The quickest and most effective way to clean hardwood floors is with a damp mop. Before mopping, make sure that you have removed all surface dust from the floor. This can be done with a soft broom or lightweight vacuum cleaner. Then, simply mop, rinse and repeat. It is important to remove grit and dirt from hardwood floors. Dirt and grit are the biggest enemies when it comes to scratching or scouring the floor finish.
And yes is true is better to know what tipe of finish do you have before you clean the wood floors, water base finish need a special care than oil base finish
good luck!
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http://floorsincalifornia.com/maint.html