10 Amazing Ways to Clean Your Floors: Hard-to-clean Floors Edition

Floors are always tricky to clean and keep spotless, but as a homeowner, it’s so fulfilling to walk into a room with clean floors. To help you maintain that, we’re following up our first 7 easy tips to cleaning your floors with another 10, more in depth, ways to cleaning specific types of floors, focusing on hard-to-clean surfaces.

Tiled Floors

Tip 1: For light cleaning – which is usually done once or twice a week – spray one section of the floor with a mixture of a quarter cup of vinegar, a cup of warm water and a drop of dish soap, then wipe that section with a damp microfiber mop before moving to the next section.  

Tip 2: For deep cleaning – ideally done, once every 3 months – try using steam cleaner. Go over both the tiles and the grout to remove stains and sanitize the surfaces.

Tip 3: With tiles, comes grout. In contrast to tiles, grout is a little harder to clean, especially when it has turned that brownish color.

A quick, homemade solution is to sprinkle baking soda directly on the grout. Spray over that with hydrogen peroxide until its wet, then let it sit for 10 minutes. After that, use a firm brush to scrub the surface, then wipe it clean with a damp cloth or a mop.

Carpet

Unlike the other floors on this list, cleaning a carpet is an entirely different beast. It’s fabric, so the way it absorbs cleaning products is entirely different in contrast to most other types of floors. However, it is a floor-type nevertheless, and common one at that, so here are some tips to help you better clean carpeted floors.

Tip 4: Vacuum at least once a week on carpeted surfaces. This ensures that there is no build-up of dust, crumbs, dirt or other particles on the carpet.

Tip 5: Compared to any other surface, carpets are more tedious to clean, so prevention is better than cure with this flooring. Invest in mats by the entrance, use our shoe covers or remove your shoes whenever possible. Encourage the rest of your household (including anyone who comes over to the same).

Tip 6: When trying to remove carpet stains – regardless of the solution or powder you’re applying, remember to blot, not rub. Rubbing forces particles deeper into the fibers of the carpet which can only spread the stain further. Blotting inward, on the other hand, puts just the right amount of pressure on the stain to soak it up and contain it.

Tip 7: Spot cleaning is the process of removing stains, spills and other substances that have accidentally gotten into your carpet. Successfully doing so would require knowing what spilled and matching that with the rich counteracting agent.

For generic spills – like sauce or food, mix equal parts vinegar and baking soda until it becomes a thick paste. Dilute it with warm water, then ease it into the stain with a sponge or brush.

For wine or beer stains, dampen a cloth with club soda, then blot the cloth directly on the stain. You can also try spraying the stain with a solution of equal parts white vinegar and water. Let it sit for 15 minutes, then press a clean cloth or sponge on the area to absorb the solution and the stain.

Tip 8: Deep clean your carpet. Whether it’s through steam cleaning the carpet yourself or getting professionals to do it for you, make sure to intensively clean all carpets in your home at least twice year.

Unlike the regular practice of vacuuming, this process reaches oil, grease and particles that have deeply embedded themselves into the fabric. Once those are dislodged, your carpet will be as good as new.

Hardwood

Tip 9: Hardwood floors add an earthy and warm feel to your home. They’re generally durable and, with proper care, they can last for decades. To keep them clean on a regular basis, use either a dust mop or a vacuum with a floor-brush attachment to sweep away dirt, dust or pet hair. Do this at least once a week, more if it’s a frequented area in your home.

Tip 10: For deep cleaning – which you can do every few months, use commercial wood cleaning products. Make sure to follow the instruction provided by the manufacturer to avoid damaging the wood.

It’s also important keep the mop that you’re using to apply the cleaning solution damp but not wet. Once you’ve covered all floor surfaces with the solution, promptly wipe it with a dry to towel, so no standing water can damage the floor.

We hope these 10 additional tips can help you better preserve your beautiful floors – whether they’re tiled, carpeted or hardwood. But remember, keeping your floors clean is easier than any cleaning technique, so our best tip is still to invest in anything that can protect your floors from dirt, mud and grime.

For more tried and tested floor cleaning tips, stay tuned.