White vinegar has no particular color so will not stain hardwood.
Can you clean hardwood floors with vinegar and water.
I don t recommend using vinegar or lemon juice at least not in large quantities as these can damage the floor.
You can also use cleaning vinegar but note that cleaning vinegar has a higher acid concentration than the regular white vinegar.
While cleaning wood floors with vinegar and water is ideal it isn t the only natural option.
For cleaning unfinished hardwood floors fill the bucket with warm water and white vinegar dunk the mop head into the vinegar solution and wring out any excess liquid.
Do not use red wine balsamic or apple kinds of vinegar.
Lemon oil also helps to cut grease which may be very useful if you re trying to clean wood floors in a kitchen.
Then mix a 1 2 cup of white vinegar with a gallon of warm water in a bucket.
Begin mopping at one side of the room using a use a side to side motion to clean the floor as you go.
If you like the cleaning power of vinegar but want to cut the smell just add an essential oil such as lemon.
Just don t use vinegar and water to clean hardwood floors.
Using vinegar and water as a homemade hardwood floor cleaning solution can have a negative effect on your hardwood floor.
Or alternatively you can use a spray bottle and microfiber mop whereby you spray the vinegar and water solution on the floor and wipe it with a mop.
You can also add a few drops of essential oils to give the solution a nice fragrance.
White vinegar is also the most inexpensive option.
I strongly recommend you only ever use basic white vinegar for cleaning purposes.
Final thoughts on how to clean hardwood floors with vinegar.
Cleaning wood floors with vinegar helps keep your floors clean without using toxic.
The great thing about water and vinegar is that it can be used to clean many things around the home.
Don t rely on lemon juice or a vinegar and water solution to clean hardwood floors.
Cleaning with vinegar and water is cheap safe for the environment and generally does a great job at cleaning many items in your home.
Vinegar can do damage to your wood floor finish if the vinegar to water ratio is too strong if you use the wrong type of vinegar or if you allow the vinegar water mixture to pool puddle or over soak your floor.
Plain white distilled vinegar should be your only choice.
Some of the other types such as apple cider vinegar as delicious as it is will have a brownish tint which could potentially damage floors.
While there s disagreement as to whether you can use water and vinegar for hardwood floors there s no debate that as a general cleaning solution for windows and ovens and glass items water and vinegar truly works well.