You want great floors? Then we have what you need to make them look amazing. If you are fortunate to have beautiful hardwood flooring in your home, you have to take measures to make sure they not only look great but are protected against wear and tear.
You will find all that and more in this article. I searched around and found the polished that will make your floors sparkle, shine, and yes, get the whole family laughing when they put socks on to glide around on them.
As a hardwood floor owner, myself, I want to make sure others can keep their investment looking as good as the day they were installed. Read on with us!
Features: What Makes a Great Polish?
In this section, we are going to go over the features that make a floor polish worth getting and using in your home. If you decide that none of the polishes, we feature today are what you want, try to look for a polish that features the following:
Restorative Properties
Some of the hardwood floor polishes we feature today can make a worn-out floor look pretty good, even after years of wear.
It is certainly no substitute for replacing a worn-out or warped floor but can make your house look good if you’re expecting guests or just want it to look neater.
May Be Applied Without a Machine
When I was a kid, seeing the gym floor cleaned with the buffer was always cool because the place looked amazing when it was all done. Granted, our custodian did this when there were no kids or faculty around because that was strong, industrial-grade stuff!
The point I’m driving home is that all the products we feature here are stuff you can use at home without special equipment.
Coverage Area
Try to get an idea of how much floor space you have in your home. Then, see how many square feet the bottle you are buying covers. You might need two or even three bottles, or perhaps more to polish your entire floor.
Useful for Many Floor Types
If you have vinyl or laminate flooring, you may wish to purchase a bottle of polish that can make all the different types of flooring look clean and fresh. Some of the polishes we feature today do just that.
Good for Family Use
Beware of polishes you can’t buy at normal retail outlets. Some of the industrial floor or wood polishes you can get a professional cleaning supply companies have to be applied using special mops or buffers and are designed for very high-traffic applications. They may have harmful fumes that could make your family and pets feel unwell.
List of the Best Hardwood Floor Polishes
I created the following list based upon polishes I have used in the past, and also user rating. I picked out only the best of the best you will not go wrong with any of these hardwood floor polishes.
1. Bona High Gloss Hardwood Floor Polish
If you have dull floors and you need a beautiful shine, this hardwood polish is the way to go. The floors will end up looking beautiful as the first time the flooring was laid down in your home.
Once that is all done, you just apply this cleaner in an S shape, and then work in small areas to get it spread around. One bottle of this stuff is good for 500 square feet.
You do not need any special equipment here, like a floor buffer. Just get a microfiber mop head or the microfiber pads manufactured by Bona, and you will have an easy time applying this to your floors at home.
Just make sure that after you apply this, you wait for at least one hour before you go and walk on it again. Otherwise, footprints will remain on the floor, and if your pets shed as they walk on it, the hair will get stuck there, too. You might even wait a bit of extra time to be sure.
One user even stated that they used a dry Swiffer pad to apply this to their floors. The product, stated the user, flowed evenly and dried within the hour.
The ease of use and ease of application make it a great choice.
Key Features:
- Comes in high and low gloss formulas
- Safe on unwaxed and unoiled polyurethane wood floors
- Fills in tiny scratches and adds a layer of protection
- Greenguard certification
- One bottle works on 500 feet
2. Weiman Hardwood Floor Cleaner And Polish Combo
Weiman was a flooring product we had in our home in the ’90s, and they have been around since 1941. No wonder they are the top choice in this product category on Amazon!
It is a ready-to-go product that gets rid of grease, grime, and dirt on all finishes of hardwood floors. You will find that the floors look stunning and good as new after you get done using this product on them.
This cleaner was applied to the floors, which was easy to do-it was applied to the floor and cleaned in small sections. Afterward, the product was left to dry and then polished. Polishing was done using a microfiber pad and of course, by applying the Weiman polishing solution.
The floors, as you might have guessed, came out looking great. The user even noted that small scratches had been filled in, and even when things were spilled on the floor, the floors did not look bad at all.
