I would never use vinegar (even diluted) on wood floors, because vinegar is an acid. It will eventually damage the wood. I have natural oak floors in my house which I had treated professionally with polyurethane. That was about 20-25 years ago. I keep them clean with frequent sweeping/light vaccuming and by an occasional treatment with a product like Bona or Orange Glo(which some folks hate) or even "Rejuvenate" one of those seen -on-TV products you can find at Bed Bath And Beyond. Good luck, hope others will give opinions.

You need to determine if your wood floors are wood and you need to clean the wood, or if they are polyurethane coated and you just need to clean the poly coating.

My Martha Stewart Homekeeping handbook says:
Poly coated flooring:

Dry sweep for daily maintenance.

When needed, use mild cleaning agent mixed per manufacturers instructions.

She says vinegar mix is 1/4 cup white vinegar to 1 quart water.

For waxed wood floors, Martha's book says (paraphrased):
Apply paste wax with 0000 steel wool or cotton cloth. Smooth a thin coating on...or apply liquid wax using wax applicator (lambswool head).

When wax starts to dry/harden, buff with rotary buffer to a shine.

Buff monthly to revive shine.

When buffing fails, re-wax where needed. There's a lot more info on waxed wood, but that was the basic info based on your Q.

**************************

I've only had personal experience with poly-coated wood floors, and I agree with previous poster & Martha on that. I always took about 1 quart water with about 1/2 teaspoon dish soap. Wring out your damp cloth VERY well. Don't let water bead up. Spot clean tougher areas on hands & knees.

Never had waxed wood. Just relaying that info because I just happened to have the Martha book in reaching distance & looked it up.

Gayle

My prefinished American cherry wood floors are about 12 years old and I use the white vingar and water mixture on them a few times a year. This solution removes any and all residue! I wet mop with a damp but not dripping mop then immediately towel dry the floor. They still look like new.

I guess it depends on what type of floors you have and how they are finished. I have site finished polyurethaned oak floors. My floor guy recommended using just plain water to clean. He said if I felt I had to use a product, it should be Bona. He said Orange Glo would destroy the poly. He also mentioned that some people cleaned with a vinegar and water solution, but he neither recommended nor cautioned against it. So far, I've stuck with the plain water. I use a spray bottle and the Bona mop.

Totally Confused

Vinegar and water will remove oily dirt...some of it. the Bona will remove the rest....and also wax if you have any on your floors.
I have lived with waxed shellac floors, prefinished waxed floors and unwaxed shellac and now plolyurethane.
You don't want to use anything water based on un-waxed shellac finish. If you leave a little spot of water it will turn white. Wax prevents that.
Vinegar won't destroy wood, in fact one old fashioned way of staining oak was to soak it in vinegar. it changed the color of the wood but didn't destroy it.
Linda C