There are a few reasons why it happens: Using Too Much Soap: When it comes to cleaning, using more soap does not mean getting the floor extra clean or cleaning it faster. Using more soap leads to a residue build-up that can actually attract more dirt to the floors instead of getting rid of it.
Mopping with dirty water usually causes that buildup and dirty appearance, even though it was just mopped. Dirt is added to a mop bucket each time the mop is dunked into the water, if you don't change the water you are just transferring the dirt and grime around the floors through the dirty water.
Avoid Using Too Much Soap
Soap only lifts dirt and oil into water, making them suspend in water. Therefore, the more soap you use, the more your mop gets saturated with dirt. So, if you do not remove all the soapy water from the floor, the dirt remains, forming streaks on the floor.
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.
Floors can look or feel dirty for a number of reasons. Dirty hard surface floors are usually caused by the environment, an overuse of chemicals, and a large volume of traffic. Fortunately, there are many things you can do to keep your floor looking and feeling cleaner for longer.
To put it simply, you should mop when the floor looks dirty. For small households, this may be every other week; for households with kids and pets, it may be once a week or more.
At this point, your floor should now be quite clean, with little or no detergent residue left. But for an extra cleaning step, you can mop over the entire floor a final time using nothing but fresh hot rinse water. If your rinse water gets at all dirty or sudsy, you will know the final rinse has been necessary.
Using a solution of a quarter cup of vinegar, a drop or two of dish soap, and warm water, spray it directly onto your floor. Then go over each section with a lightly damp mop. Be sure to dry each section as you go to avoid excess moisture from getting into your flooring.
Reichert suggests skipping commercial cleaning products in favor of a vinegar-and-soapy-water solution: Place 1/4 cup vinegar in a spray bottle with 1 drop of dish soap and warm water. Naturally acidic vinegar works with the soap to break down dirt, cut through build-up and disinfect.
Using excess water
A common mistake is thinking that wet is clean! On the contrary, when cleaning a floor, you should try to use the least amount of water possible! After dipping the mop in the bucket, wring it out until it's almost dry!
TLDR: professional cleaners use a detailed process to wash tile and grout. First, they start by vacuuming the floor to remove dry dirt. Next, they mop the floor to remove stains. After that, a thorough steam cleaning of your tile and grout occurs.
But stick to using those for your dining pleasures, especially that last one. The only vinegar that works for cleaning floors is distilled white vinegar. The simple kind. It has an acidity of 5 percent which is perfect for cutting through grease, grime, and dirt.
Floor Mopping
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.
Vinegar has a pH level about 2.5, making it ideal for cleaning dirty surfaces. 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.
Specific to hard floor care, janitorial power equipment such as floor scrubbers, buffers, and burnishers, can accelerate the required cleaning time and help to reduce costs. Daily and periodic cleaning will maintain the appearance of your floors and reduce the need for restorative maintenance.
Fabuloso® Professional can be used with a sponge or a mop. Mix 2 ounces in a gallon of water to remove grease, grime and dirt.
Using a dry mop first will make wet mopping easier and ensure a cleaner floor.
Rinse with only warm water. Since regular floor cleaners can also leave your floors sticky, warm water is a great way to remove any excess cleaner and leave your floor free of stickiness. All you need to do is mop the floor with warm to hot water, depending on how grimy the surface is (be careful not to burn yourself!) ...
Sunlight, tracking in ice and salt, and dust can also leave floors dirty and dull. Dragging furniture, wearing shoes indoors and not cleaning them often are also causes.
Vacuuming every day is a great way to avoid a buildup of dust and dirt on your floors, especially in high traffic areas. Removing the dirt daily will prevent it from spreading elsewhere in the house, and keep your floors cleaner.
Playing it Safe
In this case, we recommend giving your floors sweep and mop sessions once a week. Dust and dirt can accumulate over time if no one is going in and out of different rooms. Use a day off or the weekend to sweep floors so that your floors don't absorb this material and lose its prime condition.
Pine-Sol is a gentle cleaner and the best way to clean linoleum floors. Dilute ¼ cup Pine-Sol® to a gallon of water. Wipe those dirty floors down with the solution using a mop or sponge.