Vinegar + Water is the safest combo for cleaning. If you're facing a tough spot while you mop, sprinkle a little bit of dry baking soda onto the area and scrub at it by hand. Undiluted vinegar will have some reactions to the baking soda, though not enough to cause an issue. Never add vinegar to your steam mop.
Here's how to do it: Vacuum the floor thoroughly to remove dirt and dust. This is especially important for hardwood floors, because any lingering debris will scratch the surface of the floor as you mop. Mix a solution of ½ cup of distilled white vinegar per gallon of warm water.
“Many cleaning products use either bleach or ammonia, and mixing them [with vinegar] can cause this reaction, which is why you should never mix any kind of cleaning product,” says Sansoni.
Vinegar is a natural disinfectant that works well as a mopping solution without leaving any chemical residue on your floors. Although some people don't like the scent, this odor is evident only as you mop and clean—it will fade away rapidly as the solution dries. The results left behind are a gorgeous, clean floor.
Combine ¼ cup white vinegar, ¼ cup baking soda, 1 tablespoon dish detergent, and 2 gallons hot water. Apply it either with a damp cloth or a wrung-out mop. After, go over it with fresh water, then allow to dry.
While vinegar is safe to use on hardwood, it should be diluted in order to work properly. Using undiluted vinegar can lead to sticky flooring and a strong odor that takes quite a while to dissipate.
To make the perfect floor cleaning solution, you need to mix 1/2 a cup of distilled white vinegar per 4 litres of water. Give this a good mix, and you have the perfect mix.
The punchline: think about whether or not your goal is to clean something (ie wipe away sticky messes or smudges on glass), vs disinfect. You can rely on your vinegar if your goal is to clean, but because vinegar does not disinfect or sanitize, you can't count on vinegar to kill 99.9% of germs.
Vinegar can be a great addition to your floor cleaners. So, does vinegar disinfect floors? The short answer is yes. The acidic properties of vinegar have been acknowledged to clean and kill germs on surfaces.
Vinegar is acidic and can cut through grease, stains and bad smells. As much as it can help clean, it can also leave an undesirable odor behind. The smell evaporates on its own, but slowly. Several methods can be used to speed up the vinegar-odor-removal process.
“Never mix vinegar with other cleaning products like bleach or ammonia or those 'blue' window cleaning products [like Windex], because they can create dangerous chlorine gas,” Gayman says.
Yes, it is safe to clean most laminate floors with a solution of vinegar and water, which is yet another reason to love vinegar! Mix 1 cup household vinegar with 1 gallon warm water. Use a slightly damp mop. Do not overwet the floor — water is laminate floors' enemy, as it can cause water spots or even warping.
Aslett recommends an easy cleaning solution: a quick squirt of dish detergent in a bucket of water. “Dish detergent is made to cut through grease and grime. Just don't use too much or the floors will be dull.”
“Fill up the sink with hot water & a cap full of your favorite Pine Sol floor cleaner. Add 2 tbsp of vinegar & use to clean any type of floor. I use this method on my hardwood floors to get a clean, smooth & shiny surface!”
Most hard surfaces recommend a bleach solution for disinfecting, but often you'll want to keep bleach and other harsh chemicals away from your flooring. Instead, you can disinfect vinyl and laminate flooring by mopping with a mix of one gallon of warm water and one cup of white vinegar.
Apple cider vinegar has a similar acidity to white vinegar, so you can certainly swap one for the other in DIY floor cleaning solutions. Some people prefer the scent of one to the other, though you can add a couple drops of essential oil to either one for a more pleasant smell.
Diluted with water to about 5 percent acidity, distilled white vinegar is hailed as a natural, nontoxic cleaning marvel, killing some household bacteria, dissolving hard-water deposits, and cutting through grime at a fraction of the cost of brand-name cleaning products.
For everyday cleaning jobs, diluted cleaning vinegar will get the job done. Make an all-purpose cleaner by combining two-parts cleaning vinegar and one-part water in a spray bottle. If you don't like the smell of vinegar, you can add a few drops of your favorite essential oil.
Vinegar is an acid and hardwood floors need a pH neutral or close to it cleaner. When mixed with water, the solution's acidity is drastically lowered and it becomes an effective method to wash hardwood floors. The vinegar and water mixture cuts through dirt and grime, leaving a streak-free and naturally clean floor.
Rinse away grime with clean water. To prevent soap scum buildup, wipe shower doors with a sponge soaked in white distilled vinegar. There's no need to rinse.
Using Vinegar as a Floor Cleaner
Let the floor air dry, as this vinegar solution dries clear and streak-free, leaving behind no sticky residue.
Sticky floors occur when you leave behind too much cleaning solution, use the wrong floor cleaner, or not rinsing with clean water after mopping. You can clean the residue off tile and wood floors and then rinse using a clean mop and water. Clean with a steam mop to remove the sticky residue easily.