7 Tips and Recipes to Clean Hardwood Floors with Vinegar (2023)

FAQs

What is the best homemade cleaner for wood floors? ›

A combination of olive oil, hot water, and lemon juice does a great job of removing stains from floors while also living them looking rich and shiny. Combine 1/4 cup olive oil with 1/3 cup white vinegar and five cups of hot water. Add a few teaspoons of lemon juice (or lemon essential oil) to add a fresh citrus scent.

Don't use vinegar or baking soda.

Many DIY home cleaning solutions involve the use of vinegar or baking soda, but these are, in fact, the worst things you can apply to your wood floors. They actually damage and dull the polyurethane, which can irreparably ruin them.

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.

Daily: Dry mop floors with a microfiber dusting pad and mop. Clean spills immediately. Weekly: Clean deeper with a vacuum designed for wood floors or use a microfiber spray mop and cleaner formulated for hardwood floors. Monthly: Polish wood floors every 2-4 months for extra shine and protection.

To clean your floors with this DIY mixture, combine equal parts olive oil and white vinegar, a few teaspoons of lemon juice, and five parts hot water. Dip your mop or rag into the solution, wring gently, and then wipe down your hardwood floors with this homemade wood floor cleaner that shines.

Vinegar and Ammonia: Cleaning products that have a base of vinegar or ammonia eat away at the dirt on your floor - and also the floor's finish itself. Overtime, the acid will wear down your hardwood, leaving you with splotchy patches that are difficult to revive.

Dish soap is a gentle cleaner that won't damage the natural wood, and it's perfect for light jobs and daily upkeep alike. In a large bucket, mix two to three tablespoons of dish soap with one gallon of warm water.

The cleaning process itself couldn't be easier. 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.

Do NOT clean your floors with Murphy's Oil Soap, Mop and Glo, Orange Glo, Swiffer Wet Mop, furniture polish such as Pledge, vinegar, ammonia, or any pine cleaners! All of these cleaners, over time, will dull and damage the finish.

Your Cleaner/Water Ratio Is Off

Too much water means that the cleaner won't penetrate and cleanse the dirty floors like it's meant to. On the other hand, if you use too little water and a higher concentration of cleaner, the cleansing materials will stay on top of your wood floors after they've dried.

What is the best oil for hardwood floors? ›

Tung and Linseed oil are the best natural penetrating oils for hardwood floors. The technical term for these oils is drying oils because they polymerize, forming a long-lasting protective layer on wood and stone. Tung provides the most durable finish of the oils and linseed is not far behind.

It is marketed as a wood floor cleaning product that has the ability to both clean and shine your floors. This is a major appeal to many people because it does multiple things at once. It cleans your floor AND leaves it looking shiny again.

Use an ammonia solution: An ammonia solution of about 2.5 dl (1 cup) of ammonia per 4 litres (1 gallon) of water can be used to dissolve the build-up that's causing the haziness of your floors. Remember to use this solution carefully, so that you don't further damage the floor with excess water.

Depending on a floor's thickness and the experience of the flooring professional, a floor can be sanded around 4-6 times in its entire life. Hardwood floors can be refinished every 7-10 years, making the 4-6 refinishes more than enough.

Aslett recommends an easy cleaning solution: a quick squirt of dish detergent in a bucket of water. “Dish detergent is made to cut through grease and grime. Just don't use too much or the floors will be dull.”

Used properly, hydrogen peroxide is not one of the damaging solvents. It is, in fact, a very effective stain remover and a reliable cleaner for hardwood flooring.

You can use commercially prepared lemon oil. You can also make a simple polish by mixing 1 cup of olive oil with 1/4 cup white vinegar. Pour it on a soft cloth and work it into the wood, wiping with the grain. Buff till shiny.

Overall, the best hardwood floor cleaner is the Murphy Original Formula Oil Soap, as it's affordable, effective, and compatible with multiple surfaces. If you're looking for a spray option, the Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner is safe and easy to use.

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.

Is Dawn and vinegar a good floor cleaner? ›

After trying different commercial cleaners, we decided to mix one part Dawn dish soap and to two parts white vinegar, which I had on hand, in a bucket and mopped the floor with the soapy mixture. How it actually worked: The combo was a winner and brought the floor (almost) back to its original glory.

