We don’t need to tell you that your floors are DIRTY. You can see it and feel it. So if I only have time to clean one thing, I choose my floors. There’s nothing worse than stepping on rocks/crumbs or bathroom germs and tracking them throughout the house. Not to mention all the germs and bacteria from outside that we track in via our shoes.

In this guide, I’m going to give you my best tips for cleaning any type of flooring for a spotless shine.

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Dirty Floors, Dirty House

Your floors are only as clean as the shoes that walk on them. So unless you’re taking your shoes off at the door 100 percent of the time, there are germs and messes being tracked inside.

In one study, eight different people’s shoes ( as well as two dogs’ paws) were tested for bacteria. They found 66 million organisms in these tests. Not only that, but 90 percent of the time, bacteria from shoes is transferred to hard floors in a house. And if you’ve got carpet, it’s even worse. That’s because the fibers of the carpet actually soak up and hide the bacteria.

If you can believe it, floors are dirtier than toilet seats. And if you have young kids and toddlers who play on the floor, they’re being exposed to every public restroom, subway station, and supermarket aisle your shoes have traversed.

In other words, clean ya damn floors.

Hardwood, Laminate & Tile

Start in one corner and move your way around the room in a circle. Don’t be afraid to get on your hands and knees for this part! (Did you know that at House Work, this is the only way we clean bathroom floors?!) 

Step 1: Move any furniture, toys, coffee tables, etc., that you can and vacuum (USA) (Canada) the floors and baseboards. Don’t be afraid to really get in there in all the cracks and crevices.

Tip: For immovable furniture, use a Swiffer® to brush out any debris underneath or a stick vacuum to suck up any crumbs.

Step 2: Use a spin mop or your hand and a damp cloth with powdered Tide® (1 tsp) and hot water (1 gallon) to wipe the floor. You can add ⅓ cup of bleach if you’d like to disinfect it, but beware, it can leave streaks. Never use bleach on marble. Place any furniture back into place once the floors dry.

Tip: if your floors appear streaky, double-check that you have wrung out your mop well. If they are still streaky, you may have used too much tide. If this is the case, get a fresh bucket of hot water only and go over the area again until the streaks are gone. 

Step 3: Once your floors are dry, go over them again with the vacuum. That’s how we ensure that there is not one speck of dust left. Skipping this step is tempting, but you’ll regret it! There’s nothing better than doing a job to completion and then admiring your hard work.

Step 4 (optional): Use Windex® and a cloth to polish glossy tile.

Grout

If you have tile and are wanting to do a deeper clean than described, you can add a grout scrub between steps 1 and 2.

For porcelain or ceramic tile, use a concentrated mixture of Powdered Tide® (2-3 tsp), bleach (1 cup) and hot water (¼ gallon or 4 cups). The more concentrated, the faster and better the product will work and the less scrubbing you will need to do. Use a scrub brush and some elbow grease to work the product into the grout.

Tip: Be careful not to get bleach on or near any rugs, carpets, or good clothing as it will cause staining. However, once it fully dries, there is no threat of staining.

DO NOT USE BLEACH for natural stone tile as it may cause permanent etching. Although natural stone is beautiful, you are limited in the products you can use to clean it. Use a concentrated mixture of Powdered Tide® (2-3 tsp) and hot water (¼ gallon or 4 cups).

Finish by rinsing the area with hot water. 

Tip: If you are unsure about a product’s safety, first test it on an inconspicuous area

Carpet & Area Rugs

Begin by pulling out any furniture along the walls. Then use a vacuum with a crevice tool attached and run it along the edges where it meets with the baseboards. Over time, debris gets pushed to the edges because most carpet vacuums can’t get close enough to pick up dirt from the cracks. 

And finally, start at the furthest end from the door and work your way backwards using a carpet vacuum (with a beater bar) to vacuum the carpet and any area rugs. This ensures you don’t wreck your beautiful carpet lines with footprints!

Tip: If your vacuum doesn’t have great suction, first make sure the canister is empty and check that the filter and beater bar are clean.

And that wraps up cleaning your floors. It’s a fairly simple way of maintaining a clean home. I try to do this once every two weeks, but of course, as we all know, life happens and this isn’t always realistic. As long as you do your best with your time, you can hold your head high and feel proud!

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