Does Murphy’s Oil Soap Disinfect Hardwood Floors? | The Mystery Behind

For many years, people have thought Murphy’s Oil Soap is one of the best disinfectants for hardwood floors.

They’ve bought the product over the years and possibly recommended it to their friends and family.

But the truth about the product remains concealed to date. If you’re also someone who believes that Murphy’s Oil Soap is a useful disinfectant, stick along, and you’ll find out something very interesting.

Murphy’s Oil Soap is surely a cleaner but certainly not a disinfectant for hardwood floors. Besides, it has many side effects that might cause serious damage to your wooden surface without you knowing.

In this article, I am going to unveil the truth about Murphy’s Oil Soap being a disinfectant and will try to identify the product’s actual use and where/how it is genuinely beneficial.

Does Murphy’s Oil Soap Disinfect Hardwood Floors?

Murphy’s Oil Soap is not a disinfectant for wood, however, it is an efficient cleaner. It has never been tested for its disinfecting qualities and can’t be called a disinfectant.

Unlike Pine-Sol hardwood floor disinfector, Murphy’s oil soap is a cleaner. Furthermore, its cleaning properties for wooden surfaces could be more questionable, but we will get to the bottom of it shortly.

If you concentrate enough, you may realize that Murphy’s Oil Soap never claims to be useful against bacteria or viruses.

This is because it is not manufactured to do so. The composition of Murphy’s Oil Soap doesn’t contain any ingredient or solution, which is renowned for its disinfecting properties.

If you are looking for hardwood floor disinfectants, I recommend you check my article on what’s a safe disinfectant for hardwood floors and how you can use them to clean wooden surfaces.

Is Murphy’s Oil Soap An Effective Cleaner For Hardwood Floors?

Murphy’s Oil Soap is an effective cleaner because it is an oil-based cleaner however, it leaves residues on the floor causing them to darken and lose color over time.

Now that we’ve debunked the disinfectant theory let us move on to Murphy’s Oil Soap’s cleaning properties and identify if it cleans as much as it claims.

First, you must understand that a shiny appearance and a pleasant smell do not equate to cleanliness.

Try to understand cleaning in a general term where you want to remove the visible dirt and grime and eliminate the invisible germs. As we know, it doesn’t necessarily kill any germs; let’s see if it does the prior job well.

Murphy’s Oil Soap Lauramidopropylamine oxide composition includes Sodium tallate, Citronella oil, water, and Tetrasodium EDTA. The most interesting substance here is Citronella oil, a type of vegetable oil.

It is noteworthy here that Murphy’s Oil Soap claims to be compatible with all types of wooden surfaces and finishes, be it dry wood or oil finish; this product is supposed to clean all surfaces without damaging them.

However, Citronella oil is a water-oil emulsion. It is stable in the bottle as a solution, but when applied to hardwood floors, it evaporates slowly.

This phenomenon is very dangerous as once the water evaporates, all left behind is an oily mixture that is greasy enough to make you slip.

But there are other disadvantages to this as well. People usually see the visible shine the wooden surface gets once you apply the Murphy’s Oil Soap, but the real reason behind that shine is the oily compound.

Most of the time, people are unaware of how to clean wooden surfaces properly, so they wipe them half-heartedly and apply products such as Murphy’s Oil Soap.

Resultantly, the oil traps all the dirt, grime, and germs beneath and inside it as well. The build grows after some time, and when you see the floor dirty, your first response is to clean it with Murphy’s Oil Soap again.

You do not realize that applying another coat of the oily substance and letting it stay over there is the biggest mistake you are making.

An added layer will trap more dirt and grime, and this might lead to infestations in your flooring as molds might start to form. Besides, the wood grain will start to get dull, dark, and unlively.

As the vicious cycle continues, you won’t even realize it, and your flooring will have started to blacken and rot in worse scenarios. Hence, it is not wise to use Murphy’s Oil Soap on your hardwood surfaces.

How To Use Murphy’s Oil Soap Safely On Hardwood Floors?

There is no safe way to use Murphy’s Oil Soap on hardwood floors as it does not suit them. However, if you are facing a situation where you do not have any other option, you can follow the following steps to ensure that there isn’t any significant damage to your wooden surface.

• Make sure that Murphy’s Oil Soap is diluted as per instruction; however, adding a little more water is better just to be safe.
• Clean the wooden surface thoroughly before you attempt to apply the product.
• Scrub the floor after applying to remove all the dirt and prevent any from getting stuck in the oily layer.
• Rinse the surface with water thoroughly and scrub it again to remove any oily remains.
• Wipe it dry

Does Murphy’s Oil Soap Need To Be Rinsed?

Murphy’s Oil soap is an oil-based cleaner that often leaves wooden residues; hence if you don’t want to dry the floor it is better that you rinse it off so there are no residues left.

However, if you are attempting to dry it with a clean cloth; you might not need to rinse it as the chances of residues being left on the surface will be decreased due to the wiping.

Can You Mix Murphy Oil Soap With Vinegar?

As an oil-based cleaner, Murphy’s oil soap is not recommended to mix with vinegar. The acidic properties of vinegar can damage the oil in the solution and the outcome can be something undesirable for you.

Hence, if you want to use Murphy’s Oil Soap, it is best that you do it according to the given instructions.

If you want to clean your hardwood floor with vinegar, I encourage you to try out my 3-in-1 ingredient natural solution to clean hardwood floors. You’ll definitely love the end results.

Does Murphy’s Oil Soap Make Hardwood Floors Sticky?

The oily nature of Murphy’s oil soap leaves residue on the floor. Once the water evaporates, the oil is left on the surface which makes it sticky and attracts more dirt and grime.

To avoid this from happening, you can either wipe the surface dry or rinse it thoroughly so any possible residues are washed away.

Does Murphy’s Oil Damage Hardwood Floors?

Being an oily solution, Murphy’s Oil soap leaves residue on the floor which damages the surface and grain of your hardwood floors.

Besides, it also attracts more dirt, and grime, and traps them. This allows for the perfect environments for molds and mildews to grow, and infestations to take place.

Bottom Line

If you’ve been using Murphy’s Oil Soap to clean and disinfect your wooden floors, you must stop immediately.

Oil-based solutions are the worst possible way to clean wooden floors as they leave residues, and trap grime, and dirt.

Hence, if you want to save your wooden floors from getting darkened, and losing their shine, you shouldn’t use this product on your wooden floors ever again. Learn the cheapest ways to clean hardwood floors.