Life Hack: Looking to clean the grimiest of kitchen floors? Mix Dawn dish soap and any vinegar of your choice for a grease-fighting homemade cleaner.
A small amount of dish soap or Sal Suds may also be combined with vinegar to help lift dirt and grime on floor surfaces. (Never combine castile soap with vinegar.) White distilled vinegar is best to use when making a floor cleaner.
But when you combine the two, you get an effective, sprayable miracle cleaner that clings to surfaces. Just spray it on, let it sit for a while, then scrub lightly and rinse, and you'll be amazed at the results every time!
“Vinegar is a good cleaner because it's acidic, but when you add dishwashing liquid/dish soap to it (which is a base or neutral) - you neutralise the vinegar. You take away the very thing that makes it work well. “The dishwashing liquid works that well on its own. Adding the vinegar is a pointless step.”
To Make. Pour 1 cup blue Dawn into a 32-ounce spray bottle (1/2 cup Dawn if you are using a 16-ounce bottle). Fill the bottle the rest of the way with white vinegar. Apply sprayer top; shake gently to mix.
Spray all over the tub and shower and let it sit for a few minutes to a few hours, depending how challenging the job is. Scrub if you need to, but the scum should rub right off. Don't worry about the strong vinegar smell.
Using Dish Soap as a Mopping Solution
Don't overuse it, though—too much will create a slightly sticky film. Here are two different recipes to try: Mix 1/4 cup mild dish soap and 3 cups warm water. Mix 1/4 cup dish soap, 2 cups vinegar, 2 cups warm water, and 1/2 cup lemon juice.
For a deep clean, probably every week or so, mix 6-7 drops of a mild detergent (dish soap is usually fine) with one gallon of warm or hot water. Use the mixture to dampen a mop, and clean the floor in sections.
You can also use the vinegar and water solution in a spray mop. Air dry. There's no need to rinse your vinegar-mopping solution from your floors.
Mild dish soap is a surprisingly good floor cleaner. All you need is 1 to 2 tablespoons of dish soap mixed in with a bucket of water. Floors will be clean and shiny in no time. Dish soap is very effective on resilient floorings, such as linoleum and vinyl, and also works well on ceramic tile.
Mix one gallon of hot water, one cup of vinegar, and a few drops of dish soap. Mop the floor with the solution, using the scrub brush to remove stubborn dirt, or in high-traffic areas. Once the entire floor has been cleaned, mop once more using clean water to remove any remaining traces of baking soda or soap residue.
As it turns out, you can actually unclog a toilet with dish soap instead of turning to a harsh, toxic bowl cleaner. Just as natural dish soap helps break down dirt, grease, and food that may be stuck on dishes and utensils, it can help break down what's in your toilet bowl.
Because dish soap is meant to break up oils and lift grease and grime from your flatware and utensils, there's no reason why it shouldn't work on the oily soap and human grease build-up accumulating in your tub or shower!
Many hotels use ammonia-based cleaning solutions because ammonia readily cuts through dirt and soap scum. Because of the way it dries, ammonia also decreases the possibility of streaks on glass.
Mix ½ cup of vinegar with one gallon of hot water to create your mopping solution. Wring out your mop thoroughly so that it is only damp and doesn't saturate wood floors with moisture to avoid damage.
Maybe vinegar is acidic enough to act as a sanitizer, but hydrogen peroxide is better at killing bacteria, fungus, and viruses. To disinfect a surface, you can use a 50/50 hydrogen peroxide and water solution. Spray it on a clean surface and let it sit for at least 5 minutes.
Grout that hasn't been sealed, needs to be resealed, or is in poor shape should not be cleaned with vinegar. The vinegar penetrates into the pores of the grout, further weakening the material. Over time, vinegar will deteriorate the condition of the grout by etching or wearing it away.
The thorough cleaning action should brighten the tile and joints. Use a solution of 1/4 cup low-sudsing detergent, or 1-2 tablespoons of either washing soda or tri-sodium phosphate or commercial floor cleaning powder in 1 gallon of water. Rinse well.
Try mopping your tile floor using this DIY cleaning recipe: ¼ cup white vinegar, 1 tablespoon liquid dish soap, ¼ cup baking soda, and 2 gallons of very warm water. You can also add a few drops of lavender essential oil for a fresh scent!