Floor Cleaning Tips

Floors - we all have them! Use these floor cleaning tips to help you keep yours clean with a minimum of effort, and without leaving harsh residues behind.

Many of the convenience cleaning systems leave chemical residues on your floors that build up over time. Although they are not short-term toxins, many of them do present long-term health and environmental concerns.

Reducing Floor Dirt

Before we talk about actual floor cleaning tips, I want to talk about reducing the amount of dirt that finds its way on to the floors in your home. Prevention is always less work than cleaning.

1. House design - it may be too late for you (as it is for me) - but if you can, choose a home that has clear entrances - a foyer or hallway that clearly defines the entry area, with a closet for coats and shoes within a very short distance of the door. This keeps the entryway mess confined, and makes it easier to accomplish suggestion #2

2. Use floor mats at every entryway - as large as you can. They should be big enough for someone to walk into your house, shut the door behind them, and still be on the mat. The mats 'capture' a large amount of the dirt and dust that comes in attached to our footwear and on our outerwear.

3. If it is culturally acceptable in your area - outside shoes should be removed when you come in the house. In general - keeping outdoor shoes on is most common in regions where people generally have hired household help (or did within the last couple of generations). This was not necessarily disrespect, but simple reality - there was enough time available for someone to keep up with the workload. Obviously - wet or snowy footwear should always be removed.

If your floors tend towards being cold (or are never quite as clean as you would like), have a bag or basket of inexpensive slippers handy for your guests to slip in to.

4. If you have pets - keep them brushed,and wipe their paws when they come in from the outdoors.

5. Find shelf or wall storage for everything that otherwise gets dumped on the floor. No one wants to take to time to clean a floor if they have to spend 30 minutes or more picking stuff up first.

Floor Cleaning Equipment

Before looking at floor cleaning techniques, please check out the information under floor cleaning products. These are tools that I recommend based on their ability to clean effectively and with the least negative health and environmental impacts. Floor Cleaning Products

Specific Floor Cleaning Tips

There are different types of flooring, and I have created a section of floor cleaning tips for each one:

Tile Floors and Grout

Carpet Cleaning

Linoleum

Do not use this recipe on waxed floors!

Put the ingredients in a bucket in the following order:
1/4 c washing soda,
1 tablespoon liquid soap,
1/4 c vinegar and then,
gradually add 2 gallons of hot water.

Use as you would any floor cleaning solution.

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