How To Clean The Floor

Hardwood, tile, stone or other hard-surfaced floors can add much value to your home, and their low-maintenance is appealing to many people. Take these few simple tips to heart, and your floor will stay clean and beautiful for years to come.

Vinegar

If your floor is seemingly dull or listless, use a solution of 3 cups of vinegar to half-gallon of warm water for a quick and easy mop towards renewing your floor. The only exception to this is a marble floor, you should never use vinegar on marble floors. Apply the vinegar solution to the floor with your wet mop, and allow to dry. It will make your floor sparkle once again and bring it back to life.

Use a Squeegee

Ceramic tile floors are beautiful and functional. They have a tendency, however, to dull over time. This can be particularly unattractive for more polished tiles in bathrooms. The trick to keeping your ceramic tile shining is a squeegee as used for cleaning windows. Use your wet mop to spread a warm, soapy solution on the floor. Put the squeegee on an extended pole to save your back. Then draw the squeegee across the floor, removing the soapy water and leaving a clean floor. After each stroke, wipe the squeegee with a dry towel, and continue.

Iron off Wax

When candle wax drips on your hard floor, it can seem impossible to get every last bit. However, it really isn’t that difficult. If the wax is still wet, use an ice cube to cool and harden it. Then use a credit card, plastic spatula, or dull knife to remove the wax. Finally, spread at least a dozen layers of paper towel over the affected area and run a warm iron over the towels. The wax will soften and seep into the towels. If the paper towels saturate through, be sure to change them to prevent damage to your iron.

Do Away with Hairspray

Hairspray will quickly build up on your hard floor and dull the finish. And because of its inherent sticky qualities, normal soapy floor cleaning solutions don’t tend to cut through the build-up. Instead, use a clean cloth or sponge and ammonia to remove the hairspray. Be sure the area is well-ventilated. Never use ammonia on a marble floor; hairspray is just as damaging for marble floors, so avoid the hairspray in the vicinity of marble altogether.To clean marble floors, use plain water or a specially prepared solution specifically designed for cleaning marble.

Salt your Broken Eggs

A dropped egg on your hard floor can seem impossible to clean. However, it’s actually relatively simple. Pour table salt over the spilled egg. The salt with absorb the goo of the egg and allow you to quickly mop up the mess without spreading egg whites all over your floor.

Freeze Off Gum

If you have a gum chewer in your house or have had the misfortune of stepping on some in the parking lot, you’re sure to know what a problem it is to clean gum off of your hard floor. Next time, put an ice cube on top of the gum to chill and harden it almost to the point of freezing. Once the gum is well-chilled, it will lift off easily with a plastic spatula or credit card.

Wax Paper

If you floor is looking dull, you can use a piece of wax paper to bring back its shine. Simple place the wax paper under a dry mop, and mop the affected area. You may need to use more than one piece of wax paper depending on the size of your floor. Use caution when walking on the floor after this tip, though, as it may be quite slick at first.

Seal Fresh Grout and Save Time Later

Grout is an extremely porous material and, as such, absorbs spills quickly. In order to save yourself countless hours of time and energy, be sure to seal the grout of your new tile floor with a high-quality grout sealant purchased at your local home improvement store. These sealants won’t last forever, so be sure to re-apply as necessary.

If you take the time to keep your hard floors clean, they will grace your home with beauty and charm for years to come. And contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t take a ton of time to do so. Our quick tips will help you beat some of the most common problems with cleaning your floors and instead leave you time to do something that you truly enjoy.