Bona has been around for 100 years, and its Hardwood Floor Cleaner is praised by customers and professional flooring installers for its cleaning ability. It’s also earned the Greenguard Gold Certification for low chemical emissions. Household products formulated with cleaner ingredients rarely perform as well as their chemical-laden counterparts, so we were curious how the Bona cleaner would fare on the sealed hardwood flooring throughout much of our home. We’ve been searching for the best cleaning method to restore brightness and shine and be safe around pets. Does Bona’s wood floor cleaner live up to the history? Here’s what we found.
Cleaning Performance: Clean and gleaming
Our floors are original to our 1950s home, and the finish has dulled somewhat with age. We used this cleaner on the floors in our living room, dining room, and entryway. These areas see a lot of foot traffic and need frequent cleaning to keep them looking and feeling tidy. The cleaner is water-based, so there’s no streaking or residue left behind, and dry time is minimal. We just sprayed it on our floors, one small section at a time, and then mopped it with a dry microfiber mop. We also wiped up the cleaner with a microfiber cloth to clean up small areas between full cleanings. Dirt and spots were effectively removed without much elbow grease on our end. Best of all, this cleaner didn’t fill our home with any unpleasant or lingering odors. It’s Greenguard Gold certified, meaning it’s a good choice for homes with children and pets who spend time on the floor. We felt confident that it was safe to use in the main living areas where our dog likes to lay. As for how our floors looked, we were pleased with how clean and bright the floors looked. Clean wood floors look better and fresher and feel a heck of a lot nicer under bare feet when all the dust and grime have been removed. We were also happy to notice some minor scuffs and surface scratches in our aged hardwoods were less noticeable after cleaning with Bona. Regular cleaning is critical to preserving hardwoods’ life since minuscule particles of soil, dust, and sand can scratch and damage the finish. Bona makes a variety of floor cleaners, cleaning kits, and even a dry mop with replaceable cleaning pads, so you have everything you need to make floor cleaning a breeze.
Bottle/Applicator Design: Easy to mist spray nozzle
Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner comes in a 32-ounce bottle with an easy to use spray nozzle. The nozzle has two settings for misting and a more direct stream spray. It can also be turned off when not in use. We preferred the mist setting for an even distribution of the cleaner while we mopped up. The direct spray would be our go-to choice for spot treating a dried on spot or stain, like wiping up our dog’s paw prints.
Scent: Mild to none
There’s no obvious scent or fragrance to Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner. If anything, it smells faintly like, a generic cleaning spray. The slight odor we detected was subtle, non-offensive, and didn’t linger. We prefer unscented household products, so we appreciated the lack of scent in this cleaner.
Price: On the higher end
Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner retails for around $8 for a 32-ounce spray bottle. It’s a few dollars more expensive than similar-sized brand-name wood floor cleaners. If you prefer plant-derived household products, you won’t mind paying a little extra for one like Bona that both performs and provides peace of mind.
Competition: More affordable options abound
Pledge Gentle Wood Floor Cleaner: Pledge’s wood floor cleaner retails for about $4 per 27-ounce bottle. The lemon scent is light, fresh, and very similar to Pledge furniture polish. We didn’t mind the scent, but other reviewers have found it to be too strong. The cleaner comes in a squirt and mop style bottle that’s quick and easy to use. As for performance, this cleaner left our floors squeaky clean with a smooth, gleaming finish. The seemingly restored shine to our floors was short-lived, though, lasting only a few hours, sometimes a day depending on the floor traffic. This cleaner is formulated with chemicals, so if you’re looking for a plant-derived option, you’ll want to skip this one. Method Wood Floor Cleaner: Method products are a more “greener” option than Pledge, but since it has a strong almond fragrance, it does have some chemicals. If you don’t like scent: beware, it’s probably too strong for you. Method’s wood floor cleaner retails for about $5 for a 25-ounce bottle made from biodegradable ingredients. It is available in a squirt and mop style bottle and as larger refills. It works in the same way as Bona: Apply to the floor and use a dry mop or cloth to wipe clean. It’s ready to go right out of the bottle with no need for diluting and is safe for both sealed hardwood and laminate floors. Of the three, this cleaner takes a little longer to dry but doesn’t leave any streaks or residue behind. Yes, buy it. Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner is pricey, but it’s considered a safe and reliable essential by many hardwood floor owners and professional flooring installers. It is easy to use and has little to no fragrance—a plus for people with allergies and perfume sensitivities.
