The number of apartments where wooden floors are used for interior decoration is growing year by year. Their durability, elegance and natural character are extremely attractive, however, the use of this type of flooring is connected with appropriate care – preferably with the use of water and vinegar.
Wood maintenance is not the easiest of tasks, as using most commercially available cleaning agents can end in a complete flop. After all, nobody wants a relatively expensive and rare material to be destroyed by chemicals. The power lies in simplicity. We don’t need expensive, sophisticated care products to make a wooden floor delight our guests with its color, shine and cleanliness. Whether it’s laminate or tile, you don’t need to make a special effort – all you need is a vacuum cleaner or a microfibre mop. The situation is different for wood, when grease or red wine stains appear on the floor. Then, we need to involve two key ingredients – water and vinegar. While the presence of water seems obvious, vinegar may cause some consternation. After all, it has a specific smell and serves rather as an additive in the kitchen. Nothing could be further from the truth. In addition to its natural purpose for many years is also used as a disinfectant (destroys e.g. strains of E. coli, salmonella, mycobacteria), removing bacteria, mold, dirt and sediments. When you add to this the fact that it costs pennies and is completely safe for both people and the environment, it will be difficult to continue to wonder about its use to clean bathroom fixtures, furniture or painted surfaces.
This is exactly why vinegar should be your first choice for wood care. Preparing a homemade liquid for maintaining wooden surfaces is trivial – just mix together 5 liters of water and 220 milliliters of white vinegar. You can also add a dozen or so drops of your favorite essential oil, which will eliminate the characteristic smell of vinegar and bring a pleasant breath of freshness to the whole room. Internet users suggest that the best choice will be an oil with a scent of orange, mint, rose or pine
Once we manage to prepare a homemade concoction, it is worth remembering that floor maintenance with its use requires proper preparation of the substrate. Before you start the actual cleaning, you should thoroughly vacuum the surface. This is a very important activity, as crumbs and dust left behind may leave traces in the form of scratches, which we want to avoid – the floor should be clean, shiny and neat, almost like new. You should also remember to squeeze out as much water and vinegar as possible from the mop, because excess water can lead to deformation or rotting of the material. Besides, the cloth or mop used should also not be “worn out” for similar reasons. These are, however, technicalities which accompany the cleaning of any surface and therefore should not raise any major doubts. Maintaining wooden floors with water and vinegar, therefore, requires no additional effort.
Washing a wooden floor with water and vinegar is a cheap, simple and effective method
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