The user even updated their review after three months of use and found that the floor still looked great after months of wear and tear.
I would recommend this if you have a floor that needs a serious restore-and you don’t have time to reapply the product month after month!
Key Features:
- Can use around your family without causing them harm
- Restores and extends the life of wood floors
- Helps fill in micro scratches
- You can use it on finished hardwood, vinyl, laminate, and engineered hardwood.
3. Quick Shine High Traffic Hardwood Floor Luster and Polish
You will see, as this review goes on that I cannot say enough good things about Quick Shine. I use them in my own home, and I find them to be great.
But this stuff comes through in the clutch, and you will love it. All you have to do is dry mop, mop with plain water using a slightly dampened mop or sponge, and then apply the polish in a 5×5 area. You can then polish it little by little until the whole thing is shining like new.
Yes, it really does a great job of making the floor look great again. And I should also note that I LOVE using this around my family because it has the EPA’s Safer Choice label. You will love this, especially if you have concerns about chemicals and the environment.
I will talk about this a bit later on. But, in a nutshell, this means the EPA has designated this product to be safe around families and also to be better for the planet. I think this makes an excellent choice for those of you that like a natural approach to your cleaning.
Take into consideration that there are heaps of positive reviews. I may sound biased, but don’t just take my word for it check out the hundreds of happy consumers that got their floors looking beautiful by reading the Amazon reviews!
Key Features:
- Features carnauba, which is plant-based
- Made in the US
- Contains no ammonia, formaldehyde, phthalate or gluten
- Helps restore your wood and guards against heavy foot traffic
4. Rejuvenate Professional Wood Floor Restorer and Polish
WOW! That is all we can say when we saw how this floor polish performed. One 32 oz jug was enough to cover a whole room with no trouble at all. And this is a deluxe formula because it not only makes the floor look shiny and new, but it fills in scratches.
How perfect is that-after all, I have a dog that scratches and a child that scrapes his chair across the floor. Those scratches make us all cringe, and this handy product gets you fixed right up.
You will find that this one has a one-hour dry time, which may be a pain point for some people. Other products I saw featured a 30-minute dry time. But the real advantage here is that it is a one and done application.
Unlike the Quick Shine products, which recommend multiple coats, this requires you to apply it once using a mop. You should use the brand’s microfiber mop bonnet to do this for the best results.
The finish on this is impressive. It bonds to the existing finish and helps resist spills and stains-and you don’t get that wax buildup. I advise looking at users’ photos on the review page-these floors look stunning.
Key Features:
- It fills in scratches and gets you a glossy shine
- It will bond to finish already on your floor to resist spills and has no waxy buildup
- You can cover 525 sq. feet with this
- You can buy it in a 1-gal jug
5. Scott’s Liquid Gold Floor Restore
This product caught my eye because it features its own “before and after” photo right on the label! I have a feeling that might be a computer-generated image, but the user reviews here tell us all we need to know.
I think this is just right for those living in smaller spaces, as it will be all you need to make your area look insta-worthy or just neaten things up a bit!
That is just what happened to a friend of mine. She had ended up downsizing due to moving for work, and found herself in an apartment that was, shall we say, quaint. And by that, I mean old.
So, one of the tasks was to apply some polish to these floors, which looked like they hadn’t been cared for in years. These floors were easily 50 years old, and it got them looking pretty good all over again. It, combined with some other measures, got the apartment looking beautiful.
I should also note that she applied two coats for this; you may need to do this, too. The scent is not bad-it smells mostly like almonds when being used.
So, while this might be a rather small bottle, it seems to be very concentrated in its power. I would go this route if you are looking to restore or shine up some floors that haven’t had a care in quite some time.
Key Features:
- Renews dull hardwood floors
- Great for high-traffic zones
- Floors will be protected for months
- Aids in hiding imperfections/scratches
6. Quick Shine Multi-Surface Floor Finish and Polish
It comes in a big, 64 oz bottle that’s enough to cover LOTS of floor space. Combine this with the fact that it covers many different floorings, and you have yourself a winner.
