Steam cleaning wooden floors

[spottymoo]

Currently have vinyl down but would love to replace it with wood or laminate
Due to two big dogs it needs cleaning every other day.
I currently steam mop them and their dry in 10 mins which I love, can I do this with wooden flooring?
Have googled with mixed responses so it would be good to hear other people's experiences.

I have oak and pitch pine flooring which I steam clean (due to crawling baby). I have the x5 steam cleamer (bought from Thane after seeing ad on tv). It certainly does the job but my floors are left quite wet.

My DSis has the 'Shark' and doesn't find it as 'wet'. She steams every day because of her dog. I don't have to thankfully! I think if I did with my x5 the floors would get damaged. They are fantastic but it is something to bear in mind when choosing.

I think it also depends how they are sealed. I know I couldn't steam my oiled oak floors, but think if they are waxed or varnished maybe you can.

The floor were looking at has a sheen to it so I'd assumed it was sealed
I just love the quickness and effortless clean the steam mop does but we'd been spending a few thousand on this floor so don't want to ruin it

Please can I crash in to ask a quick question? Do you have to hoover up the bits before using a steam mop? Or does it get the bits up and clean? I currently Hoover and then down on hands and knees with cloth to clean and would love a quicker option.

I sweep or Hoover before I steam

It definitely depends on the finish. You do not want to be using a steam cleaner on an oiled wood floor!

I would be very cautious about using it on a sealed floor, too. I have done it, and while there isn't instant and obvious damage, after a time you will notice that the boards start to come apart from each other just very slightly. If you keep going, the damage will get worse. Forcing hot steam between them simply isn't good for wood.

I now use a Leifheit mop without steam. If the floor's dirty, dettol sorts it out!