Well, the kitchen/laundry room tile installation is complete and I couldn’t be happier! To say it’s an improvement over our old linoleum floor would be a VAST understatement. I have spent the last several days trying to get things back in order and finally, this afternoon, I was ready to give my new floor it’s “first bath”. I have already damp-mopped it a few times in an attempt to clean up the dust and grout residue, but today I decided to give it a good old-fashioned cleaning. With an old-fashioned mop and everything! :-)
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And I had just the cleaner in mind. It’s something I found on Food.com. I know….crazy huh? :-) Turns out they have lots of great homemade cleaner-type “recipes”.
The thing that “sold” me on this cleaner was the grease-cutting factor. I hate a greasy floor and over the last few days I have been experimenting with a cool idea for cooking the perfect steak on the stovetop that seems to be really greasing up the place. So with the floor freshly swept and all chairs, stools, etc. up off the floor….I was ready for the inaugural mopping of the tile floor!
DIY Grease-Cutting Floor Cleaner
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup white vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon liquid dish soap
- 1/4 cup washing soda
- 2 gallons very warm tap water
*Note: I do not recommend this recipe for waxed floors.
Directions:
Add vinegar, dish soap and washing soda to a bucket.
Add warm water from your tap and mix well.
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Mop the area with the solution. When I first started mopping I was a bit concerned about the suds because typically I just steam my floors. But the more area I mopped and watched it dry, the less worried I was. The floor didn’t have any feel or look of soap residue at all. It just looked and felt clean! And grease-free!
Can you use the solution on glossy porcelain tiles?
Yes!
Hi Jill I have been receiving your ideas for so long now. I am a fan of yours from Jamaica and I am surely enjoying your posts
That’s great! Welcome Elizabeth!
Sorry but I read mostly all of these comments, first the very first picture of the post shows you exactly what Jillie used. An actual picture of the products. ♀️ I don’t get the confusion. Also, I don’t understand why everyone’s floors are so greasy. ♀️
How about using this on a laminate floor. My floor is not greasy…. but after I wash it with the specific cleanser for my floor…. it’s sticky like. You can hear your shoes come up when you walk. Ugh. Tonight when I mopped, instead of the spray, I just used pine sol and a fan to dry the floor quickly.
The vinegar in this recipe prevents that sticky feeling!
I just use a gallon of warm water and 1 cup apple cider vinegar on my floors. I rinse my mop pad before putting it back in the vinegar water and my floors aren’t greasy or sticky and come out clean. I don’t even have to rinse it off the floor. No buildup and safe for babies and animals.
Has anyone had any issues with the smell of vinegar lingering after cleaning with this recipe? I’d love to try it but I seriously can’t stand the smell of vinegar, so I seldom use it to clean! Thanks!
The smell of vinegar dissipates very quickly! You won’t even notice it once the floors are dry :-)
Works for me! Trying it tonight, thanks!!
Hi, thanks for all the great tips. We don’t have washing soda, I don’t know what that is. Could I just use bicarbonate soda? or is it not the same thing? Thanks.
It is not the same as baking soda, you can read all about here: https://jillee.co/2zhoXC2 :-)
if you have a WalMart near where you live, they carry it in their clothes soap aisle/
Love all your wonderful ideas! My only concern about this mix for a floor cleaner is that I have a small dachshund that is very low to the ground and the ingredients could be toxic for her. Any ideas for a safe, non toxic way to wash my floor. Thanks, Leslie
Hi Leslie! You actually can use this mopping solution with a dog in the house! Vinegar is safe for both dogs and humans to consume. If your dog ate a lot of dish soap, he would have a stomach ache and possibly some vomiting. However, there’s only 1 tablespoon of soap in the whole bucket – there’s no way your dog would lick up enough off the floor to feel sick. The washing soda is also diluted enough that it won’t harm your dog. These are all natural ingredients that are safe for your family and pets. :-)
Could this recipe be used in an OCedar ProMist Microfiber Spray Mop? Or any type of Spray Mop?
Sure! :-)
Jillee, I don’t know why, but it drives me crazy that you, and almost everyone else, calls vinyl floors linoleum. They are very different!
I agree they are completely different and real linoleum is awesome and has different care requirements than vinyl.
What do you mean by “waxed”? I had my tile floors sealed, should I avoid this recipe? My tile was just finished last Friday!
Jenni – this will work perfectly on sealed floors! :-)