How to Clean Tile Floors With Vinegar, Baking Soda, and Lemon?
A picture showing what to use for mopping tile floor
Nowadays it is very simple to know how to clean tile floors as there are many commercial tile floor cleaners being sold on the market. However, chemicals used in cleaning products are sometimes not good for our health; thus, what I want to look at is the best way to clean tile floors with simple and safe ingredients present in our kitchen. You know what? Vinegar, baking soda and lemon juice are efficient for tile floor cleaning. Let’s see why and how they do that with me!
In this guide, I would like to go through these topics in order to make sure that after reading it, most of you will be more willing to perform proper care for your tile floors.
My formula is: simple ingredients + a little time = Best way to clean tile floors
1. Why do we need to clean tile floors regularly?
2. How to clean ceramic tile floors: a step by step instruction?
3. Simple homemade floor cleaner recipes using vinegar, baking soda, and lemon.
Now, let’s start with the first most important part of this guide, as it will motivate people while performing a tile cleaning task.
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Critical benefits of regular tile cleaning
A picture showing the difference between a dirty tile floor and a clean tile floor
● Increase the longevity of the tile floor
Tile floors are known to be durable, cost-efficient and water-resistant; thus, they are usually used in areas where water is frequently used like the kitchen, the bathroom, and the house entrance. These areas can contain harmful contaminants, dirt, and germs that will reduce the lifespan of tile floors. In order to keep the tile floor in optimal conditions for a long time, you need to perform a regular and proper cleaning task.
● Maintain the appearance and the luster of the house floor
A shining and clean tile floor will give you, your family as well as your guests a welcoming feeling when returning to your house. Proper care will give your tile floor the “good as new look” after investing a certain budget in tile flooring.
● Eliminate harmful bacteria and germs
A clean tile floor is essential to a healthy living environment in your house. Your kitchen or your bathroom is not clean until you have scrubbed the tile floor. The grout between tiles need taking care of to ensure that your living zone is safe for all your family members.
Next,
We are now moving to the main topic of this article but before that, I would like to share my experiences when it comes to cleaning ceramic tile floors. As other types of tile flooring such as stone, marble floor require some special care, I would later provide a separate guide about them.
Best way to clean ceramic tile floors
A picture of a human hand mopping a tile floor
Before writing this guide, I have made many searches online about how to clean tile floors and have come across many questions related to tile floor cleaning such as “How to clean bathroom floor tiles?” or “What is the best way to clean kitchen tile floor?”. It looks like that most homeowners are struggling with tile floor cleaning. In reality, the cleaning task is super easy, if you just follow the next couple of steps.
Step 1: Remove any dirt and debris from the floor
This first step is a must for a proper cleaning procedure if you tend to flood the floor with dirt. If you just move dirt from one corner of the house to another, your floor will never be cleaned. The best way to remove dirt is to sweep or vacuum the floor. Please make sure you sweep or vacuum edges next to the kitchen cabinet and walls, where dirt and debris usually accumulate. Please be sure that you buy the best vacuum cleaner for your house because there are so many kinds of vacuum machines available on the market.
Step 2: Prepare a tile floor cleaning solution
For this step, you can choose between many cleaning products sold on the market or mix your own cleaning solutions with some simple ingredients such as vinegar, baking soda, lemon. Personally speaking, I always go for natural options for my family’s health. Commercial cleaning products can be more efficient to clean hard-to-remove stains but you should carefully read the ingredients printed on the product before deciding whether to buy it. I am going to share with you all my homemade cleaning solutions that you can apply for your house.
Step 3: Start to mop the floor
For this step, I mop the tile floor twice. Once with tile cleaner and then I rinse the floor with water. A small amount of good cleaner detergent will help to keep your tile floor shiny for many years while rinsing the floor with water to make sure that the floor is not sticky and slippery while walking on it.
You should start mopping the floor from the farthest part of the area and follow the pattern while moving around the area to make sure you don’t miss any space in the area.
Step 4: Dry the tile floor
After running a wet mop over your tile floor, the last thing you should do is to use a clean cloth to dry the floor to prevent any possible water spots from forming.
In my opinion, everything we do in life needs some practical tips. Below are some of my own.
Practical tips of how to keep tile floors clean
● Schedule a time for a regular tile floor cleaning session: If you don’t want to make the task of floor cleaning a real challenge, you should do it frequently. Prevention is the best solution in all cases!
● Only use a mild detergent: the truth is that we cannot clean the tile floor without cleaner but when we apply too much soap on the floor, the residue can build up and make your tile floor less shiny.
● Remember to change water frequently: If you want to know whether the tile floor is clean or not, you can look at the water you use to mop the floor. Please keep changing the water until you see it stops turning dark.
● Use microfiber pad to clean the floor: When you see the clean pad becomes dirty, rinse it with plain water and try your best to squeeze out as much water as possible. Keep doing it until the pad stops getting dirty!
