A wooden floor makes a home feel warm and inviting, making a business look stylish and classy. However, the surface of the wooden floor is easily damaged by scratches and harsh cleaning products.
Natural wood doesn’t need harsh cleaners. Natural and gentle care, like washing the wood floors with dish soap, is often enough to keep them clean and shiny.
Dish soap can be good or bad for cleaning wood floors. Find out if it is safe to mop your wood floors with dish soap.
What is dish soap?
Dish soap, also known as “dishwashing liquid,” can be found in every home. Even a small drop of dish soap makes a big difference: pans, pots, plates, and cutlery are now sparkling clean.
So it makes sense that dish soap has been doing well for over 60 years. It is also a very gentle and effective way to clean wood floors around the house.
What’s in the “dishwasher,” though? One of the most important parts of dish soap is the surfactant. These things eliminate leftover food on the dishes and keep fats from floating around in the water.
Depending on the product, the amount of surfactants in dishwashing liquid is usually between 5 and 40 percent.
Salts and alcohols are also in the dishwashing liquid to help it stick together. It also has preservatives to keep it from going bad and perfume to make it smell like lemon, apple, and so on.
Some products also have gentle, moisturizing ingredients that are good for your skin.
Why is dish soap good for cleaning wood floors?
The most beautiful thing about a wooden floor is how real it looks. Wood floors can be sealed, oiled, or waxed, and all three have their charms.
With the proper care, a wooden floor stays durable and lasts a very long time.
Wood floors are more likely to get scratches, dents, or damage from cleaning products that are too strong.
So, the type of floor and the right cleaning products are very important when taking care of Wood floors.
Advantages of dish soap for cleaning wood floors:
- Dissolves grease and dirt
- Provides shine
- Enables gentle cleaning
- Inexpensive and economical cleaning agent
Dish soap works especially well for cleaning the wooden floor. With just a drop of dishwashing liquid in lukewarm water, dirt and grease can be cleaned off wood floors, and the floors will shine like new.
But natural materials like wood can be sensitive to too much water and too many cleaners, so less “rinse” is often and gentler when cleaning wood floors.
How to use dish soap to clean wood floors?
- Mix lukewarm water with a few squirts of washing-up liquid in a bucket.
- Slightly moisten the wiper cover of a floor wiper suitable for cleaning Wood floors.
- Damp wipe the Wood floor with the floor wiper.
- After mopping, ventilate the room well so the floor can dry properly.
How to use Dish soap and vinegar to mop wood floors?
A practical and homemade method involves mixing the dish soap we use to wash the dishes with vinegar. We will use this option on wooden floors that are not very delicate and have much dirt.
- ½ cup vinegar (125 ml)
- 1 tablespoon of dish soap (15 ml)
- 2 cups of water
What alternatives to dish soap are there for cleaning wood floors?
Wood floors are often cleaned with dish soap and other household items. Wood floors that have been waxed can also be kept in good shape with soft soap, vegetable oils, and linseed oils.
The greasy substances give wooden floors that have been sealed a long-lasting shine and keep dirt away.
When mixed with enough water, black tea and vinegar can also be used to clean wood floors gently and cheaply.
The easy-to-do home remedies eliminate grease and dirt and bring back the shine to old wooden floors.
Disadvantages when using dish soap to mop wood floor
Dish soap works well on hard floors like linoleum and vinyl and does a good job on ceramic tiles. It’s not a good idea to do this on wooden floors because water can stain or warp them.
Dish soap removes dirt, makes the wood floors shine, and costs less than other options. But you should know that home remedies only work on floors that have been sealed. Read also how to clean wood floors naturally.
Dish soap should only be used on resilient floors due to the potential risk. It can leave serious floors on delicate floors like wood if improperly utilized.
It is similar to cleaning wooden floors with Dawn dish soap and water since the wood may become stained or wet.
Dish soap can’t be used frequently to clean your wood floor; use it only if that is your last option.
Cleaning products based on soap and all-purpose cleaners are also best avoided when cleaning the wooden floor, especially if you use them time after time, as a dull layer can arise.
You can remove this, but it is an unnecessary amount of work.
What must be considered when cleaning Wood floors with dish soap?
Only sealed wood floors should be cleaned with home remedies. But care should be taken with unfinished wood floors. Here, it’s best to use special cleaners.
When you clean a wooden floor, you should always use a slightly damp cloth so that the water doesn’t soak in and damage the floor.
A cleaner for hardwood floors with a urethane finish should be pH neutral and made for that type of floor. Don’t use water if you have wax, oil, or Monocoat on your floors.
Water and dish soap are combined to create a floor cleanser. This is a good alternative to store-bought cleaners that is cheap, good for the environment and works well.
With this method, you use a clean, damp mop to remove any soap residue on the floor before it dries.
If you want to clean your floor with water, you should think about what kind of water you are using. Using distilled water is the safest option.
City water with chlorine or tap water can leave mineral deposits and stains that are hard, if not impossible, to get rid of without sanding and refinishing the whole floor.
Is there a stain on the wooden floor that won’t come off? Then, put some dish soap on the spot and use a soft sponge to scrub it gently. Follow the line of the wood as you scrub.
Once the stain is gone, use water to wash away the rest of the soap and then dry the area. If the oil layer is broken, you can fix it with a little maintenance oil.
Conclusion
Your hardwood floor is an investment that will last for a long time if you take care of it properly. Like all good things, cleaning here and there goes a long way.
Learn how to clean hardwood floors safely. This will help keep them healthy and add years to their lives.
To keep your hardwood floors looking new, you need the right tools and supplies, good wood floor cleaning products, spot cleaning, and what not to do. With these things, you can spend less time cleaning your wood floors.
So what is the most proper cleaning solution for wood floors? I will use dish soap made from natural ingredients, which goes well with natural things like wooden floors.
From my side, I avoid using detergent or dish soap if I’m unsure what the ingredient is, especially with oiled and waxed parquet, because there is a risk of wearing away the surface or deteriorating prematurely.