[bwylde]

Or should that be: Kitchen Floor.....Help!!!

:

My kitchen floor is filthy. No matter how much I scrub it, it just always looks dirty, even after I clean it. We rent so it's that cheap linoleum, white of course, and it's full of little cracks and dings which hold the dirt and makes it impossible to get out (I would change to wood floors in a heart beat if it were ours). People are in and out all day long and most people don't take off their shoes (especially visitors, which I think is rude to track dirt through the house, even though I have 3 mats at the door for people to wipe their feet on

: ). I usually try to mop it a few times a week as I'm truly not anal about having clean floors, just tired of it looking so bad.

Does anyone have any help for making it look clean for more than a day? Any good ideas of things to use?

I usually use Dr. Bronner's , but some days I get desperate and use Lysol or occasionally I will even will get down on my hands and knees and scour it with a brush and a bar of soap or I'll scrub it down with towels on my feet, then go over it with dry towels. I haven't been feeling well this week so I haven't cleaned it in about a week so it's especially dirty now.

HELP!!!!

 

[punkie4god]

It sounds like it needs a new coat of sealer on it. I didn't even know you could seal them until we were selling our house and the stager recommended it. It really helps! You can get it really cheaply at stores like Target. Scrub it REALLY well, and then seal it and it'll cover all of those bumps and nooks where the dirt gets stuck.

 

[bwylde]

That sounds like what I need. I am pooped. I scrubbed my floor with my Bee Mop. Then I went over it with hot hot water and Dr. Bronners, scrubbing with towels, then got down on my hands and knees with a scrub brush, it was still dirty. I sprayed lysol over the floor then scrubbed it with the Bee Mop again. After that dried (and still wasn't clean), I took my hand dispenser of Dr. Bronners and squirted it over the floor in the bad spots. Those spots came clean but it would take a full bottle and a lot of patience to do the whole floor that way. In frustration I poured vinegar over the whole floor and scrubbed with that. Still looks dirty. I'm at wits end trying to get this floor clean, only to have it get dirty again. Maybe if I scrub it every day, twice a day until it is clean, I can get on top of it enough to seal it.

 

[punkie4god]

Definitely get the sealant! It sounds like that should solve your problems. You can get stronger ones at places like Home Depot or Lowes

They are inexpensive too. I just paid a couple of dollars for our bottle.

 

[bwylde]

We actually have none of those store here that you mentioned, but I'm sure I can find it at a local hardware store

 

[punkie4god]

Oh! I see you're in Canada. Sorry! I'm sure you can find it at any hardware store

 

[momto l&a]

We scrubbed the floor in this house that sounds similar to yours.

Took a scrub brush and ammonia to the floor as it was the only thing we could find strong enough to actually clean. It got all the gunk out of the pores and then we sealed the floor. Eight months later the floor still looks wonderful, that is after its been mopped.

 

[bwylde]

Did you dilute the ammonia? I don't know if I could stand that.

 

[celestialdreamer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bwylde Did you dilute the ammonia? I don't know if I could stand that.

I used to work for a cleaning company and I learned the trick of using ammonia on floors like that. Yes, you dilute it but it still really smells. Just use about 1/4c to a bucket of hot water. You can get the lemon scented kind which doesn't smell quite as bad. This should really only be needed to be done before you seal it, so its not like you'd have to deal with the ammonia smell all the time. It really does work incredibly and I don't know what else works as good.

 

[Altair]

I would NOT use Dr Bronners on your floor! It doesn't wipe up well and can leave a film on the floor that actually ATTRACTS dirt!

I hand clean my floors. I use Ecover floor cleaner in a spray bottle (just a few spoonfuls of it mixed with water and some essential oils) and just wet a washcloth and spray the floor. Every few feet I rinse out the washcloth. I like to really scrub deep with my fingernails behind the washcloth.

I second using ammonia at least once just to get the gunk out. Then you should be able to go a few months with Ecover and hand scrubing. I scrub the floors about every other day when it's bad...

if I need something quick in between, I use a wet cloth (microfiber or any of the reusable type not-swiffer products)... like this first one here http://www.greatcleaners.com/orangeg...hardwood-floor NOT the cleaners themselves, but I really like their green cloth mop heads. I can do this for a quick clean, but really clean needs hands and knees.

 

[momto l&a]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bwylde Did you dilute the ammonia? I don't know if I could stand that.

I do dilute some, and yes it does stink. But once you have the floor cleaned and sealed all you need is soap and water to clean the floor.

 

[bwylde]

Thanks for all the help everyone! I've read in so many places that Bronner's was great for cleaning floors; I guess it just is initially. I will definately try the ammonia then sealing it on a day the kids can go to their grandmother's house (they're in and out constantly and the kitchen is like grand central station in my house). I can't wait to have a clean floor!