10 Floor Cleaning Hacks I Can’t Live Without
There’s nothing I hate more than cleaning before a holiday party-or just cleaning in general. And cleaning the floors can be the worst chore of them all! I’m not kidding. My floor took notes from this floor-then they shared a cry-session. That’s why I hunted the internet-verse and found these 10 Floor Cleaning Hacks I Can’t Live Without.
I’d like to just wake-up every morning to sparkling counter tops and unblemished kitchen sinks-not to mention spotless floors. But reality bites and I often find myself cleaning-but if I do it efficiently…less fuss is less effort on my part, right? I totally hacked doing laundry, another non-favorite activity at my house…now it’s time to share how I’ve hacked floor cleaning and made it not-so-terrible.
1. Quick-Mop Heaven. I use one of those little spray-as-you-mop devices. It’s tiny and cute-and I can even get my daughter to help, since she loves to spray/play/mop. So, I pretty much use this for like EVERYTHING floor cleaning related (except for carpets…).
2. Cut the Grease. When I’m cooking, I’m not always the cleanest. And sometimes, there’s a little grease that pops out of the pan and on the floor. Getting that up can be a nightmare. Or, you can just follow this recipe and mix a little, teensy-bit of dish soap with baking soda, vinegar and warm water together to create a grease-cutting, floor cleaning wash of awesomeness! Just don’t use it on wax floors…that could be icky.
3. High-Traffic Areas Meet Clean. It’s hard to keep high-traffic areas from becoming dark with ewww. I use a combination of hot water saturation, clean towels to mop it up and a quick vacuum to follow when it’s dry. If it needs more, I treat it like a mystery stain, #6 on the list.
4. Club Soda, Anyone? It’s not time for mixed drinks! Stop thinking about that now. Although, that might make floor cleaning more fun…ok, I’ll have one! No, really. I use club soda to get little spots out of shirts. Why not off carpet? Easy-peasy…unless the stain sticks…then I keep running down my list.
5. Rubbing-Out a Scratch! There’s nothing worse than a scratch on linoleum or laminate flooring. It can keep a clean floor from looking that way, every time. So, I get out the steel-wool from under the sink and give the scratch a light (very light!) buff…scratch disappears and my floor looks soooo much better.
6. Mystery Carpet Stains, No Way! Cleaning the carpet is sometimes the very toughest part of floor cleaning. Especially with kids, cats, dogs-and not to mention the adults that traipse through the house all day…Whew! It’s the mystery-stains that get to me. If I don’t know what it is, how am I supposed to deal with it? Well, this trick has worked for me on every mystery-stain, every time. Just mix-up a little of that grease-cutting solution I mentioned above, grab yourself a white wash-cloth you soaked in said solution and iron it for a minute. My poor iron hasn’t ever had this much use!
7. Drink Stains, Don’t Mess With Me! Red Kool-aid spilled on your white carpet? I hit ’em all with a dose of club soda, follow-up with some vinegar and/or ammonia, then get after-it with the iron (see item #6), if there’s still a stain left…it’s Magic (that’s with a capital “M”, ladies).
8. Tile or Grout Ewww. One of the worst things I can think of is dealing with ick that’s built-up on tile or grout. It really can’t be helped, but it can be cleaned! This deep-clean tile and grout recipe has saved my grout many a time.
9. Hydrogen Peroxide, Tiny Lemon Drops and the Sun. If I have a spot that just won’t clean, I don’t get desperate, I get sunny. Literally. I saturate with this recipe of hydrogen peroxide and lemon-oil drops, then find a way to let the sun shine down. With the sun and the solution, it’ll basically, gently bleach away the bad without damaging the floor. So awesome.
10. Clean Baseboards = Clean Floor. The crowning end to any floor cleaning activity in my house is cleaning the baseboards. I always save them for last, spraying them with a little of the floor cleaning solution, wiping them down, then going back over them with a dryer sheet…It keeps them cleaner between cleanings…or is that spotless between spotlings…gah!
Now it’s time to motivate and get cleaning those floors!
Very informational. Thanks for sharing!
Good job! I really appreciate what you are doing, and I will definitely try some hacks from the article for cleaning my floor. Thanks
Thank you very much for this a very informative post! You made my day thank you very much for these excellent hacks.
excellent tips sharing
Awsome…!!
Nice tricks you’ve got there! I especially like #10. Dryer sheets have lots more uses than you would think!
Thank you
Awsome…!!
You made my day thank you very much for these excellent hacks.
Thank you very much for this absolute information.
Thanks for this great work keep it up
Microfiber floor mops are a great way to quickly clean up basic dust, pet hair and other dry messes. Better yet, the base is bendable to reach those hard-to-get areas.
Thank you very much for this a very informative post! Floor cleaning is a major occupation throughout the world.
I just put tile down in my kitchen. It is supposed to be easier to clean and more resistant to water. However, grease has always been a problem for me. I will try your baking soda vinegar solution. However, I imagine that the baking soda will need to be put on the floor first and then sprayed with the vinegar, right?
I found the part where you told us all the magical secret of how to get stains out with club soda. I find this very helpful because I have 3 little children in my house and I do not like to use any harmful products when they are crawling around on the floor. Your article/ blog has been extremely helpful for this green dad. Thanks
We all know that cleaning tile and grout is a very tough job to do. Plus the fact that it is very disgusting. The recipe you provided for a deep-clean tile and grout will surely help a lot and will make cleaning a lot easier. Thanks for sharing this amazing tips!
I’ve never tried that recipe before but I’m going to follow it. I dislike cleaning tile and grout more than the next person but I can combine this recipe with the Rubbermaid Reveal tool and I believe I can clean the dirtiest grout lines.
My mom was a stickler for folding laundry correctly, but I couldn’t ever get it down to her perfect corners. I’m still working on my folding technique, which has helped with a t-shirt folder, so instead I just hang whatever I can in my closet. It helps keep clothes from wrinkling and it gives me space in my wardrobe to store other things. Thanks for sharing these tips!
I had no idea you could use club soda to get stains out. Love seeing household items being re-purposed for cleaning. Thanks for sharing!
I know I had heard this in the past, but it was reinforced when I watched the prequel to Breaking Bad: Better Call Saul. Reply if you remember when they used club soda to remove a carpet stain. 🙂
Nice tricks you’ve got there! I especially like #10. Dryer sheets have lots more uses than you would think!
Excellent tips 🙂
IMHO, nothing is worst than berry stains on new carpet – especially when kids try to hide them and the stains dry out 🙂
I like your tip to use a quick mop for floor cleaning. I don’t have a lot of time to be regular mopping so being able to whip that thing out and take a pass at the floor every day would be a great option. I also like that I don’t have to prepare a bucket of water to use it! Great tips!