How To Clean Your Kitchen Floor

Top Tips for Cleaning Your Kitchen Floor

Your kitchen is the heart of the home, but often the hardest room to clean. The kitchen floor is one area that certainly accumulates stains, dust and crumbs quickly. From oven splatters, meal prepping mishaps and everything between, the kitchen floor can become grubby in no time.

woman washes wooden floors from a laminate floor in a bright kitchen.

With so many different floor types, it's important to know which products and methods are best suited. Using the wrong products could cause long term damage to the flooring. So, we have put together our 5 top tips for cleaning all types of kitchen floors, from laminate and wood flooring to vinyl and tiled floors.

Kitchen Floor Maintenance

Regardless of your floor type, there are a few go-to tips to reduce grime and dirt on the kitchen floor.

Sweeping the floor daily. This will prevent a build-up of dust, crumbs, pet hair and dirt.
Mop the floor weekly. Mopping will remove the sticky grease that is caused by meal prepping. Microfibre mops are the talk of the town at the moment, and for good reason. Microfibre mops do a great job of cleaning the floor and don't need rinsing. You can just throw the mop head straight in the washing machine.
Clean spills up immediately. This will avoid permanent stains on the kitchen floor and make a deep clean much easier.
No shoe policy. Enforcing a 'no shoe policy' in your kitchen can significantly reduce the dirt on your kitchen floor. If this is not an option, invest in a tough door mat to ensure dirt is not brought into the kitchen by visitors.
Avoid scouring sponges. It can be tempting to use a scouring sponge on the kitchen floor if you are faced with a gunky stain, but don't. A scouring pad will scratch the floor, making it more susceptible to deep dirt stains. Instead, use a concentrated measure of the cleaning product and leave it to soak for a minute before removing with a soft brush or mop.

Tips for Cleaning Laminate Flooring

Use a water and vinegar solution to gently remove stains with a soft cloth or a lightly dampened mop. To remove extremely stubborn stains, nail polish remover containing acetone can be used on laminate.

Regularly sweep or vacuum the kitchen flooring, to prevent the floor from becoming scratched by dirt.
Protect the floor by using felt pads under kitchen furniture and remove shoes to reduce the amount of dirt bought in.
Avoid soap-based products and polishes, as they can leave the floor looking dull.
Avoid over-wetting the laminate flooring.
Don't be tempted to use a scouring pad or steel wood to remove stains, as this will scratch the laminate flooring.

Cleaning Vinyl Flooring

Vinyl flooring is a popular choice for many homeowners due to its durability. Vinyl floors are not only highly durable, but they look great and are very affordable. This flooring is also extremely easy to clean, damp mopping with warm water and a vinyl cleaner is generally all you need.

When mopping, make sure you don't use too much water. Excessive water can go into the cracks and edges of the flooring, causing it to lift and become damaged.
For stubborn stains like wine or fruit juice, use baking soda. Create a paste with baking soda and water, then gently rub the paste into the stain until it lifts.
Avoid steam cleaning as this is not suitable for vinyl flooring.

Tips for Cleaning Hardwood Flooring

Regularly sweeping and dry mopping should keep grime away on hardwood flooring. However, for a deep clean, regular dish soap and warm water will make the perfect cleaning solution for hardwood flooring. After cleaning, always dry the floor with a clean cloth or dry mop.

Choose a soft-bristled brush for sweeping up.
Vacuum with the soft floor attachment as the brush roll could damage the finish of the floor.
Clean sticky stains first with a damp cloth and wood floor cleaner.
Use a flat-head mop or microfibre pad to move with the grain of the wooden floor.
Don't varnish a waxed floor because it won't dry out.
Avoid steam cleaning as this is not suitable for a wood floor.

Tips for Cleaning Tiled Flooring

Ceramic tile is a very popular choice for a kitchen floor as it is very durable and easy to clean – perfect for the kitchen traffic! Tiled kitchen flooring requires minimal maintenance, so it can be mopped with warm water and an all-purpose cleaner. Dry the floor immediately after cleaning with a lint-free cloth, to avoid water spots on the grout.

Never use wax polish as the tiles will become very slippery.
Try steam cleaning floor tiles. A steam cleaner will blast away grime and even reach into the tiles grout.
Avoid acidic products, such as ammonia as this could discolour the grout.

You can find a step-by-step guide on kitchen tile cleaning here.

How to Make Your Own Kitchen Floor Cleaner

This homemade floor cleaner contains natural products and will work well on all types of flooring except natural stone and hardwood.

Combine 300ml of water, a few drops of dishwashing liquid, 150g of baking soda and 2 tablespoons of white vinegar into a spray bottle.

Working in small sections, spray the solution directly onto the floor and then mop. Rinse the mop with warm water and go over the floor once more, so you aren't left with any baking soda residue.

Kitchen floor cleaning can be deemed a chore, but once you get into the habit of daily and weekly maintenance, it's not a chore at all. Having a sparkling clean kitchen floor is all worth it to keep the whole space clean, safe and even impress your visitors.

Professional Oven Cleaning

If you want to further clean up your kitchen, then why not book a professional oven clean? Specialising in deep cleans, Ovenclean specialists can put the sparkle back into your kitchen by undertaking a range of professional oven cleaning services.

So, contact your local specialist today for a free cleaning quote.

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