Cleaning Guides

How to Make Your Floor Tiles Sparkling Clean with Vinegar!

The Fantastic Team
Published: Apr 12/2019
Last update: Sep 03/2024Array
3min read
Views: 13,411

Andrey_Popov / Shutterstock.com

With an increasing global consciousness related to keeping the environment clean, more and more people around the world are opting for green products. Especially when it comes to our homes. Rather than going for strong chemicals and bleaches that can be harmful, there is a growing awareness that we can keep our homes clean using natural homemade remedies.

By using one basic household product, you can clean almost everything in your house in an eco-friendly matter. This includes the tiled floors, of course, although not all types. Yes, we’re talking about vinegar! Opting for a natural tile floor cleaner is easy and low-cost and while vinegar may not have the best smell, it can certainly make your tiles shine.

Why cleaning tiled floors with vinegar is a good idea?

Let’s face it, tiles get dirty and grimy pretty quickly. When you think of the porcelain or ceramic tiles in the bathroom or kitchen, vinegar is the perfect eco-friendly cleaner. Why? First of all, it is safe to use around pets and children.

While it has a very distinctive smell, the latter is not overwhelming or harmful and it disappears pretty quickly with good airing. Moreover, vinegar safely disinfects most hard surfaces and works wonders with grease and hard water stains. And the best part about it is that once it dries, it leaves behind a fresh and neutral scent.

You can safely use vinegar to clean ceramic or porcelain tiles, whether they are glazed or unglazed. For other types, however, like terracotta, marble or grante, we recommend you look for ph neutral cleaner that will not harm the material.

How to clean your tiles with vinegar

So you want to know how to clean your ceramic or porcelain tiles with vinegar? It’s simple! Just follow these easy steps and get a hold of these items to begin your preparations for the tile-cleaning spree.

What you will need for your homemade vinegar floor cleaner:

White vinegar
Bucket and warm water
Mop
Broom or vacuum
Towel
Sponge

The step-by-step tile-cleaning process

Combine 1/2 cup of vinegar with 1 gallon of warm water into the bucket. Then mix well.

Sweep with broom or vacuum the floor to collect all dust, sand, mud and other small particles that could, otherwise, scratch the tiles’ suface during the cleaning.

Clean the kitchen tiles by dipping the mop in the vinegar and water solution. Apply the mop over all the tiles in sequence from side to side or top to bottom.

When cleaning the bathroom tiles, we suggest you make use of the sponge, too. Dip the sponge in the vinegar cleaner and wipe the hard water stains off. Once you’ve used the sponge on the stains, you can use a dry towel to wipe off the remaining wet residue.

Open the windows to let the fresh air flow through the room. This way the floor will dry faster and the strong smell of vinegar will be gone in before you know it.

You may need to spend some extra time on those tiles which have stains. Keep wiping the stain with the solution until it disappears or fades. Once you’ve covered the whole floor, give it some time to air dry completely before walking on it.

Bonus tip: If you have really stubborn stains, consider wetting the floor and sprinkling baking soda all over it. Then scrub gently with a water and vinegar solution. Cleaning tiled floors with vinegar and baking soda is an easy and chemical-free way to deal with old stains in the kitchen and bathroom.

And before we end off, we just want to make a strong recommendation, which is not to mix bleach and vinegar together. Why? Because bleach + vinegar = toxic chlorine gas! Although it makes for a strong disinfectant, it’s pretty harmful to your health and this can be bad for you, especially if you have a sensitive respiratory system. So our advice is: stay away from this solution and if you need more professional cleaning, contact us!

Takeaways

White vinegar costs less than the common store-bought cleaners, but can still effectively disinfect any surface without leaving a chemical residue.
Cleaning floor tiles with vinegar is safe, as long they are porcelain or ceramic.
Providing good ventilation in the room will guarantee the prompt natural drying of your floors. But wait for the moisture to evaporate completely or you may end up with footmarks on your shiny tiles.
Use the baking soda’s abrasive power to eliminate old and stubborn stains from the tiles.