How to Clean a Kitchen Floor: What Products and Kit to...

Having a clean kitchen floor is important for many reasons. A dirty kitchen floor isn’t ideal, especially if you do a lot of cooking and baking in your kitchen. Children (particularly toddlers and babies) can be on the floor of your house for the majority of their time which means it’s essential for everything to be safe.

As much as it might not initially seem important to have a sparkling clean floor, it is a part of the kitchen many people seem to forget about!

Before we start to discuss the best methods for cleaning your kitchen floor, we need to take a look at the different types of kitchen floor surfaces and the what type of cleaning method works depending on the surface type.

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How to Clean Different Types of Kitchen Floor Surfaces

Despite there being a range of different surfaces that can be used on a kitchen floor, there are a few typical types that are particularly popular which are stated below. Before cleaning any floor with a special cleaner, it is important to always sweep and hoover the floor to get any excess dirt or dust up off the floor.

Disclaimer: Before applying any cleaning solution to your floor always check in a small area first to ensure no damage is caused. Always follow manufacturers instructions when using cleaning products.

Linoleum – A natural cleaning solution for linoleum floors is to use half a bucket of water (lukewarm) and mix in equal parts of white vinegar. As the standing water can damage linoleum, you must be careful to not use too much water when you’re cleaning the floor. You can then clean the kitchen floor with the water & vinegar using a cleaning tool such as a mop or sponge (for the smaller areas). If you would rather use a readymade chemical solution, simply buy a speciality linoleum cleaning product (such as this one – https://www.amazon.co.uk/HG-Vinyl-Linoleum-Clean-Shine/dp/B000IU3W0M/ref=sr_1_1) then follow the instructions on the bottle for use. After you have cleaned the linoleum floor, it is great to polish it too. Pour the polish into a bucket (not directly onto the floor as this can damage it), then use a cloth to wipe it either all over the floor or on the particular areas you wish. When mopping in the polish, avoid dragging your mop over the same spot a few times as it can run the risk of leaving streaks of polish on your floor.

Tile – Start by mopping the floor with warm water and maybe a little washing up liquid in the bucket with the water. After you have done this, dry mop the floor to ensure a shine that lasts, the [amazon_textlink asin=’B011HY0RDM’ text=’Swiffer sweeper’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’rabe00-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’5367646d-37f5-11e8-80d6-63f9f7b51fbc’] is a good dry mop to give a beautiful finish. If your floor needs a deeper clean then you can always try adding ½ cup of vinegar (to one gallon of water), in a mop bucket and use this solution instead of the washing up liquid. You may want to use the vinegar cleaner every month or so to ensure you keep the kitchen floor super clean. If your floor is marble tiled, then do not use the vinegar solution as it can damage the tiles.

Vinyl – This is similar to the linoleum method (as the two surfaces are very similar) and both are popular floor types for kitchen and bathrooms as they’re waterproof. For everyday washing of the floor, you can try a solution of one cup of apple cider vinegar to one gallon of water and mop the floor with that. If you’re wanting to do a deeper and thorough clean then you can add baking soda (this will remove wine or berry stains that may be on your floors). For the tougher spots you can try WD-40 (only use a little bit on a cloth though, not a whole cup!). If you’re wanting an extra shiny vinyl floor then try adding Jojoba Oil to your water solution!

Wooden – Maintaining wooden floors is easy as they’re one of the cleanest floors to have as your kitchen floor. Every week doing a mop of the floor with cleaning solution or washing up liquid is best for an upkeep of the floor and its cleanliness. Every so often you should try using an anti-bacterial floor spray. It is especially important to do this if you have young children living in the house or have a pet that walks around in your house and kitchen.

Best Way to Clean Kitchen Floor Tile Grout

If you have a tiled kitchen then you’ll also need to clean the grout between the tiles. Here are some top tips:

Prep your solution by making a paste of baking soda and water, for every 1 part of water, add 3 parts of baking soda. The paste should be thick in consistency but still moveable. Apply the homemade paste to the grout using either your fingers or another tool (that you don’t mind getting dirty), or
Using a spray bottle, mix together a solution of 1:1 white vinegar and water. When you have slowly mixed it together (or gently shake the bottle), simply spray it onto your grout and paste. There should immediately be a bubbling reaction which shows that the cleaning has started.
Wait for it to stop bubbling before you take any further action. Next, use a nylon scrub brush to scrub the grout lines.
After you’ve completed these steps, simply just mop your floor normally with plain warm water.