To clean, simply mix a quarter cup of mild or pH-neutral soap with water in a bucket. Then grab a microfiber mop that makes quick work of the chore, like Libman Wonder Mop. It's easy to wring out, making it ideal for hardwood floors that work best with a barely damp (not soaking) mop.

Vinegar + Water is the safest combo for cleaning. If you're facing a tough spot while you mop, sprinkle a little bit of dry baking soda onto the area and scrub at it by hand. Undiluted vinegar will have some reactions to the baking soda, though not enough to cause an issue. Never add vinegar to your steam mop.

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.

Vinegar is a natural disinfectant that works well as a mopping solution without leaving any chemical residue on your floors. Although some people don't like the scent, this odor is evident only as you mop and clean—it will fade away rapidly as the solution dries. The results left behind are a gorgeous, clean floor.

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.

For heavy cleaning, dilute 1/2 cup Murphy per gallon. Clean well with wrung-out mop, and mop any excess water. No visible residue, no rinsing required.

Bona Polish is NOT a hardwood floor cleaner. It is a cheap thin finish that you apply to your floors. Over time and repeated use the film gets thicker and it scuffs and scratches easily making the floors look unsightly. The only remedy to restore your floors is to strip the Bona Polish off.

The best thing you can use to clean your floors is cold water and vinegar. Cleaning vinegar is safe for all floors (except marble or stone floors). It helps keep them clean, prevents them from getting sticky, and kills any bacteria harboring there.

You can even clean your wood floors with apple cider vinegar to add an extra shine and leave your floors looking brand new and polished. All you have to do is sweep or hoover the floor first before making a cleaning solution of apple cider vinegar and water (typically 1 cup to 1 gallon) and you'll be ready to go!

Is white vinegar good for cleaning floors? ›

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. It is also cheap enough that you can use tonnes of it in cleaning all your surfaces, and still not break the bank or your budget.

Mix one cup of vinegar into a warm water-filled bucket and the add some drops of grapefruit oil to the solution to get rid of the odor. Scrub the floor with this safe cleaning solution, concentrating on the most prominent spots. As you scrub, the odor and stains should be disappearing.

Vinegar is a natural disinfectant that works well as a mopping solution without leaving any chemical residue on your floors. Although some people don't like the scent, this odor is evident only as you mop and clean—it will fade away rapidly as the solution dries. The results left behind are a gorgeous, clean floor.

Do not clean the floor with furniture polish, vinegar, ammonia, pine cleaners, or Murphy's Oil Soap. Those cleaners may dull or even damage the finish and will create problems when your floor needs recoating.

Saturate a rag or sponge mop in your cleaning solution. Wring it out thoroughly so the mop is damp, not wet. Mop the floor with the cleaner, being careful to not put too much liquid on the floor. Rinse the mop with clean water, wring out excess, and damp mop the floor to remove the cleaner.

Do You Have to Rinse after Cleaning with Vinegar? Rinsing is not necessary! If you're simply using a vinegar and water solution to wipe and disinfect, you won't need to rinse. However, if there's also plenty of dirt and grime you're wiping away, you may also want to rinse with some extra water.

Hydrogen peroxide works best for floors and carpets. The product is more oxidizing; therefore, it removes the ammonia smell from the urine. Trisodium phosphate is essential in removing bacteria and pee stains. Scrub the stained area with strong Trisodium phosphate.

Does hydrogen peroxide remove urine stains on hardwood floors? ›

Hydrogen peroxide (3%) mixed with water is often the cheapest and most effective solution for animal urine cleaning. Simply moisten the rag or soft absorbent cloth like felt and apply to the spot. Allow the rag to sit \for few hours to thoroughly remove the urine stain and odor from the hardwood floors.

Vinegar + Water is the safest combo for cleaning. If you're facing a tough spot while you mop, sprinkle a little bit of dry baking soda onto the area and scrub at it by hand. Undiluted vinegar will have some reactions to the baking soda, though not enough to cause an issue. Never add vinegar to your steam mop.

Sticky floors happen when you have not passed the mop to remove too much cleaning solution or the wrong cleaning solution. It can also be due to dirty water used in rinsing your mop.

Mix Water and Vinegar

Clean wood floors with vinegar by adding 1/2 cup white vinegar to a gallon of lukewarm water.