Cleaning with vinegar and water is cheap, safe for the environment, and generally does a great job at cleaning many items in your home. Just please don't use them to clean wood floors. Using vinegar and water as a homemade wood floor cleaning solution can have a negative effect on your wood floor.
You can use a commercial wood-cleaning product, like Bona or Murphy Oil Soap. Be sure to follow the manufacturer's instructions. You can also make your own cleaner by mixing one part vinegar to 10 parts warm water. Add a few drops of liquid Castile soap.
Since vinegar is an acid, it will actually break down the finish on the surface of your floor, and over time it will reduce the shine, and leave a dull appearance. Using vinegar and water to clean floors can also lead to an excessive amount of water on the floor, which can cause swelling and discoloration.
Fill a clean bucket with a solution of white vinegar and warm water. Use a half a cup of white vinegar to one gallon of warm water. Immerse a clean mop into the solution and wring it until it is damp-dry. Never use a soaking wet mop on the floor.
Wood Floor Cleaning Method: Castile Soap and Essential Oil
To get started, I filled a bucket with 1/4 cup castile soap, a few drops of lemon essential oil (but you can use whatever you prefer), and one gallon of warm water. Then I dipped my microfiber mop with the solution and cleaned my floor.
But vinegar should not be used as a hardwood floor cleaner because its acidity can lead to etching in the wood's surface. Avoid ammonia – Ammonia will discolor, deteriorate, and dull the finish. Using ammonia to clean a wood floor will take years off of its life.
Dry-mop at least twice a week using a microfiber head, focusing on corners. Avoid using water to clean your hardwoods, and never wet-mop, as the moisture can damage the material. To avoid staining and cracking, blot up spills immediately with a dry, clean cloth.
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.
Do not wet mop wood flooring. Damp is good. Dripping wet is bad. If you can ring out the mop or pad, you're working with too much water.
Although natural cleaners like distilled white vinegar, lemon juice, and baking soda are safe and effective all over the house, they aren't safe for hardwood floors. The same goes for too much moisture. You should never steam clean your hardwood floors or use too much water with any wood floor cleaner.
Combine a gallon of water with 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar. Then, add a few drops of dish detergent for a fresh scent and extra cleaning power. Dip a microfiber mop or a sponge into the cleaner and use it wipe down your floors.
Assuming Your Floors Are Sealed
If they are, a little wet mopping from time to time is okay. But if not, wet mopping can harm your floors since there's no barrier to stop water from soaking the wood. Know what you're working with before you begin.
Water, Vinegar, and Plant-Based Liquid Soap
Similarly, for a vigorous hardwood floor cleaner solution, mix one part plant-based liquid soap and one part white vinegar with 10 parts water.
Getting Rid of Daily Dirt: A Clean Sweep
If you have pets, ensure that your vacuum has good suction to get up all the fur. Once a week, wood floors should be cleaned in high traffic areas with a damp mop. Low traffic areas can be done less frequently, like once a month or once a quarter.
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.
Cleaning with vinegar is great, but it cannot be and should not be used on certain fragile and vulnerable kinds of floors. Even when properly diluted, vinegar should never be used on granite, marble, stone, and waxed finishes.
Better Homes & Gardens recommends adding 1/2 cup of vinegar to a gallon of lukewarm water. Then drop a sponge or rag mop in the mixture, wring it until it's almost dry (it should feel damp to the touch), and mop your floor. Always pay attention so you don't have any standing water on the floor.
For a quick clean, dust wood floors with a mop that has been treated with a dusting agent to pick up dust, dirt, and pet hair that might scratch the floor surface. Options for the best mop for hardwood floors include those with a microfiber head. This material is designed to trap dust and grime.
Only use water and a pH neutral cleaning product that is suitable for timber floors. Avoid using household detergents or methylated spirits as these can remove the varnish that protects the surface of the floors. It's also recommended not to use polish or wax products as these can make the floor surface very slippery.
Because vinegar is acidic, it can corrode wood and stone, it can destroy wax, kill plants, and cause other damage.
If the recommended product is hard to find or costly, and other floor cleaners contain ingredients that violate your floor's warranty, try soap and water. Try 1/4 cup of mild or pH-neutral soap (like liquid dishwashing soap) or Murphy Oil Soap (despite the name, it doesn't contain oil) to a bucket of water.
In fact, vacuums are superior to mopping practices when it comes to your hardwood, because they suck up the debris and dirt straight away, rather than just spreading those scratch-causing particles around.
DON'T: Clean with hot water. If letting water stand on real wood flooring is bad, using hot water to clean does the same amount of damage. Hot water can dissolve over time the luster of your floors finish and penetrates the wood a lot easier than cold. DON'T: Use oil, wax or citrus based cleaner.