Cleaning Tile Floors with Vinegar & Water: A Deep Clean Method

Though I like to find the easiest ways to make my homemaking simpler, every now and again I have to put some effort in.  One of my favorite methods is cleaning tile floors with vinegar and water using a hand mopping technique.

Several years ago, in our old house, I learned how to clean bathroom floor with vinegar.  I found that keeping our white tile looking good required a bit of extra work, especially because we had two small dogs and a tiny human dirtying up the place pretty frequently.

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Though I was a full time stay at home mom when I started doing this, it wasn’t my first choice in cleaning methods when it came to my tile floors.  Granted, our bathrooms were much smaller in that house, but this method took a good deal of time.  Plus, it’s a bit harder on your knees and back.

I’m perfectly happy with my regular use of a steam mop, but I don’t feel it’s a great way to get all the nooks and crannies cleaned in the bathroom.  Mainly, I feel like there’s no way it’s cleaning grout, you know?

So, occasionally I break out the vinegar and hand mop our tile floors.

Deep Cleaning Tile Floors With Vinegar and Water

For a deeper, more thorough clean, I choose to clean ceramic tile floors with a mixture of vinegar and water.   Plus, I usually go over the baseboards with the dampened sponge while I’m at it (so long as the walls and baseboards are painted with something that can be cleaned).

For any other surface, please check with your manufacturer before using a vinegar and water solution to clean your floors.

Supplies for Cleaning Tile Floors

Sponge

Bucket or large bowl

Distilled White Vinegar

Gloves

Water – make it at hot as your hands can handle

Make Your Mixture

Make a mixture of about equal parts vinegar to water so as not to dilute too heavily the disinfectant properties of the vinegar.

I can get away with about 1 Cup water and 1 Cup vinegar for each bathroom, because mine aren’t really very big.  Additionally, it helps me to rinse out dust and those small hairs into the sink so I don’t introduce them into the solution I’m cleaning with.

How to Clean Tile Floors with Vinegar & Water

1. Wipe down surfaces

I find that wiping down surface areas first is the best way to tackle a clean bathroom, prior to mopping.  This will prevent dust, dirt, or hairs from falling to the floor after it’s been cleaned.

2. Remove objects from the room

It’s important to move anything that’s on the floor out of the room so you can clean every inch of the floors.  This is when I take our trash can, stool, and floor rug out.

3.  Sweep or vacuum your bathroom floor

I prefer to use our stick vac, which tends to get more hairs and tiny particles off the floor.

4. Time to mop

Now it’s time to sit on the floor and begin hand mopping.

I usually dip my sponge into the vinegar and water solution, then squeeze out the water just a bit.  I prefer my sponge to be a little more than damp, but not dripping wet.

Tackle the floors a small area at a time, dipping and wringing out your sponge when you notice it becoming too dry or when it’s picked up some debris.

Tell me: how do you clean your bathroom floors?

Are you concerned about the smell of vinegar?  From my experience, the smell of the vinegar starts to dissipate in about an hour after cleaning.  Personally, I’d prefer to smell vinegar over inhaling harmful chemicals from cleaners, which is also why I use a steam mop for the everyday cleaning.

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