When you have attractive hardwood floors, you want to keep them looking new without spending a fortune on special cleaning products. Is there a way of cleaning hardwood floors without using smelly and expensive chemicals? Yes! In many cases you can use vinegar to clean hardwood floors. Its an inexpensive and effective way to keep your hardwood floors looking clean and new.
What's wrong with using commercial cleaning products for hardwood floors? Besides their expense, many of them contain harmful chemicals, which you don't want to expose your family to. They can leave an oily residue on top of your floors and ruin their lustrous shine. Some cleaners may actually strip the sealing from your hardwood floors and make them more vulnerable to stains and warping.
One way around these problems is to use all-natural vinegar to clean hardwood floors. You may be aware of other uses for vinegar - cooking, deodorizing, and cleaning glass, to name a few - but you can also use vinegar to clean hardwood floors and keep them looking shiny and new.
Before you start mopping your floors, be sure to perform some preventative maintenance to keep them in good condition. Start by dust-mopping often, since dirt tends to scratch hardwood floors and make them appear duller. Also, remember to wipe up spills as soon as they happen to avoid stains and warping. As with any cleaning product though, make sure to test a small inconspicuous area to make sure the cleaning solution won't damage your floors. It's also a good idea to start with a more diluted solution. There are a variety of different finishing products for hardwood flooring so make sure the cleaning product you choose is right for your floor.
When you're ready to clean, just mix one-half cup of vinegar with one gallon of warm water. You may want to adjust the ratio of vinegar to water if you find that it's not cleaning as well as you would like. Use this solution to mop your floors as normal with a damp (not wet) mop or cloth, taking extra care to not leave any standing puddles of liquid. Allow the floor to dry naturally, or use a floor dryer to speed up the process.
Hardwood floors require some special care, but using vinegar to clean hardwood floors might make buying special cleaning products unnecessary. You can find vinegar in any grocery store, it's inexpensive, and it can actually remove odors from your home. You may even find that using vinegar to clean hardwood floors will leave your floors looking better than those expensive cleaners ever did.
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