I don’t mind washing floors, it’s instant gratification in the cleaning department and the biggest annoyance about it is moving furniture and the not walking on it until it’s dry part. But…I’ve been struggling with my hardwoods (I know, not important in the scheme of things, but humor me). When I say struggling, I mean that I feel I’ve tried just about every natural (and sort of natural) cleaning technique and tool known to hardwoods and while my floors look clean, I have never been completely happy with the finished results. But…I’m a busy mom, and I like to clean in a hurry and get it over with and get on with my life, so I just washed them the best I could in the shortest amount of time and moved on. I just felt like I always had some type of residue or something remaining on the floor – I chocked it up to juice, cereal, play-doh, dog slobber…
Becky, I wash mine with hot water and vinegar (and a few drops of lemon essential oil to kill the vinegar smell) but I use a microfiber mop like this one: http://www.rubbermaid.com/Category/Pages/ProductDetail.aspx?Prod_ID=RP091920.
Got mine at Target and I love it! Much easier than doing it by hand.
-Jamie
Hi Jamie!
Great tip, thanks!
I have that mop and was thinking of trying it this week for my floor washing. I’ll have to add the essential oil to reduce the pickle smell
xo, Becky
I’ve used vinegar in the past on my hardwoods. I normally mix it up in a spray bottle and use a Swiffer with a microfiber cloth on the end instead of the throw aways that come with the swiffer ( if that makes sense). Vinegar and water can be used for so much too! Windows especially! I remember a neighbor using it for his outdoor windows with a squeegee!
That’s a great technique Felicia! I like the idea of using a swiffer that way too!
xo, Becky
I’ve heard and read that vinegar will eventually begin to remove the finish from your floors, dulling their appearance, due to its acidity. What are your thoughts on this?
Hi Kelli!
In my research, I found that if you have pre-finished (that’s what we have) OR finished hardwoods, the vinegar/water solution is the best way to care for them. It’s important though to make sure your ratio of vinegar to water is correct and to use a barely wet application so the finish doesn’t have standing water on it at all. If you have waxed hardwood floors vinegar/water isn’t the best cleaning technique because the vinegar can remove the wax.
xo, Becky
My husband spent 2 years installing hardwood floors (real ones, that are sanded and finished) … he says vinegar and water is the ONLY way to effectively/safely clean them. Stay away from ‘Bona’ like products.
I switch between using hot water and a touch of dish detergent and hot water/vinegar in my spray mop on my floors. I find the detergent helps get the kids spills up better, but this gets them overall cleaner.
Where is the cute little white bucket/tub from?
Hi Leigh!
That’s a good idea to switch with the detergent. The bucket is from The Container Store (I have a bunch of them they’re great!)
http://www.containerstore.com/shop?productId=10029525&N=&Ntt=flexible+tote
Perfect. I am going there tomorrow.
Great tips! Thanks Becky & friends! I am going to try this. I have chemical sensitivities & don’t think all that chemical stuff is good for anyone.–Pam
I use the hot water and vinegar with a touch of dishsoap on my tile floors as well. It works great. Every once in a while I get down on my hands and knees, but mostly I use the Sh-Mop.Here is a link
http://www.thecleanteam.com/catalog_f.cfm?category2=cat10&category=Sh-Mop&#Application.addToken#
Kristin
I use Murphy Oil Soap (concentrate diluted with water as indicated on the package) on my hardwood floors for routine cleaning. I use a vinegar water solution if there’s a big mess to clean/disinfect.
was reading through this posting and saw your comment about using Murphy Oil soap. I just had hardwood floors installed by an experienced contractor. His instructions to me: NEVER use Murphy Oil soap. He said that it takes off the finish over time. He has had to refinish numerous floors because of this, and always the reason was that the homeowner had used Murphy’s. He also said he can tell when Murphys has been used do to the breakdown in the finish. I was surprised as I had already bought a bottle of the stuff having used it in the past. So…do some checking with flooring guys who do refinishing and see what they say. But he was very adamant that of all of the cleaners, this was the one that is causing the problems.
can you do this on Laminate hardwood flooring?
Yes…it’s the same proportions of water to vinegar. You can also mix up 1/3 water, 1/3 vinegar, and 1/3 rubbing alcohol with a drop or two of dishsoap for a laminate floor cleaner as well.
xo, Becky
This came just in time! We just had new hardwood floors installed in our kitchen and I’ve never had real hardwoods before. On my own, I never would have thought I could use vinegar and water on them but now I know I can (very dilluted of course). Do you use any floor shining products or do they stay shiny with just the vinegar and water?
Once a year I use the Bona Floor Refinisher in glossy – it’s a safe, water based polyurethane, but if your floors are brand new I’d just use the vinegar until you need a shine. You should be good for a few years at least.
xo, Becky
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I have a mop similar to yours without the spray feature. It’s must a microfiber cloth on a stick pretty much.
My entire house is laminate flooring, except my kitchen and bathrooms, which are tile. I have a lot of mopping to do around here.
I put the hot water and vinegar in a spray bottle, spray the floor, and use my mop! I keep a separate microfiber cloth handy to scrub tough spots by hand.
My floors are left looking and feeling clean. The vinegar smell is fairly mild and only lasts for a short time.
Agreed, the vinegar smell is gone once it’s dry. I like your idea of having a microfiber cloth handy for the tough spots.
xo, Becky
Now, that spray bottle idea is a great one! That’s what I’ll do…I already have a new microfiber mop.
Thanks
We have always used vinegar and water – it was a tip from our hardwood floor installer when the floors were put in.
