Don't use straight ammonia, alkaline products or abrasive cleaners. They'll dull or scratch the finish. Don't rely on lemon juice or a vinegar-and-water solution to clean hardwood floors. "I don't recommend using vinegar or lemon juice, at least not in large quantities, as these can damage the floor's seal," said Wise.
Neutral pH
Vinegar is an acidic substance and over time, can eat away or deteriorate the finish on a hardwood floor. The process may be hastened if vinegar is used in conjunction with very hot water. The result will be cloudy, dull or white patches on your floor.
White vinegar is ideal for cleaning wood floors. You can also buy cleaning vinegar, which generally has a higher concentration of acid than regular vinegar.
Vinegar is acidic, and it can strip away all types of finishes, therefore vinegar is not safe on hardwood floors. The same effect is possible when using ammonia, abrasive cleaning agents and alkaline-based products.
Vinegar makes an excellent wood cleaner because it won't damage wood finish or warp wood like other products do. Cleaning with vinegar is a green alternative to the sometimes toxic and expensive cleaners offered at the store.
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.
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.
Beginning at the back of the room, mop your floors using gentle, circular motions. Vinegar does an excellent job of making floors less slippery because it cuts grease and wax buildup, both of which are primary culprits for slipperiness.
Don't use straight ammonia, alkaline products or abrasive cleaners. They'll dull or scratch the finish. Don't rely on lemon juice or a vinegar-and-water solution to clean hardwood floors. "I don't recommend using vinegar or lemon juice, at least not in large quantities, as these can damage the floor's seal," said Wise.
Water You Using to Clean Your Floors? You can safely use Swiffer products on hardwood floors. For a quick clean, try Swiffer WetJet Wood Starter Kit. With just the right amount of solution, it breaks up tough, sticky messes, brings out the natural beauty of your floors and won't damage them.
In most homes, the best wood floor cleaner is plain old soap and water, and the only tools you need are a broom, vacuum, and mop. The best mop for wood floors is a microfiber flat-head or string mop you can easily wring out.
Mopping your floors with Vinegar is safe for most all floor types including wood floors. You should NOT use it on marble or stone though as it will cause the surface to "pit". Vinegar is a natural disinfectant and not to mention that you can save money on buying the expensive cleaners.
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.
No-Wax Floors
Like with hardwood floors, vinegar's acidity will take away the shine and sheen of a no-wax floor, such as vinyl and linoleum. Using vinegar won't give you the light sudsy action that you need to get no-wax flooring clean.
Most people agree that the basic difference is the level of purity. Simply put, distilled vinegar has been purified more than white vinegar. Furthermore, there are some dissimilarities when it comes to chemical structure, production, and usage. White vinegar is sometimes also referred to as spirit vinegar.
It isn't a good idea to clean wood with pure, undiluted vinegar. In addition to leaving water marks, the acid in the vinegar could “eat” certain kinds of finishes. However, for polishing wood, a homemade treatment of half olive oil and half white vinegar can buff up stained and oiled wood finishes nicely.
What Is Cleaning Vinegar? The only difference between cleaning vinegar and distilled white vinegar is the level of acidity. They are both made through a process where alcohols are distilled from grain and allowed to ferment as microorganisms process the alcohol into acetic acid and water or vinegar.