The Most Useful Cleaning Supplies for Your Floors!
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After having living in so many different places and types of houses/apartments, I found that I gravitate to just a few supplies to clean my floors no matter where I live.
We just moved out of our first home which we sold in November last year and we’re back in a (very nice) apartment. Our flooring has changed quite a bit! And honestly I really like the change. I mean, I loved having wood floors, but they had a very heavy orange tone to them, and with basically the same color cabinets, I was overloaded with orangeness!
Now we have a very neutral color that is light and bright. And guess what? It’s vinyl plank flooring and SO much easier to keep clean. And it doesn’t show dirt anywhere near as badly. Granted, we no longer have a giant lab, as he went to the giant dog park in the sky last October. 😭 But our other floors showed every speck of dust and hair!
So here is what I use to clean my floors. Just a few simple, but quality supplies keep them clean and shiny!
The best cleaning supplies for your floors:
Hardwood and Vinyl Flooring
Vacuuming the Floors
Shark Liftaway Vacuum
The first thing I do when I clean my hard surface flooring is vacuum up the crumbs and pet hair!
If you are drowning in pet hair, you have to read this post here.
I love my Shark Liftaway. I’ve considered investing in a Dyson Cordless Vacuum becuase the cord drives me crazy when I vacuum. I used to use a Swiffer Vac, but after a few weeks, I find that the battery starts to wane and it won’t pick up the bigger crumbly bits. Plus, it doesn’t do well with kitty litter. And we have a bit of that around!
So short of dropping some Benjamins on that Dyson, I’ll hang tight with my Shark Liftaway. It really is the best of both worlds, a canister vac and an upright all in one.
You can just pop the wand off the upright and use it like a canister vac! And you can pop the Canister off and use it to vacuum under the sofa and beds.
It’s awesome!
Bona Mop and Cleaner
I love my Bona spray mop! I feel like the Bona Cleaner is a step above the swifter stuff I used to use and just cleans better. Not to mention the smell is much more neutral and honestly, hardly even noticeable. The swifter wet jet is just a little too
for my taste (and sensitive sniffer!)
The mop, both spray and regular versions, come with a detachable microfiber cloth that you wash and reuse. So you cut down on waste by not having to buy those pre-moistened pads.
Plus the cartriges are refillable and you can buy a big jug of the refill cleaner for about $20 bucks.
Tile
Mopping the Floor
HomeRight Steam Mop
I have the Homeright Steam Mop, and it is amazing for overall cleaning of the tile. I put a few drops of lavender or peppermint essential oil in the water tank and steam away all the dirt! So no harsh or smelly cleaners do I have to use at all.
I think they have maybe discontinued that model and have moved to this Steam Machine which is more like a canister vac. It’s probably way better because on my mop, you have to constantly push the button to keep the steam moving and it can start to hurt my hand after a while. It looks like there is a lever for your hand on this model, so that is probably more comfortable.
Cleaning the Grout
Our current living space has vinyl sheet flooring in the bathrooms, and I just use the steam mop on them which is quick and easy. They may not be as pretty or swanky as tiled floors, but it sure is a heck of a lot easier to clean. Makes one think does it not?
I went through a rough patch with our tile floors in our previous home. They were a light colored ceramic tile with very light beige grout. Of course, they were totally gorg when we moved in, but over time, the high traffic areas grew a nice dark grey patina.
Patina on copper => 👍
Patina on grout => 👎
So, I went through a period of painting my grout. Which worked great and restored the beauty of newly laid tile to my floors.
You can read more about it in this post.
However, it is a pretty labor intensive way to get that freshly tiled look. So, when we decided to put the house up for sale, I just knew I had to find an alternative because I needed to get all the bathrooms looking super clean and fresh. That’s a lot of tile painting. Ugh.
Clorox Clinging Bleach Gel
So, on a whim I bought this Clorox Gel Cleaner and a grout brush.
I spread the cleaner on the grout lines and let it sit for about 10 minutes. Then I went in with this perfect little grout brush and scrubbed. Let me say, it was a miracle. I wish I had taken a picture of the before and after to show you because it was mind-numbingly amazeballs.
Scrubbing the grout is way less agonizing than trying to keep the grout paint on the grout and off the tile itself.
And by letting it sit, it really cleaned itself, my labor intensive scrub party really wasn’t that labor intensive at all.
Carpet
Vacuuming the Carpet
Shark Liftaway
I’ve already mentioned the Shark Liftaway, and obviously it’s great for carpet as well. It has awesome suction and is the best vacuum I’ve ever owned.
Deodorizing the Carpet
DIY Basic Deodorizer
But as far as cleaners, I pretty much just use my homemade DIY All Natural Basic Deodorizer that is basically baking soda and some essential oils.
I use a stainless steel shaker and just lightly dust the carpet, or not so lightly if you have an area that is really stinky! Then let sit for 10-15 minutes and vacuum it up!
Spot Cleaning the Carpet
Little Green Machine
For tougher stains and spills, I love the Little Green Machine. It has saved my butt many, many times. When you have kids and pets or wild parties (haha j/k) this little machine packs a punch!
I cleaned up all kinds of spills and regurgitations, both cat and dog. It hasn’t failed me yet! It has really worked on any kind of stain, especially if you do it right away.
I think I’ve had this little machine for over 15 years, and it is still going. It’s proably about time to invest in a new model, but it’s not down and out yet!
Ok! Those are what I believe to be the best cleaning supplies for your floors!
Do you have any wisdom to share? Pop me a note on this Facebook post and let me know if you’ve ever used any of these tools or what your favorites are!
xoxo
Gwen