How to Make Your Floors Shine Using Vinegar

• For floors like tile and linoleum, diluting the vinegar is not required. However, we recommend diluting the vinegar with water at a 50/50 ratio as it is less likely to damage the grout on tile floors.
• For wood floors, it is suggested to dilute vinegar for cleaning purposes. Because vinegar is acidic, you should only use vinegar to clean sealed or treated wood, never use it for unfinished or wax-finished hardwood.
• For carpeting, vinegar is best diluted for cleaning as some carpets can retain the scent longer. Not everyone likes their home smelling of vinegar so, for carpet cleaning, you can also add a few drops of an essential oil of your choice to your diluted vinegar.

Mix It Up

Remember that vinegar is fairly acidic, so it should definitely be mixed to lessen the acidity and not damage your floors. If you have floors that require diluted vinegar, there are a few different mixtures you can use to clean them. Here are a few suggestions:

• In a bucket of warm water, you can add ½ cup of vinegar and a very small amount of dish soap and use this to mop your floors. If you’d like, you can add a few drops of your favorite essential oil so that the vinegar scent is hidden by something more pleasant.
• To deodorize particularly musty-smelling carpets you can add 2 cups of water, 1 tablespoon of vinegar, and 1 teaspoon of baking soda to a spray bottle and lightly spray this all over your carpet. Allow the carpet to dry fully and then you can vacuum and repeat the process until you reach your desired results.
• If the scent of vinegar is too overwhelming and you’d like to hide the scent, try infusing the diluted mixture with citrus peels. You can use orange, lemon, or even grapefruit peels to soak into the mix for a few days ahead of cleaning and this will help your home smell clean and bright without that strong vinegar scent.

Finishing Touches

As you get ready to use your newly discovered vinegar and water cleaning solutions, there are a few things to keep in mind.

• NEVER mix bleach with vinegar! The fumes from this combination are highly toxic and potentially deadly, so to keep yourself and your home safe be sure to stick with water and vinegar to clean.
• Don’t use vinegar or use a wet mop on laminate flooring. The acidity of the vinegar will damage the finish of the laminate and any moisture can cause the flooring to warp.
• Avoid using vinegar to clean any marble, granite, or stone floors or surfaces. The acidity of the vinegar will react poorly with the stone and can even dissolve some granite and marble.
• Using vinegar to clean waxed floors can leave obvious and permanent streaks. It can also damage both the wax and the wood beneath it.
• Know your floors before cleaning them. This goes without saying, but at the risk of potentially damaging your flooring permanently, make sure you’re sure about your floors. Better safe than sorry and when in doubt, summon a pro’s opinion.
• You don’t have to soak your floors to clean them. When you’re mopping with your vinegar and water solution, a little goes a very long way.