The best cleaner for different hard floor types

The two key methods of cleaning your floor are wet cleaning and dry cleaning.

Dry cleaning typically means vacuuming as it removes dust, dirt and debris using only air, as well as debris and dust agitation.

Wet cleaning is when you use water or other cleaning liquids to wash the floor surface. This is typically done for removing grime, stains, and spills.

They fulfill different needs through different methods, but not every floor is suited to wet cleaning.

It's important to clean your floor regularly to prevent the build-up of dirt that could scratch your floor. The Dyson WashG1™ wet cleaner is designed to clean wet and dry dirt simultaneously, for easier cleaning on hard floors.

Let’s examine the hard floor types so you can decide which hard floor cleaner is right for you.

Wood is a naturally porous material, meaning it absorbs water very easily.¹ This is less than ideal for wet cleaning, as it could absorb the water being used and warp the shape of the wood.

If humidity were a factor, it could even split and crack. If the wood retains the water, it could cause decay and mold.

Fortunately, wood can be treated in certain ways to help prevent this issue. For example, wood can have oil added to it to seal the pores and prevent the absorption of water.¹

There are three kinds of wooden floors – solid hardwood floors, solid softwood floors and engineered wood floors. Hardwood is inherently denser than softwood because it’s cut from slower-growing deciduous trees like oak, whereas softwood is cut from faster growing conifer trees like pine. While hardwood is denser, softwood is cheaper and is a very common type of floor.

Engineered wood is a composite of softwood with a layer of hardwood on top. When it comes to cleaning, it can be treated like hardwood.

With untreated wooden flooring, it’s best to use dry cleaning, such as a vacuum, to not water damage your floor. A dry vacuum will remove any dust and debris on top of the floor but can’t remove stains and fluids.

If your wooden floor is treated to prevent water damage, then you can use wet cleaning to help keep it as clean as possible.

Our Dyson WashG1™ wet cleaner comes with varying speed and hydration modes so you can fully customize the amount and intensity of water you use, to keep your flooring safe.

Laminate flooring is typically made to resemble wooden flooring. It’s usually made of either high density or medium density fiber. Sometimes, instead of fiber, laminate flooring is made from plywood or vinyl to increase its strength and density.

It’s cladded with a laminated panel that gives it its look. Because of the lamination, the flooring is water resistant and benefits from careful wet cleaning.

The use of a wet cleaner can help wash away stains and grime that a dry cleaner couldn’t, but using too much water could soak through the water resistance of the laminate.² This is why it may not be suitable to use a typical bucket and mop approach.

Instead, it’s best to use a microfiber wet cleaner like the Dyson WashG1™ wet cleaner that's more economic in its water usage.

Keep in mind that if you to scratch the laminate deep enough to penetrate through the top layer and into the substrate, this water resistance would be compromised.

To discover more about how the traditional mop and bucket is ineffective, read our article debunking common hard floor cleaning myths.

Before washing, make sure to safely remove all dirt off the floor with a vacuum as these elements could potentially cause scratches in your top layer of laminate.¹

When you clean, avoid excess water and use a wet cleaner like the Dyson WashG1™.

Ceramic tiles are made from clay that has been kiln fired and glazed with a protective coating to make it scratch, stain and water resistant.¹ This makes ceramic tile ideal for wet cleaning as the surface isn’t porous.

But the grout between each tile is less water resistant, so care must be taken not to waterlog it. Terracotta tile is like ceramic tile but doesn’t feature a protective glaze or color-changing layer, so it keeps its original reddish-brown coloring.

Porcelain is made of compressed ceramic dust to make it tougher and denser. It’s even more moisture resistant than ceramic.¹

There’s also stone tile, such as marble and sandstone. However, stone tiles are porous and not suited to wet cleaning.¹

Some stone is treated with a moisture resistant seal, but if water is left to build up on top of this seal, it could compromise and damage the stone.

With ceramic tile, it’s best to dry clean then wet clean. This flooring is designed to withstand wet cleaning and, by doing both, you can make your floor extremely clean and hygienic.

However, with untreated stone tile it’s best to just dry clean. If you have treated stone floor, you can water clean but make sure not to leave the floor wet, as a build-up of water could damage the floor.

Different vinyl types react differently. Vinyl laminate has a thin laminate top layer that wears away with use, while vinyl composite is made partially with mineral fillers and is completely waterproof.

Vinyl can come in many designs that imitate the aesthetic and textures of other hard flooring such as wood and tile.

Lino is an organic version of vinyl that can be a good substitute as it’s very durable, stiffer than vinyl and warm to the touch.

There’s also cushion vinyl and lino. The cushion variant is designed to be soft and warm to the touch for maximum comfort while maintaining the waterproof quality and wear-resistant coating.

It’s worth noting that because cushion vinyl and cushion lino are very flexible, they will need a smooth and solid under-floor to help support them.¹

Vinyl and lino can be wet cleaned due to their water-resistant natures. It’s also important to regularly dry clean them with a vacuum as they are easy to scratch if you let dust and debris build up.

When wet cleaning, use a microfiber wet cleaner like the Dyson WashG1™, as our microfibres have been shaped and tested to make sure they don’t scratch surfaces between a Mohs scale of 1 and 2 – making them suited for use on easy-to-scratch flooring like vinyl.³

Wet floor care is an increasingly important aspect of any homeowner’s life. It can make a big impact on the hygiene of your home, especially when coupled with dry cleaning.

To learn more about wet cleaning, read our article, the ultimate guide to wet hard floor cleaning. You can also browse our range of wet floor cleaning machines.

If you have few floors suited to wet cleaning, then a wet and dry vacuum may be right for you. But if you have a lot of suitable floorspace, then our dedicated wet cleaner would be ideal as you can quickly and easily clean wet and dry dirt simultaneously.

¹ Professional Management of Housekeeping Operations by Thomas J. A. Jones

² The Laminate Floor Guide Book: Laminate Flooring For Your Home by Paul R. Wonning

³ Dyson Internal Research