How to Environmentally Mop a Tile Floor

Clean tile floors with natural, homemade cleaners.

Keeping your tile floor clean is an important part of maintaining the condition of the tile, as well as keeping your home clean and sanitary. While there are many commercial tile floor cleaners available, the majority of these cleaners contain chemicals. When you use these cleaners you are exposed to the chemicals and the chemicals are also introduced into the environment. Environment-friendly tile floor cleaners can be made at home using supplies that are readily available.

Things You'll Need

• Bucket
• 1 cup white vinegar
• Mop
• Club Soda
• Cleaning cloths

Instructions

1. Combine 1 cup white vinegar and 1 gallon hot water in a bucket. Mix the two ingredients together to make an ecologically safe tile floor cleaner for natural stone tiles, no-wax linoleum, brick and ceramic tile floors.

2. 

   Wash your mop after every few uses so it doesn't smell mildewy.

   Mop the floor with your diluted vinegar solution. Rinse the mop often and when the vinegar solution looks dirty, make a new batch of solution so you're not washing the tile floor with dirty cleaning solution.

3. Empty the vinegar solution from the bucket and rinse the bucket with plain water. Fill the bucket with plain hot water and use it to rinse the floor. Mop the floor with the hot water to rinse off the vinegar solution and pick up any remaining dirt.

4. Allow the tile floor to air dry completely. Letting the floor air dry saves you wasting paper towels or the energy that would be used to launder cleaning rags. In the winter months, as the tile floor dries the moisture dissipates into the air, cutting down on the need for a humidifier.

5. Polish your floor with undiluted club soda. Club soda will add shine to your tile floor without the need for chemical waxes or polishes. Apply the club soda with a clean mop, then buff dry with a clean cloth.

Tips & Warnings

• Use a mild dish-washing detergent solution to wash the rubber tiles often found in restaurant kitchens.

• Make a paste with baking soda and water to scrub off any stubborn stains from your tile floor.

• Wring out your mop thoroughly each time you wet it so you don't damage tile or grout with too much water.

References

• EPA: Safer Cleaning: Floor Cleaners and Floor Polishers
• Earth Easy: Non-Toxic Home Cleaning: Floor Cleaner and Polish

Resources

• University of Kentucky: Selection and Use of Green Home Cleaning Products