Common picks include commercial hardwood cleaners, oil soaps, or even dish soap. If you are looking for a green and natural option, white vinegar or castile soap are the way to go.
Sweep or vacuum loose debris. Sprinkle baking soda on the floor. Mix one gallon of hot water, one cup of vinegar, and a few drops of dish soap. Mop the floor with the solution, using the scrub brush to remove stubborn dirt, or in high-traffic areas.
The flat head microfiber mop. That's right! It's time to toss out every other floor mop you have ever owned and you'll soon know exactly why! This floor mop is what the pros use in almost every case and there's many reasons why.
Combine ¼ cup white vinegar, ¼ cup baking soda, 1 tablespoon dish detergent, and 2 gallons hot water. Apply it either with a damp cloth or a wrung-out mop. After, go over it with fresh water, then allow to dry.
Best overall: Rejuvenate All Floors Cleaner
You can use this floor cleaner on hardwood, laminate, tile, vinyl, and linoleum, making it a popular option for low-maintenance homeowners. The floor cleaner's pH-balanced formula won't leave behind a residue, and it's gentle on your floor's finish.
To clean your floors with this DIY mixture, combine equal parts olive oil and white vinegar, a few teaspoons of lemon juice, and five parts hot water. Dip your mop or rag into the solution, wring gently, and then wipe down your hardwood floors with this homemade wood floor cleaner that shines.
Begin by dusting or sweeping your floors well. Then make a cleaning mixture using 4 cups warm water and a few drops of castile soap or dish soap. Do not shake, but gently mix this, then mop or scrub small sections at a time, drying them with a clean cloth or dry mop after."
Dry mopping, sweeping, and/or vacuuming on a weekly basis are the best ways to rid hardwood floors of light dust, dirt, and pet hair accumulation. This routine works on floors with either surface or penetrating finishes.
You can use a broom or a vacuum without a beater bar (the beater bar can damage hardwood surfaces) to clear away the debris. But the best choice is a microfiber dust mop. The fibers in the mop attract and trap the dirt, and you can then toss the mop head in the washer so you have a clean mop each time.
'When used with vinegar, baking soda makes an excellent cleaning solution for floors. Just add a little baking soda to a bucket of warm water and mop your floors as usual. You will be amazed at the results.
Vinegar's power to clean lies in its acidity. With a pH of around 2.5, vinegar is effective at dissolving grime and mineral deposits like hard water and rust stains.
Avoid Using Too Much Soap
Soap only lifts dirt and oil into water, making them suspend in water. Therefore, the more soap you use, the more your mop gets saturated with dirt. So, if you do not remove all the soapy water from the floor, the dirt remains, forming streaks on the floor.
How to Fix It To avoid unwanted stickiness or floors that are not thoroughly cleaned, do not over or under-dilute your mopping solution. Always follow the exact mixing instructions on your cleaner to ensure a correct cleaner to water ratio. To remedy the stickiness or haze, damp mop with plain water.
Among the many active ingredients surface and floor cleaners contain, the most common ones are Ethanol – a fluid that acts as sanitizer; Isopropyl alcohol – which is partly responsible for the disinfectant's strong odour; antiseptics such as p-Chloro-o-benzylphenol, o-Phenylphenol, and lactic acid.
Your bathroom's or kitchen's tiled floors will love a vinegar wash. Put half a cup of vinegar into one gallon of warm water, and away you go. Swish, swish, swish away all the germs, dirt, and grime.
Floor Cleaner
The cleaning enzymes in laundry detergent work great at pulling away dirt from floors. Fill your mop bucket up with hot water, then add one teaspoon of laundry detergent (a little goes a long way).
Never use Methylated spirits or any other type of petroleum distillate as it will degrade the floor coating and make your floor look very dull. Wipe up spills as soon as they occur with a dry cloth or paper towel.