What are the Best Ways to Clean your Hard Floors Without Chemicals?
First and foremost, you cannot mop hardwood floors with a surface finish with water without risking damage to them. Damp mopping with a mop is barely tolerable as long as the moisture doesn’t get into the floor. Dry mopping with a dust mop is a better choice, as long as you aren’t trying to pick up wet/dry messes or remove stains that have seeped into the wood.
If you do want to damp mop, you can add one quarter cup of mild dish-washing detergent to a whole bucket of water, then pass over the floor with a dry mop to try to remove all the moisture.
If you want to clean up scuff marks from hardwood floors with a surface finish, sprinkle baking soda on them, then rub at it with a damp sponge.
How do you clean hardwood floors with a penetrating finish? First, never use a cleaner that is water based, even if it is derived from natural ingredients, or else you’ll ruin it. Nor should you use cleaners intended for surface finish floors or it will turn the surface finish cloudy.
So what can you use on penetrating finish wood floors? A natural citrus solvent can be used. Spray it in a light film on the floor, then dry mop it up. You can also use a dust mob to pull up the solvent. In this case, the natural citrus solvent is used in place of a mineral spirit or more toxic turpentine cleaner.
How can you clean tile and laminated floors without chemicals?
Whether you have vinyl floors, linoleum or tile floors, you can clean the floors with a damp mop using warm water and a naturally derived liquid dish detergent. If you want the floors to shine, add half a cup of vinegar to the mix. If there are scuff marks to be scrubbed up, use jojoba oil on a sponge and rub up the scuffs. Then wipe the area with water and dry.
For tile floors, start with a mop and warm water before you try adding detergents. And for tile floors, you’ll want to rinse with water first so that the detergent mix can’t seep into the tile body.
What are the best ways to clean your carpet without chemicals?
The first solution to a liquid stain is try to dab it with a dry cloth to wick up the stains. You can add salt to try to soak up stains. Add meat tenderizer to break up gravy or blood stains as long as it isn’t a natural fiber carpet.
If the stain is already set or you simply need to clean the carpets, use an admixture of warm water with one half teaspoon of liquid dish-washing soap. Lemon juice and salt can be used instead of dish-washing detergent for very light colored carpets. Use carbonated in the mixture in place of tap water when you’re trying to remove wine stains.
Blot a sponge in the mixture, then blot the stain with it. Then blot the area with a clean cloth to remove the soapy mixture and the stain.
Here are a few tips to reduce your need to clean hardwood floors, tile floors and carpets in general.
1. Have people take off their shoes when they enter the house.
2. Put sticky doormats around the entryways to catch dirt and debris on people’s shoes before they track it in.
3. Sweep, dust mop, mop and vacuum regularly.
4. Don’t put oil soaps or wax cleaners on wood floors. While they make the floor shine, it captures debris and dust that causes it to look bad and that’s aside from building up over time to create a nasty coating on the floor.