What Equipment Do I Need to Clean a Kitchen Floor?

Personal preference means that everyone will clean with different tools, whilst some people love to get on their hands and knees to thoroughly clean their kitchen floor, others would prefer to simply mop it up with a little water.

However, it can be confusing when you need to decide what equipment to use and that’s why we’ve explained a little more about each one below.

Mop – This is the most popular and common tool to use for cleaning any floor. It’s long handle and small flexible cloth strings leave a great finish on many floors and it doesn’t require a lot of unwanted effort. Whilst you can get a cheap one from your local supermarket, often paying a little more for a good brand will mean a better clean and a longer life for the mop to clean up your floors. Vileda are a top rated brand that do great mops and the [amazon_textlink asin=’B01HTTQ6A2′ text=’Vileda Easy Wring’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’rabe00-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’bee34327-37f5-11e8-88d5-c19caa8a2957′] is a good seller with great reviews. Check out our floor mop guide for more info.
Spray mop – These also have a long handle (as it makes them even easier to use) but it has a spray at the end of the mop (and uses a flat cloth head) that sprays out water and floor cleaner before you mop it. This is a great gadget if you have a big floor to mop as carrying around a bucket and having to move it all the time can be annoying. If you have a particularly large kitchen, you may want to mop your floors with a spray mop rather than a traditional one. A good, inexpensive spray mop is [amazon_textlink asin=’B01KYYSO22′ text=’this one from Vorfreude’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’rabe00-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’e0d74777-37f5-11e8-835a-5da01072ffa0′].
Steam cleaner – The most expensive tool you can use as a mop to clean your kitchen floor is a steam cleaner. They’re good if you need to deep clean and can get up dirt you didn’t even know was there. They start from around £50 which may seem expensive at first but it’s essentially an investment in your clean kitchen. Take a look at our steam cleaner resource guide for product recommendations.

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Best Kitchen Floor Cleaning Products

Once you have your cleaning equipment you then to choose a suitable floor cleaner. If you don’t want to use a homemade solution (such as white vinegar) then there a plenty of off-the-shelf products.

Floor cleaners come in three different guises:

Multi-purpose type cleaners that are suitable for different surfaces. Usually, these have to be diluted in warm or cold water. They are cost effective though as a bottle can last quite a long time. If you have wooden floors, make sure the product can be used on those. We use the Flash Wooden Floors All Purpose Liquid Cleaner.
Direct-to-floor cleaners – These are a pre-made solution (so no mixing required) that can be applied directly to the floor surface. These are a great time-saving product but are more costly than the cleaners you dilute. We are currently using the Method “Squirt and Mop” Floor Cleaner product.
Wipes – these are more suitable for spot cleaning. They are good for a quick clean, especially if you have children, and its best to choose an anti-bacterial version such as these wipes from Dettol.

How to Mop a Kitchen Floor Without a Mop

Although mopping the floor with these tools is popular, you may want to try other techniques. That is totally fine too! There are so many other methods of cleaning too, you can use sponges or even take some old clothes (make sure they’re clean) and attach them to your feet then dance along your kitchen floor.

If you want some fun then this might be the best option, you could even use clean clothes on the end of a broom dipped in warm water as a mop. There are so many other options so don’t get stressed if you don’t own a mop, just use our techniques and steps but use your homemade equipment instead.

Using a sponge can also be thought of as a more effective way to clean your kitchen floor as it will allow you to see all the dirt up close and really scrub the extra dirty areas.

How to Wring out a Mop

If you have a mop bucket with a basket on it, then this is the best way to wring out your mop. Simply push the wet mop into the basket to squeeze out the water. It works better if you use a twisting motion when squeezing.

If you don’t have a bucket with a draining basket then the best way to then wring out your mop and ensure it is dry for the next use, is to drain any excess water over a bucket or outside. Then take the mop outside and roll it between your hands. The water will then start to spray out the mop and drain. If you carry on doing a rolling method (back and forth) then you will definitely dry the mop. After most of the water is gone then you can just put it in an airing cupboard or somewhere warm for the rest of the mop to dry.

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