Floor Cleaning Basics

Clean floors are the basis for a clean house. With so many multiple surfaces that can be used in one house alone, you may be scratching your head trying to figure out where to start and what to use. A method you use on one floor may ruin the flooring in another room.

Here are some different ways of keeping your floors clean:

Start with the Basics:

• It may seem kind of silly, but have everyone get in the habit of knocking or wiping off excess dirt before entering the house. Most of the dirt and grime that ends up on the floor is trucked in from the bottom of your shoes. The more people who live in a home, the more dirt gets carried inside. Placing a welcome mat in front of every door (including the one coming in from the garage) will help keep the dirt to a minimum.
• Another plan of attack is to keep a pair of slippers by the garage door. When you get home, take your shoes off in the garage and slip on your slippers before entering the house.
• If you have dogs with dirty feet, keep a towel or baby wipes by the doors you use to take them out. When you come in wipe off their feet with one or the other.

Grab the Broom:

For all non-carpeted rooms and spaces, make sure sweeping is a regular routine. If you don’t have many non-carpeted spaces, doing a quick sweep once a day will help keep you from having to wash the floors more often. Sweeping up high traffic areas around doors and in hallways will also keep dirt from traveling into other areas of the home.

Vacuum the Carpets:

Starting with the Basics will help towards keeping the carpets looking their best. To keep a carpet clean, you must vacuum it at least once a week. Believe me, I’ve seen what a carpet can look like when it’s not vacuumed.

Cleaning The Floors With Vinegar:

As a universal cleaner, nothing beats plain white vinegar. There's hardly a surface you can't use it on. With the exception of marble and natural stones, vinegar will clean floors nicely. However, make sure you use the proper dilution of vinegar to water to protect your flooring.

I have used both a spray bottle and a squirt bottle to put the vinegar cleaning solution in. With the squirt bottle I don't have to bend as.

Tile Flooring:

For tile flooring, you can use a 1 cup vinegar to 1 gallon of warm water to vinegar and a sh-mop. After you apply the cleaning solution and sh-mop it, put a clean, dry microfiber pad on to dry the floor.

Laminates and Linoleum:

For laminate and linoleum flooring, using a more diluted solution works better. Use a half a cup of vinegar to a full gallon of warm water then and sh-mop the floor. Rinse using clean water then run a dry mop over the floor.

Hardwood Floors:

For hardwood flooring, a vinegar-based solution does work, but you must take great care on two fronts. First, make sure you use a much-more diluted solution than the other methods. Use only 1 TBL of vinegar to an entire gallon of water. Also, only use a damp mop to clean the floor. Standing water can ruin a floor, so again make sure the mop is only damp before cleaning and thoroughly dry when you're done.

Following these simple cleaning tips can keep your floors clean and looking great.