You can use vinegar to clean hardwood floors. Vinegar is inexpensive and non toxic. It's the frugal homemaker's best-kept secret for cleaning the home and can be used in many ways.
Vinegar Makes Hardwood Floors Shine
Hardwood floors require special care to keep their beautiful luster and finish. Fortunately, vinegar is safe to use in cleaning gorgeous hardwood. In fact, the organic substance, which is a natural bi-product of fruits, vegetables and grains, is 100 percent biodegradable. Consequently, you can use vinegar to clean without worrying about exposing your family to dangerous toxins or harming the environment. What's more, common household vinegar is known to kill bacteria, mold and viruses. It also has a shelf life that is practically indefinite.
Use White Vinegar
The next time you're shopping, stop in the grocery aisle and compare the many types of vinegar available. Vinegar is made from the fermentation of alcohol products, such as red wine, rice wine, apple cider, and other liquids. The result is an acidic liquid that is used in a variety of ways, from flavoring salad dressings to cleaning hardwood floors.
When using vinegar in a homemade wood floor cleaner solution, choose white vinegar. Not only is it the least expensive, it has no particular color, so it will not stain the floors.
How to Clean Your Hardwood Floors
To clean your hardwood floors using vinegar, follows these simple steps:
- Remove any objects from the floor. If you can easily move furniture or scatter rugs out of the way, do so.
- Block off the room so that pets and children do not walk across the wet floor. While vinegar is non toxic, footprints and paw prints on a clean floor do not add to the décor!
- Vacuum or dry mop the floor. It's critical to remove all the surface dust, dirt, lint and hair before mopping.
- Fill a clean bucket with a solution of white vinegar and warm water. Use a half a cup of white vinegar to one gallon of warm water.
- Immerse a clean mop into the solution and wring it until it is damp-dry. Never use a soaking wet mop on the floor.
- Mop the floor, starting in one corner. Mop with the direction of the floorboards. If the water dries with a bit of a streak in it, if you've mopped in the direction of the floorboards it will not be as visible.
- Rinse the mop head frequently.
- Change water if the solution begins to look very dirty.
After mopping your hardwood floor, you can use a soft, clean towel to dry it or let it air dry. If the floor looks very wet, you may wish to use a towel. While a bit of water won't hurt most finishes, it's never a good idea to leave a lot of water on wood products.
Safe, Effective and Easy
Once the floor is dry, you can put the furniture and rugs back in place and open the room back up to the pets and family. Vinegar is safe and non toxic, and there is no need to rinse it from the floor. The hardwood floor should have a nice shine to it once it's mopped.
