Wood Floor Cleaning- Cleaning wood floors with Vinegar

by | Apr 8, 2017 | Housekeeping

Whenever someone considers getting hardwood floors in their home, the first thing that comes to their mind is their maintenance. Hardwood floors are very difficult to maintain, or so everyone believes. This is however not entirely true. Hardwood floors are actually much easier to maintain than what everyone thinks. But if the maintenance is not done right, then it can be an issue and cause the wood floors to deteriorate in quality. Cleaning wood floors with vinegar is one of the most effective and easiest ways.

Why use Vinegar for Cleaning Wood Floors?

There are a number of ways to maintain the shine on the wood floors but special cleaners might cost a bit more than you are willing to spend on a floor cleaner, which is justified obviously. So, there is a perfect substitute, which costs a lot less and is available in almost every house. What might that be, you ask? Well, what other than vinegar? Vinegar is a great disinfectant and antibacterial. It has a pH of 2.0, and the high acidity helps to break down dirt, rust and other stubborn marks that cannot be cleaned with any other cleaner. It is biodegradable and contains no harmful chemicals that could affect anyone adversely and is also safe for the environment.

Cleaning Wood Floors with Vinegar

Cleaning Wood Floors with Vinegar

The key to using vinegar for cleaning wood floors is to use the right proportion. Since vinegar is quite acidic, it has to be diluted with water. But since you are using the solution to clean wood floors, you need to take care of not using too much water since that will ruin the wood floors and make the wood swell. In order to easily clean wood floors, follow these few steps and it will be as good as new.
1. Sweep the floor with a dry broom in order to get rid of the excess dirt.

2. Mix one gallon of water with one cup of vinegar (take extra care of being very precise with the ratio).

3. Dip the mop in the solution and wring until it is only damp and not completely wet.

4. Mop the floor with the solution and rinse if mop gets dirty or use a new solution if the current solution is getting dirty.

Once you are done with the process, you can arrange the room to the way it was before since the floor needs no extra steps to clean the vinegar and water solution from it as it is a non-toxic solution. You will notice a gorgeous shine to your floor once you are done cleaning it.

Benefits of Cleaning Wood Floors with Vinegar

Benefits of Cleaning Wood Floors with Vinegar

The most important and obvious reason is that it is very cheap and even easier to find since it is a staple in almost every household. Many household cleaning items have very harsh and toxic chemicals that may do the job at the moment but can be incredibly harmful to your family (especially if you have children) and for the environment as well. Some chemicals emit harmful fumes, which, if inhaled, can be quite dangerous.

Moreover, using the basic vinegar and water solution is easier than going through the hassle of finding a floor cleaner, which ends up not even being effective. Vinegar is a tried and tested item to help clean floors. It removes dirt very effectively and gives a shiny finish to the floors. Vinegar kills bacteria and mold, and an added benefit is that it has an indefinite shelf life.

Disadvantages of Cleaning Wood Floors with Vinegar

Even though it may be a cheaper way to clean your floors, it may also be damaging them. Using the solution is some tricky business. You have to be extra careful of the ratio you are using because if not, it could go from a clean, shiny wood floor to a ruined, rippled wood floor. Most people do just that. They use more water than necessary, which ruins the wood floors. Some people mop the floor with too much water soaked in the mop, which again causes damage to the wood.

The shine of the wood floor is basically a layer of chemical finish used on the wood and since vinegar is acidic, it can dissolve or remove that chemical from the wood surface, which, in turn, could make the floor dull or cause discoloration. So if you want to prevent the risk, you can use a recommended cleaner by the wood floor installing company.

Other Ways to Clean Wood Floors

Other Ways to Clean Wood Floors

Use a broom to regularly sweep the floors to prevent any dirt accumulating in the first place. If you like how vinegar cleans your floors, then instead of mopping and taking the risk of using too much water, you can store the solution in a spray bottle. Use that spray bottle to spray a very thin layer of the mixture on the wood and clean with a cloth.

Another alternative is that if you want to avoid using the mixture of water and vinegar altogether, you can make use of microfiber cloths; they are not rough so they will not damage your floors. They have hundreds of tiny fibers, which are very effective at cleaning dirt and removing particles from the surface. Most importantly, they are hypoallergenic and will cause no reaction of any sort, so it is even safer than vinegar since vinegar can have a strong smell and it may cause irritation among infants.
The only reason because of which vinegar could harm your wood floors is if you use the wrong proportion of water and vinegar in the mixture. So all you need is to measure the mentioned ratio and you will be good to go. However, if you are still unsure of how it will work. Just do a patch test on the floor, that is, use the mixture on a small area of the wooden floor. You could also, for comparison purposes, use a proper wood floor cleaner on another area and check, which works better. That way you can choose easily which method you would prefer to use.

<a href="https://www.homeaholic.net/author/qaswer/" target="_self">Qaswer Amin</a>

Qaswer Amin

This post is written by Qaswer amin. I am a technology enthusiast and I love to write about the technology, gadgets, seo, and internet marketing.

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