Tiles are very delicate yet need minimum maintenance. If you are regular in cleaning them, cleaning the grout, and removing stains sooner, you can surely make your tile flooring last over years.
But what if even after regular cleaning and high maintenance you observe discoloration of the tile flooring? What if it starts making cracking noise when you walk over it? Then this indicates a problem with your cleaning routine.
Are you using a hard-bristled broom to clean vinyl flooring? Alternatively, adding tones and tones of bleach to your water for cleaning? No? Did you get a chance to look at the cleaning solution that you have been using to clean your tile flooring?
How to disinfect a tile floor without using a cleaning solution?
This is where the problem lies! We would suggest shifting to a natural tile cleaner to save your tile flooring from fading away. Having said that, how to disinfect floors? How to clean a dirty tile floor without using any store-bought cleaning solution?
Use Vinegar and watch the magic it does! Vinegar is 100% natural (if you use an organic label) yet is powerful enough to kill germs and remove stains. Thus, if you want your tile flooring, be it ceramic or vinyl floors, make sure you immediately switch to vinegar for the best cleaning results!
Before we get into ways of cleaning tile floors with vinegar, you need to understand the types of tile flooring first.
Marble and ceramic tiles are expensive but very durable. Hence, these types of flooring can withstand the effects of bleach and hard cleaners better than any other type of flooring.
Yet, if you wish to preserve their beauty, switching to a natural tile cleaner like vinegar should be a priority.
On the contrary, vinyl and natural stone tile flooring are more delicate. Thus, you shouldn’t be using a hard-bristled broom on it let alone any chemicals.
Moreover, if you have the flooring discoloring and damage within the first few years only, throw away the tile cleaner right away and switch to the homemade vinegar solution.
Nevertheless, what is the best to scrub tile floors using vinegar? Do you just pour it raw on the tiles? Or mix it in water to make a solution? Since you have been wise to say goodbye to your old cleaner and switch to vinegar for the maintenance of your tile floors, here is how simple cleaning tile floors with vinegar is:
1. Remove the Loose Dirt and Declutter the Place
Okay, so when you start mopping your floor with some vinegar solution, you do not want toys or small things to come in your way.
Moreover, once you declutter the place, you quickly move to vacuum the rooms to remove loose dirt, or else, when you will use the water and vinegar solution to clean the tiles, the dirt will settle into the grout and make it hard to remove.
Thus, either uses a soft-bristled broom or a vacuum to first collect and remove the loose dirt spread around the house yet invisible to the eye.
2. Make the Cleaning Solution
Next, you need to move quickly to your kitchen and grab white vinegar from there. If you have doubts about using it as a cleaner for tiles, just give it a try and you’ll be astonished to find the results it delivers.
So, are you supposed to pout the vinegar directly on the tiles then? Not at all! Remember, when you are cleaning tiles or any type of flooring or upholstery, never spritz a cleaning product directly on it. Rather, dilute it with water and then clean.
Thus, so is the case with the natural cleaner, vinegar! Fill a bucket with water and add ½ a cup of vinegar to it. The ratio goes like ½ cup of vinegar to a gallon of water for easy understanding.
Once you added it, mix it well, and make sure you add the vinegar to warm water as it speeds up the work and removes stains quickly.
3. Use either a Mop or a Rag
Now, dip your mop or rag in the solution and wring it thoroughly. You do not want the two to be dripping with water or else it will leave water stains on the tile flooring.
Moreover, use the same mop or rag dipped in the cleaning solution to remove stains while you are still cleaning the room.
4. Switch Water if Needed
When you finish one room and move to the next, make sure to rinse the mop or rag in water first. If the solution has become cloudy, prepare a new one for the other room because you would not want to take germs and dirt from one room to another.
5. Air Dry It
Once you are done cleaning the tile flooring, use either a dry cloth/rag to evaporate the excess water or simply switch on the fans to let the floor dry.
This is important because if the floor is still wet and you walk on it, it will get dirty again, and also, the moisture will easily absorb into the tiles and damage them over time without you realizing what is wrong.
Thus, after thorough mopping of the floors, remember to dry them completely!
Does Vinegar Damage the Tile Flooring?
Although vinegar is a natural disinfectant and stain remover and clean of any harsh chemicals, if used in excess or raw form, it can pose a risk to damage the tile flooring.
How?
Like bleach, if you pour vinegar directly on the tiles and leave it for a few minutes in an attempt to remove stains quickly, know that the vinegar will damage the protective layering of the tiles if the process is repeated throughout the years.
Otherwise, when used in a diluted form, vinegar does not hold any disadvantages. If it did, no human would have been consuming it!
What can You Add to Vinegar and Water Solution to Remove Tough Stains?
Oil and grease stains are hard to remove even from a slippery surface like tile flooring. The best way to remove stains is to remove them immediately before they dry up.
However, if somehow you missed the spot and now cannot clean it, add some baking soda to vinegar and water solution.
Pour the solution on the stain and blot it. If there is a need, use a soft-bristled brush to rub away the stain and then rinse clean with water only. This amazing solution will help you get rid of the stains and disinfect the place too.
Things Not to Clean with Vinegar
Although vinegar is not harmful at all especially if you are using an organic one. However, there are a few things that should be avoided cleaning with vinegar solution. What are these? Here it is:
Marble Kitchen Countertops
Stone or ceramic tiles (you can use the solution occasionally)
Hardwood flooring
Well, if you want to remove stubborn stains from either one of the mentioned surfaces above, you can use the vinegar cleaning solution occasionally.
But then again, make sure you restrict its use to cleaning tile floors, upholstery, and carpets only!
Relax and Enjoy!
Vinegar is a natural disinfectant and stain remover that when mixed with baking soda can do wonders. Just make sure you dilute the two in water to clean floorings to avoid damage to them over the years.
Thus, if you wish to preserve your tile flooring, stop them from wearing over time, switch to vinegar as a cleaning solution right away!
John Wesley is passionate about cleaning industry especially vacuum cleaners. He is having more than a decade of experience in repairing and selling vacuum cleaners from a well known retail shop. When he’s not testing and reviewing latest vacuum cleaners for this site, he likes to spend time with his partner, 2 kids, and doing house projects.
