How to Clean Floors Using Green Cleaning Products

My Denver cleaning company says that a clean floor is essential especially in a home with young children. The best way to ensure your floor stays clean, make sure you clean spills as they occur. Sweeping daily and cleaning spills as they occur will lessen dirt and grime on the floor and make a deep clean necessary only monthly. Mopping weekly or biweekly will really keep things clean. Always avoid using cleaning products with VOCs and other hazardous chemicals. You can use nontoxic homemade cleaning solutions that will effectively clean any type of flooring.

You should try to mop with a damp mop weekly or bi-weekly depending on the rate at which dirt gathers on your floor. Always sweep before mopping. For most floor surfaces, you can use a homemade basic, gentle floor cleaner or a store bought non-toxic cleaner. Another great floor cleaner is a solution of 1/4 cup of castile soap in two gallons of warm water. If your floor is greasy, you should add a quarter cup of vinegar to the cleaning solution. Soak the mop fully in a bucket of the solution and wring it out in a sink or empty bucket. The best method of cleaning with a mop is to start at one end of the room and move to the other, without mopping yourself into a corner or ending up on the end of the room without a door. Wring and re-soak the mop as necessary while mopping. If your floor isn't waxed and looks dull, it could be because of soap buildup. The best way to bring brilliance back to a floor like this is to mop with a solution of half cup of white vinegar and two gallons of water. 

Add sweeping to your daily routine will not only rid your home of dust bunnies it can also help you take a moment out of your day for active meditation. Daily sweeping protects floors from abrasive dirt and soil that could scratch the surface of the floor. The best way to sweep the floor of a room is to start in a corner and work your way around the room's edges while being sure to hit the floorboards. Sweep towards the center of the room and pick up the debris with a dustpan as you go. This method also works when cleaning with a vacuum cleaner.

Common Flooring Types:
Unsealed Hardwood

For unsealed wood floors sweep then apply raw jojoba oil once every other month with a mop. Let the oil seep into the wood, then dry mop the surface. Always try to keep water off unsealed wood floors. 

Sealed Hardwood 
Wood floors with finishes are extremely low maintenance. You don't need to wax these floors to keep them looking great. Just sweep and mop them going with the grain and dry with a terry cloth rag.
Painted Wood
To clean painted wood floor sweep and then use a wet mop once a week. The cleaning solution that work best for this surface is a diluted dish soap. Don't use solutions with pine oils on painted floors or the paint may strip off.
Ceramic Tile
Tile floors should be cleaned with a solution of distilled vinegar and water, never soap. If the floor looks dull, polish it with a dry cloth. Daily sweeping is important when caring for tile floors because they are more easily scratched than other surfaces.
Stone
Boulder house cleaning professionals recommend that you clean stone floors with a solution of two tablespoons of washing soda and two pints of water.