Are you tired of trying multiple types of cleaners for your tile floors and just want to go with vinegar to get back the shine you once had? You are probably done with long and hard scrubbing and using bleaches that are harmful and leave lifeless tiles. Here is the ultimate guide for your convenience to show you how to achieve shiny and clean tile floor only using vinegar. It is the most readily available product, which everyone has at home. Cleaning tile floors with vinegar works like magic, and it can be used in different methods. I have tried these easy methods involving vinegar with other solvents, and the results were incredible.
How To Clean Tile Floors With Vinegar
Tiles are prone to get dirty and grimy, especially when your kids and pets are around in the house. Vinegar as an eco-friendly cleaner will help clean the dirty tiles, whether porcelain or ceramic. It works perfectly on either of them. Vinegar is not harmful to use and has a unique smell that does not last for long. Many tile cleaners (see also ‘Best Carpet Cleaners‘) have a powerful smell that can trigger allergies if you have a sensitive nose. Vinegar works like a charm against greasy and hard water stains.
Things You Need
To clean the titles, you need to have specific items that are mainly available at home, such as white vinegar, a spray bottle, baking soda, a mop, a soft bristle brush, water, Dawn Original dish soap, and a 5-gallon bucket. Using home remedies is a much cheaper option with a good result than buying expensive products that sometimes fall on expectations.
Vinegar is a safer and healthier option to opt for when cleaning titles with it, but you should not use vinegar on natural stone, concrete, or marble, etc. Due to the acidic nature of vinegar that will leave your floor dull-looking and can cause etching. However, vinegar is quite compatible when used on tiles for cleaning.
Using Dawn Original Dish Soap And Vinegar
With the help of a vacuum cleaner or broom, clean the floor to remove debris and dust. Next, fill a bucket full of warm water. Warm water works better than room temperature water. In a spray bottle, prepare a mixture of Dawn and vinegar. For that, you need two full spoons of Dawn Original dish soap and 1 cup of vinegar. Add them to a spray bottle and fill the rest spray bottle with water and shake it to dissolve the mixture well.
Spray the tiles with a prepared mixture of vinegar and Dawn dish soap. Let it sit for a minute, and then with the help of a mop that has microfiber pads, scrub the tiles gently. For tough stains that are hard to get rid of, use a brush with soft bristles and scrub the area with it. After scrubbing the tiles with vinegar and Dawn dish soap, wash out the mop with the water, and the last step is to use water to rinse the tiles with the mop.
Using Baking Soda And Vinegar
If your tile floor looks dull and dingy even, you regularly clean them, but they do not have the shine it had before. So to make dull and grimy tiles look brighter, vinegar and Dawn dish soap are not enough. You need the grease-fighting power of a scrubbing agent, which is a baking soda. Vinegar and baking soda are known for their compatibility with one another. So this additional item will bring your tiles back to life.
To prepare the mixture, you need 1.5 cups of baking soda, ⅓ cup vinegar, ⅓ cup Dawn Original dish soap, and 2 cups of water. With the help of a spoon, stir the ingredients gently to make a smooth mixture with no lumps. Pour this mixture into the spray bottle. Spray this mixture onto the tiles floor, and cover the entire floor with this spray evenly. Use a mop with microfiber pads and mop off the sprayed floor. For convenient cleaning, you can spray and mop in sections.
Once you mopped the entire floor, then wash out the floor with water. Consider this as an essential step because if you do not rinse the floor with water properly, baking soda will leave streaks since it is a strong scrubbing agent. Rinse the floor thoroughly twice with clean water to wash out any remaining residue of baking soda.
Using Water And Vinegar
To remove dirt from tile floors, you can use two items: vinegar and the other is water. Both of these will help achieve dirt and stench-free and also promote good airing in the house. Start by cleaning the floor with a broom or using a vacuum cleaner to do the job. It is vital to remove the debris before mopping the floor with water and vinegar cleaning solution. Next, mix one cup of white vinegar into 2 gallons of warm water. Mop down the entire floor with this solution and focus on the areas where there are stains to remove them.
Removing Tough Stains From Grout
Some stains, usually in the grout, are tough to deal with. No matter how long you scrub them off, they will not come off quickly. If you want to have your kitchen and bathroom tiles spotless and stain-free grout (see also ‘Best Bathtub Cleaners‘), here’s what you need to do. In this case, the main products that will assist you in cleaning and removing stains out of grout are vinegar and baking soda, a scrub brush with soft bristles, water, and a container.
First of all, wipe down the tile floors clean with a broom to remove any lingering debris and dust. Once you are done sweeping the floor (see ‘Best Floor Sweepers‘), the next thing is to prepare a mixture of baking soda and vinegar. Mix both vinegar and baking soda with measurements to make a thick, smooth paste in a container.
Apply the paste directly to the stains, and with the help of a soft bristle brush, scrub the stained grout gently. After scrubbing, pour water and rinse out the area. Repeat the action on another area where there are stains. Make sure you rinse the floor twice with water to remove any left paste residues.
To Conclude
This was a detailed review of how to clean tile floors with vinegar. You consider these methods to clean out your tile floors. Make sure you do not use vinegar directly onto the tile floor due to its acidic nature that may damage the floor. Always use it with other components like water, baking soda, or dish soap to make it less acidic. Vinegar is an eco and vegan-friendly product that helps you fight off and remove mold, tough stains and leaves spotless tile floors with good airing.
FAQs
1. What does vinegar do to floors?
Since vinegar is an acid, it will actually eat away at the finish on your floor over time, reducing its shine and giving your floor a drab appearance. If you clean floors with vinegar and water, you could also end up with an excessive amount of moisture on the floor, which can cause swelling and discoloration.
2. Is vinegar bad for cleaning hardwood floors?
Vinegar is non-toxic and does not need to be rinsed off. Your hardwood floors will have a nice sheen after mopping.
3. Does mopping with vinegar disinfect?
Vinegar is a natural disinfectant that is useful as a mopping solution because it leaves no chemical residue behind. While some people dislike the smell, it is only noticeable when mopping and cleaning-it will quickly dissipate as the solution dries. This results in a beautiful, clean floor.
4. Can you mop with vinegar and water?
Vinegar and water are the safest cleaning solutions. You can drop a bit of dry baking soda on the area and scrub it by hand if you come across a particularly difficult area when mopping. Vinegar undiluted will react with baking soda, but in a way that will not cause any problems. Never use vinegar with a steam mop.
5. Does vinegar clean floors well?
Yes. Most hard surfaces can be safely disinfected, deodorized, and cleaned with vinegar, a non-toxic, natural substance. Vinegar can be used to clean porcelain and tile floors effectively and without using harsh chemicals. A gentle acid, white vinegar is particularly effective for removing grease and hard water stains.