I like that this product can work on stone, tile, vinyl, and hardwood. I need this stuff to keep the place looking good!
You just apply it in an S shape to your 5×5 areas and spread it around with your mop pad, which should be dampened slightly. You will find that it takes just 30 minutes for it to dry and leave a smooth and glossy finish.
Indeed, this is pretty darn easy to use, and I think you will love it. But perhaps the thing I love most is that this is an EPA-endorsed product. What do I mean by that?
I mean that this features the Safer Choice label. That means the product is designed to be not only safe around our families and pets, but also be good for the planet.
This product, being part of this designation, features safer ingredients, better packaging, better pH, and contains no heavy metals or hazardous solvents. It is just a few of the great things that come with this polish.
As somebody with a child, a dog, and friends that come over often, I love this polish for its versatility and safety.
Key Features:
- Great for many floor surfaces like hardwood, vinyl, and stone
- You can buy it in multi-packs
- Free of harmful chemicals like formaldehyde, gluten, fragrance, ammonia and more
- US Made
7. Orange Glo 4-in-1 Monthly Hardwood Floor Polish
It is truly a product that’s in a class of its own. I like the smell that comes along with this particular product; it is just as pleasant as Scott’s, which smells like almonds. The reason they call this “4 in 1” is because it protects, revitalizes, polishes, and shines.
That being said, the smell is so lovely, and the application is so easy (use a refillable cloth mop head) that you won’t mind applying this to your floors at least once per month.
It’s suitable for areas that have lots of traffic from people and pets. If you have some light scratches on your floor from pets or normal wear and tear, this should help you clear it right up.
You will find that the steps to using it are just like the other products we featured today-you start by sweeping and then mopping. The manufacturer recommends using their brand of cleaner on your floors, but so long as your floor is clean and dirt/grime-free, you are ready.
Then you apply the product in an s shape and work in 4×4 areas until the whole area is clean. It takes just 15 minutes of dry time (your results may vary), and you will have a beautiful floor.
Key Features:
- Smells great-just like oranges, which is great.
- You can use this on cabinets and paneling
- Will restore shine to dull floors
- Will help clean up dirt and stains without dulling the finish of your wood, which is amazing
8. Restore-A-Floor Wood Floor Finish
I was not sure how to feel about this minimalist bottle. But, once I saw the excellent ratings left by other happy users, I went ahead and decided to include this product. After all, the photos posted by other users were enough to sell me!
If you are like me and have many surfaces in your house, you can take comfort in buying this bottle because it works on just about anything.
You can use it on your laminate and vinyl floors! Even users who had concrete floors found that this product got them shining, although it did take two coats.
You will also find that scratches that got left behind as a result of normal wear and tear will be filled in. It is very easy to apply this product. Start by sweeping and dry mopping. Then use a little plain water to clear up any excess dirt and grime.
Once that is done, all you have to do is use a microfiber mop to apply this product to the floors in your home, and you will be good to go. You might want to use a second coat to bring up the shine.
It comes in a 32 oz jug, so it won’t be hard at all to cover a few rooms with this.
The best advice I can give is to make sure you allow this to dry thoroughly. Otherwise, you might end up with paw prints or even footprints on your newly polished floors.
Key Features:
- Fills in scratches and brightens dull spots
- Covers 600 sq. feet
- Works well on hardwood, laminate, marble, and vinyl
- You can apply with just a sponge mop or floor polisher
Polished Floors Will Look Amazing
Having any one of these great polishes in your home will make it look amazing. After all, taking one look at those beautiful floors will make you feel good about your house and where you live.
With some of these polishes having restorative properties, you can improve the quality of your flooring and help bring it back to its former glory. It is an easy and inexpensive way to keep your home beautiful.