Homemade tile floor cleaner recipes
A picture of natural ingredients to make tile cleaning solutions
Based on my personal experiences, you don’t need to use any strong cleaning chemicals for the tile floor if you have a regular and proper maintenance procedure. I always try to go for natural options, which offer many benefits in terms of cleaning costs and more importantly, it is better for your health. I usually mix my cleaning solutions myself!
With just these 3 ingredients, you can make your cleaning solutions:
● Vinegar: white wine vinegar is an indispensable ingredient at home. It can be used to mix a sauce for our salads, to make pickles, and to shine your tile floor. Why? It’s because vinegar is rich in acidity and low in PH level which creates harsh living conditions for microorganisms. According to a study conducted in 2014, the acid in vinegar is an effective disinfectant that can kill most kinds of bacteria. Moreover, white wine vinegar can also fight mildew and mold in our bathrooms.
● Baking soda: it is also known as sodium bicarbonate and is mainly used in baking (as its name indicated). Aside from baking, baking soda offers many additional benefits for human health and household uses. Why? Let’s talk a little bit about chemistry here. Baking soda is an alkaline substance, which means that its PH level is higher than 7 when mixing in water. This is why when we mix the baking soda with an acid (e.g vinegar, or lemon juice) will create a gas-releasing chemical reaction.
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● Lemon juice: this type of fruit is rich in acidity; thus, it can be mixed with vinegar and baking soda to make good cleaning solutions. Why? Naturally, lemons contain Citric Acid (can fight water spots and water film); D-Limonene (a strong degreaser) and lemon oil (fresh-smelling disinfectant).
1. Homemade all-purpose tile floor cleaner with vinegar
What to prepare?
✓ Hot water
✓ White wine vinegar
✓ Lemon juice
✓ Microfiber cloths
How to make it?
● Mix one part of hot water (really hot!!) and one part of vinegar. You’ll see that vinegar’s acidity is good to remove dust and stains without leaving the soapy surface. You can add some lemon juice in the solution for a better result.
● For harsh stains, you can add a little bit of dishwashing liquid to the mixture. First, you mop with dishwashing liquid solution. Then, apply the vinegar solution. Finally, rinse the floor with plain water.
● Prepare one bucket of clean water to rinse the floor after mopping with the solution.
● Follow the same procedure as described above with a microfiber pad.
● Please NEVER apply vinegar on the floor if it is made of natural stone. A spot test is always highly recommended.
2. Homemade tile floor cleaner with baking soda
A picture of 3 simple ingredients lemon, vinegar and baking soda to make cleaning solutions
What to prepare?
✓ Warm water
✓ Dishwashing liquid
✓ Baking soda
✓ Few drops of lemon juice
✓ Microfiber cloth
How to make it?
● Mix 1 tablespoon of dishwashing liquid with 7 liters of warm water. Then, add some drops of lemon juice to the solution for a fresh scent.
● Now, use the microfiber cloth to mop the tile floor.
● One more tip is that you can pour the mixture into a spray bottle to clean your bathroom mirror.
● This solution is also efficient to fight mold and mildew on your bathroom tile floor as well as bathroom curtain.
● Please NEVER apply vinegar on the floor if it is made of natural stone. A spot test is always highly recommended.
3. Homemade grout cleaner with baking soda
Homemade grout cleaner with baking soda
Your tile floor will never be fully cleaned if the grout is still dirty. The grout is normally in a light color and can easily absorb stains and grease. But, don’t worry! With baking soda and water, you can make the grout look like new.
What to prepare?
✓ Water
✓ Baking soda
✓ Nylon brush (not metal brush!) or simply your toothbrush
How to make it?
● First, you make the grout cleaning paste by mixing an amount of water and baking soda (a 1:1 ratio).
● Then, apply the paste on the grout and wait until the next morning to scrub the grout with a nylon brush. Please be aware that the metal brush is so hard that can damage the floor.
● Finally, follow the guide above to mop the tile floor as usual.
● Please NEVER apply vinegar on the floor if it is made of natural stone. A spot test is always highly recommended.
4. Cleaning paste with lemon juice
Lemon is a natural substance to treat stains thanks to its bleaching qualities.
What to prepare?
✓ Lemon juice
✓ Whit wine vinegar
✓ Microfiber cloth
How to make?
● Cut the lemon in half and put baking soda on the cut section to create the cleaning paste.
● Apply the paste on the stain to remove it.
● Finally, follow all 4 steps above to clean the tile floor.
● Please NEVER apply vinegar on the floor if it is made of natural stone. A spot test is always highly recommended.
P.S: You can always look for commercial natural cleaning products but you MUST remember to read product labels to know its ingredients before making your purchase!
Final word
Some of you may be very surprised at my answer to the question “How to clean tile floors?”. The answer is much simpler than you think, right? There are many more ingredients that you can find easily at home such as ketchup, rice, coffee, etc. One last “recipe” that I would like to share with you is that “Prevention is the best remedy!” So, you simply just follow the steps in this guide and create a weekly cleaning schedule for this task. Tile floor cleaning is not “a nightmare” anymore!
