hardwood.
Dish soap is a gentle cleaner that won't damage the natural wood, and it's perfect for light jobs and daily upkeep alike. In a large bucket, mix two to three tablespoons of dish soap with one gallon of warm water. Dip your mop and wring it over the bucket, then gently mop the surface of your floors.
Cleaners such as Pledge and Murphy's Oil Soap are not recommended because they leave a dull residue on the finish. Never use products containing ammonia on water base finishes. Polishes such orange oil work well for routine maintenance. To prevent splitting, maintain even humidity conditions in your home.
Vinegar and Ammonia: Cleaning products that have a base of vinegar or ammonia eat away at the dirt on your floor - and also the floor's finish itself. Over time, the acid will wear down your hardwood, leaving you with splotchy patches that are difficult to revive.
CLEANING PRODUCTS FOR WOOD FURNITURE
A gentle, water-based solution such as Murphy® Oil Soap Original works well when cleaning and protecting the finish on your wood floors, furniture and cabinets.
An easy way to fill in microscratches and shine wood floors is to polish your floors after mopping. After dusting and spray mopping, use a designated microfiber mop pad to apply polish to wood floors to add shine. Bona floor polish is easy to use and adds a protection and shine with every application.
For heavy cleaning, dilute 1/2 cup Murphy per gallon. Clean well with wrung-out mop, and mop any excess water. No visible residue, no rinsing required.
Bona Polish is NOT a hardwood floor cleaner. It is a cheap thin finish that you apply to your floors. Over time and repeated use the film gets thicker and it scuffs and scratches easily making the floors look unsightly. The only remedy to restore your floors is to strip the Bona Polish off.
In short, the answer is NO.
Murphy's Oil Soap is not entirely safe on wood floors, despite many people saying so. Long term, this product will do more harm than good to your wood floors.
Shine Floor With These Natural Ingredients
Olive Oil, White Vinegar, & Water: Mix all three of these natural ingredients together and you'll know how to make hardwood floors shine naturally.
MULTIPURPOSE CLEANER
Better Homes And Gardens recommends using Murphy® Oil Soap on outdoor furniture to freshen up plastic, metal, glass or wood items. You can also use it on other Furniture, such as your wood dining table and chairs, end tables, nightstands and bed frames.
The company continued to be run by the Murphy family for 80 years, when they sold it to Colgate. It is available in a concentrated liquid form which is then mixed with water, as well as pre-diluted form which comes in a trigger spray bottle.
Using the incorrect chemicals on your unfinished flooring has a high risk of causing permanent discoloration. It is inadvisable to use chemical-based cleaners on your unfinished hardwood floors. Floor cleaners will harm your flooring irreversibly. Murphy's Oil Soap is a good option for one cleaner you may use.
It's safe for wood and hard, nonporous surfaces. You can apply it to the floor directly from the bottle. For more information about the Pine-Sol® lineup of products, visit our FAQs page.
Never use Murphy Oil Soap or similar products to damp mop wood or laminated floors. Oil soaps leave a film on floors that dull and damage the finish. Remove the film by mopping with one-half cup distilled white vinegar per gallon of water and a clean terry towel.
Is Swiffer Safe for Hardwood Floors? As per the wooden floor repairing experts of a renowned hardwood floor company in Los Angeles, the Swiffer is absolutely safe for prefinished hardwood floors when used with either wet or dry refill cloths.
You need to sweep hardwood once a day, but your typical broom isn't going to cut it. Invest in a dust mop such as the O-Cedar Dual-Action Microfiber Sweeper (which is what I use) or something similar. These mops have wide heads that trap dust without making micro scratches in the floor's finish.