Many home improvement projects end with the installation of laminate or hardwood flooring. After the decision making between laminate (made from pressed wood or other materials then surfaced with a wood finish) or hardwood flooring (made from real wood), you need to learn how to properly care for your flooring.
Use vinegar to clean
A week ago, I referenced a ‘how-to’ article because the author advised the reader to use special laminate or hardwood flooring cleaning products so that you don’t damage your flooring. However, my how-to research regarding eco-friendly cleaning you can make non-abrasive cleaning products easily with a few ingredients that will not only clean your flooring, but can reduce the amount of chemicals in and around your home.
What you will need are the following ingredients to make an easy eco-friendly floor cleaner. Here is your shopping list:
- 1 spray bottle 12 oz, $1.99 @ hardware store
- 1/8 cup of white vinegar
- 1 tspn lemon juice
- Warm/hot water
- 1 swiffer like sweeping product
- 1 micro-fiber cloth
The instructions are pretty simple, combine the vinegar and lemon juice in the spray bottle, then fill the rest of the bottle with warm to hot water. Then spray the micro-fiber cloth with your cleaner and clip the cloth onto the swiffer like mop and try to mop along the seams of the flooring.
Here are some tips to keep your floor looking brand new (it’s basically more explanation for the directions ablove):
- You want to use warm/hot water so that you can loosen up soil easier and does act like a cleaning reagent with the vinegar. (this will be in an upcoming article)
- Lemon juice is purely a fragrance enhancer, you can substitute with something similar.
- You want to spray your cleaner on the micro-fiber cloth rather than directly on the floor so that you don’t have excess solution on the floor. The vinegar water solution is not very strong, but it is just a good rule of thumb.
- Always sweep along with the seams of the flooring. Try your best to avoid sweeping across the seams because you will trap more dirt and hair between the seams of the flooring where there are gaps.
If you need a more robust cleaning solution, you can add some liquid soap in the mixture (about another 1tbsn in the spray bottle), but it might leave a mild residue if you don’t wipe off the excess soap. Whereas the vinegar solution can be left to dry without any residue.
Also, you can use the remaining solution to clean pesky stains on any area rugs. Sprinkle a small amount of baking soda to the affected area, spray a few squirts and use an old toothbrush to clean the stain. You can always use water to remove any excess residue.
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I found the how to care for you floor great. It’s a easy & and inexpensive way to keep clean the recent kathy ireland home laminates that we installed 2 months ago.
I agree! White vinegar is great, but I know some people would complain about the smell of vinegar afterwards. Do you notice an order after you wash with white vinegar? I think a few squeezes of lemon juice into the white vinegar (diluted of course) is the best solution.
This brings me to an idea:…