What floors can you use Universal Cleaner on?Updated 11 days ago
TL;DR: Universal Cleaner works on most sealed hard floors, including sealed timber, laminate, vinyl, glazed and matte tile, stone, polished concrete and terrazzo. The thing that matters is technique rather than floor type. Spray lightly just ahead of the pad and mop it straight up, so nothing sits on the surface.
What floors can you use Universal Cleaner on?
✓ Sealed timber and engineered wood
A light, quick clean is ideal. If your boards are oiled or waxed rather than sealed, spot test first or run plain water through the mop instead.
✓ Laminate
One of the best matches for the mop. Keep the spray light so moisture stays off the joins between boards.
✓ Vinyl and luxury vinyl
Great for routine cleaning across vinyl sheet, cushioned vinyl, LVT and LVP. On a high gloss finish, stay with the Everyday Mop Pads.
✓ Tile and grout
Ideal on glazed ceramic and porcelain, and fine on matte, textured, unglazed and lappato finishes too. Pair it with the Grout Brush to lift grime from grout lines.
✓ Stone floors
Granite, marble, travertine, limestone and slate all take a light, quick clean. Keep contact time short and mop dry as you go rather than letting solution sit.
✓ Polished concrete and terrazzo
Both handle a light, quick clean. Spray a small amount, mop it straight up and keep moving so nothing pools on the polish.
⚠ Never use the Diamond Sponge on floors
The Diamond Sponge is made for hard, non porous, glossy surfaces. On grout, matte tile, textured tile, unglazed porcelain, stone, polished concrete, vinyl, laminate or timber it will scratch the surface, and that damage cannot be undone. Use the Grout Brush on grout lines instead.
What if your floor is not listed?
✓ Three steps for a floor that is not listed
Three steps will usually settle it.
1 Spot test. Spray a small amount somewhere out of sight, leave it a few minutes, wipe it off and check for any change in colour, sheen or texture.
2 Check your warranty. See what your flooring manufacturer asks for. If they specify a pH neutral cleaner, the section below covers what to do.
3 Get in touch. Still unsure, or the spot test looked odd? Tell us the floor type and finish and we will talk it through.
Which mop pad should you use?
1 Dusting Mop Pad
Start here, dry. Lifting grit before it gets ground into the finish by feet or a wet pad is the single biggest thing you can do to protect a floor.
2 Everyday Mop Pads
The default wet pad and the right choice for the vast majority of cleans. Gentlest of the three, and the one to use on polished timber, polished concrete, stone and high gloss finishes.
3 Deep Clean Mop Pads
For baked on grime, once the gentler pads have not shifted it. Fine on sealed timber, laminate, vinyl and glazed tile. Keep it off mirror polish finishes and nonstick floors, where repeated mild abrasion dulls the surface over time.
How do you avoid streaks and smears?
✓ Less is more
Over spraying is the most common cause of a smeared floor. The extra solution spreads rather than lifts, and the pad cannot pick it all back up.
1 One trigger pull per square metre. Two at most, even on a floor that looks grubby.
2 Spray just ahead of the pad. Not across the whole room, and never letting it sit while you work elsewhere.
3 Mop until that section is dry. Back and forth, then move on to the next section.
✓ If the mop will not glide
Dragging or sticking is usually an anti slip coating on the floor adding friction, rather than anything going wrong with the mop. Switch to the Everyday Mop Pads, or add a touch more solution so the pad has something to run on.
✓ Between cleans
Take the pad off the mop head after use and hang the mop so the plate sits off the ground. A pad left on a damp plate is the other common source of marks on the next clean.
What if your flooring warranty asks for a pH neutral cleaner?
✓ Run the mop on water only
Fill the Spray Mop with plain water instead. Same mop, same pads, just a different fill. It is a fully supported way to use the mop, and plenty of customers clean this way by choice.
⚠ Universal Cleaner is not pH neutral
It is an alkaline formulation, which is part of how it lifts grease and grime without scrubbing. If your flooring manufacturer makes a pH neutral cleaner a condition of cover, follow them rather than us. Check the warranty before you clean, not after.
Universal Cleaner, Atomiser Spray Bottle and Universal Cloths Mixed 4pk in one box. Good Environmental Choice Australia (GECA) certified, Allergy UK certified, Sensitive Choice approved, Eczema Association of Australasia recognised. Made in Australia, around 3 months of everyday cleaning for an average home.
Fan favourite Spray Mop for clean, dry floors in seconds. Comes with 5 machine washable mop pads, and it runs on Universal Cleaner or plain water, whichever your flooring warranty asks for.
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Last reviewed: September 2026 · Koh Australia