Becky, we have been in our house for a year and a half. We have bamboo floors but aren’t sure what kind of finish (or if there even is one) on our floors. So it’s hard to know how to care for them. Is there a way we can tell??
LOVE you blog, by the way. Thanks for all you do
Do you have a sample piece/scrap of the wood that you could bring to a wood floor store and have them take a peek at it?
xo, Becky
totally did this today and you are right!
osmenage
vinegar and water still still doing the job i think
Have you ever used a steam mop? I am wondering if maybe I can either add a tablespoon of vinegar to my steam mop or how it compares?
Bissell actually recommends adding 1/4 cup of vinegar to prevent hard water build up. Mine says distilled water only but vinegar hasn’t made it stop working either.
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Office Cleaning Sydney
I personally use tiny bit of washing powder, some lemon juice and essential oils works wonder with vinegar. Vinegar is very useful for removing even pale and strong stains off the floor.
Vinegar is also my recipe of cleaning. It works great for any type of hard cleaning. And it’s also very easy to apply!!
You can also use freshly brewed tea for your wooden furnishings. In one liter of water, boil a couple of teabags. Once it cools down, dip a soft cloth and wipe it on the dirty surface.
Useful post. In fact vinegar with warm water can be used also to clean chocolate and sauce stains.
I have had hardwood floors for over 10 years. I did exactly what you did and scrubbed on my hands and knees. BUT I came up with something better….I take a towel and wrap it around the end of my broom and tape the ends up around the wooden handle part. Put the solution in a spray bottle……and it goes a lot faster. When I’m done I throw the towel in the wash with hot water and bleach. —-It looks ghetto, but works awesome!
You shouldn’t wash something that has been wet with vinegar with bleach- it can cause a toxic gas. http://chemistry.about.com/od/toxicchemicals/a/Mixing-Bleach-And-Vinegar.htm
Try throwing 1 cup of vinegar in the wash with your dirty towels instead- will get them just as clean.
i use pure tea tree oil and hot water on my hardwood floors it smells nicer and has natural disinfectant
I just used this on half my wood floor, and my slate flooring… I did it by hand too! great!! My husband is calling me cinderella— as he lies on the couch watching football! HA
I will try the vinegar and water, but usually use Murphy’s and hot water. I do have a tip for those who mop on hands and knees-buy the cheap gardening knee pads that attach behind the knees. I can actually stand after mopping my whole house without my knees aching!
This may sound strange, but I love to wash my hardwood floors with strong, black tea. It smells fabulous, and the tannins in the tea really bring out the shine in the floor. I just put a few tea bags in a bucket of hot tap water, let it sit a few minutes, and use it with a microfiber cloth to wipe down the floors. Just be careful not to spill on your new, cream rug…:)
I’m glad you did this post so others will give it a try. Yes, I’ve been washing all my floors this way for around 15 years. I will admit that I have got down on my hands and knees with a microfibre cloth and wow that really IS a difference. But to be perfectly honest, I have a lot of floors and a bad back and not lots of time … so lazy me uses a mop most of the time. When I see there’s a bit of dog drool or something, I’ll grab my microfibre for touch ups however. Love this post!
I also use the combo of vinegar and water and love it. I use a large head flat mop that has terry cloth covers that you can moisten then spray the vinegar-water solution. Rinse when needed. This covers a large area faster. When needed wash the wood work by hand. My question is, I have some fading in my Brazilian Cherry factory finish floor. Is the vinegar nourishing the floor enough?
The fading is inevitable, but you might need a wood conditioner – check with the manufacturer and see what you can use.
xo, Becky
I’m using the vinegar & water solution on my new Shaw wood floors. It seems like I have a haze on them after they dry. Any suggestions? I have dogs that bring in dirt when it’s damp outside. I try to wipe the paw prints separately before I actually mop the floors.
DO you have hard water? That might be creating the haze…
I noticed this on my own wood floors, too, and we do have hard water. How could i prevent this?
TIA!
I soak my vinegar with orange peelings. This draws out the oils and gives the vinegar a sweet orange smell. Plus orange oil is wonderful conditioner for wood products. It is a win win for me. I reload my swifter wet jet with vinegar solution and get it done in a flash. Also I have hard water so I use distilled water or boil it before hand.
Great tip Megan!
Have recently removed all the carpet and underlay in our loungeroom. Underneath is a blonde coloured wood, which I don’t think has ever been treated with anything – perhaps only a light neutral stain ( if that ). I would very much like to keep the natural wood flooring without staining or varnishing it at all. I don’t know much about all this, and am not even sure what a microfibre cloth is !! I frankly cannot afford the expense of stain and varnish, let alone rehousing us, dog, cat etc. for up to a week while the whole thing is done ( because of toxic fumes ). Can anyone tell me how to care for natural wood ( I have no idea what kind of wood, but may well be pine – I am sure it is a hardwood though ) … and if it can be kept as natural flooring for a long time ? I have noted with much interest the comments here about vinegar and water to clean with, but am presuming that refers to stained and varnished wooden floors. Please help … any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Yes, don’t wash un-sealed hardwood with water and vinegar, but you might want to look into a wax finish that you can apply yourself. That would protect the wood a bit and give it a more finished appearance.
xo, Becky
Hey Becky! I have linoleum in the kitchen and bathrooms of our mobile home. What do you recommend for the solution for using this method? Same? Thanks so much!
Hi Heather!
I use a steam mop or this solution:
http://www.cleanmama.net/2013/04/10-musts-for-spring-cleaning-wash-floors.html
xo, Becky