How to Clean Floors

Dirty floors got you down? Hometalk can help! Take a look at our best, new, and top DIY floor cleaning projects. We have ideas to help you save time and money. Check out our slideshows, videos, and discussion boards to help you take your floors from drab to fab! Get rid of those scuff marks and stains and make your floors shine.

Easy Grout Cleaner (and Swiffer Hack) for Under $8

Floor Cleaning Made Easy

Dust before you wipe: Vacuum or sweep your floor before cleaning. Take care not to use a beater bar or coarse bristles as these can leave scratches.
Prepare your surface: Wipe floors with a microfiber mop and a touch of cleaning solution before a deep clean to prep the surface.
Use heavy strokes for deep clean: After a light wipe, go over the surface again. This time, soak a mop and use heavier strokes to get a deep clean.
Avoid streaks and patches: Leave floors until they're approximately 95% dry before spot cleaning. This ensures you aren’t left with streaks or patchy areas.
Maintain a clean floor: Daily dusting is the best way to maintain a clean floor. Complement regular light and deep cleans by using a dry microfiber mop to remove dust.

More cleaning categories

Top Projects for Cleaning Floors

We have the top DIY floor cleaning ideas and projects all right here.

Easy Grout Cleaner (and Swiffer Hack) for Under $8

If you’ve read my other posts, you know by now I’m into DIY green cleaners: easy to make using household ingredients. I’m sure you’ll also notice I like to reuse and upcycle. Why purchase a new swiffer when I can turn the old into new? With that in mind, I decided to tackle a long due bathroom project: A DIY Tile & Grout Green cleaner to make my floors shine again! Read on to learn how to make yours.

Elena K, Hometalk Team

DIY 3-Ingredient Tub and Tile Cleaner

Cleaning your home doesn't have to be toxic! This easy and inexpensive tub and tile cleaner cleans just as effectively as commercial products - without the addition of harsh chemicals. And, it smells great too!7-9-17 Update: This project is no longer published on To Work with My Hands. Proportions are included below.

To Work With My Hands

Easy and Effective Way to Clean Baseboards and Doors

With spring just around the corner, I like to get a head start on all of my spring cleaning chores. This way I can get some of the more nitty gritty jobs out of the way, and have more time to spend outdoors in the beautiful warm weather. One of my least favorite chores to tackle, is cleaning the baseboards and doors, but after a long winter with the majority of the familybeing indoors for long periods of time, they definitely need a good cleaning. I have tried several different methods and products over the years, however sometimes the simplest methods work the best, and in this case that holds true. Read below to find out my quick yet effective method for cleaning baseboards and doors!

Wren’s Little Nest

Removing Tough and Odd Stains

Stains can be such a challenge to remove and I put some to the test. Here are a few ways I found to remove these stains with inexpensive and easy to find ingredients. You can see more of my crazy creations here

Chas' Crazy Creations

Make Your Own Steam Mop Pads

I'm already in Spring cleaning mode so I've been cleaning like a mad woman lately! We bought a Swiffer Bissell Steamboost Mop recently and it came with two of the cleaning pads for it. They smelled wonderful, but I was concerned that the solution on them may not be good for our three cats to be walking around on as well as the the refill pads are kind of expensive in my opinion, especially for as often as I mop my floors.

DeeDee

First Aid... Remove Sticky Residue

Hi, Liz here, from SimpleDecoratingTips.com a DIY & decorating blog for everything home to cottage. (This post was first published on Simple Decorating Tips. )

Liz at Simple Decorating Tips

How to Update Dingy Floor Tile With a Grout Pen

Read on to learn how to update your dated, dingy tile with ONE product under $15 in less than 30 mins! It’s called a grout pen...Yes, you read that right. This is considered a quick “phase 1” fix, but I’m all for something cheap and easy that improves the overall appearance of a room. I have biiiiig plans for our master bathroom, but not a big budget right now. So quick and easy phase one fix it is.

Emily Rone Home

How I Made My Baseboard Heat Covers Look Brand New!

I did a previous post where I replaced the baseboard heat covers in my bathroom that were all rusted with a plastic one, but new covers are SO EXPENSIVE! I was really shocked that a room would cost about $200 to do new covers for. So when we got new floors and the existing covers stuck out like a sore thumb, I needed to figure something out.

Berta Lily

How-To: Recolor Grout, WITHOUT Re-grouting!

One of the worst things about white grout is that over time, like most white things, it begins to yellow due to dirt and grime. To create a fresh bathroom look, contrast stark white / light tiles with dark grout. STOP, do not spend your time re-grouting. Instead, use this quick tutorial to RECOLOR your grout for an easy (cheap) and updated look.

Brittany | Sarah | Sam

Removing Dried-On Grout (and Refreshing Grout Lines)!

We had some frustrating dried grout on our bathroom floor tiles that was there long before we moved in. We are painting and doing minor updates on our bathroom, so we decided to start with the floor. We didn't want to do a lot of scraping or use harsh chemicals, so we found a great solution: Oxiclean. It worked really well, and left our floors fresh and clean. However, the grout lines that were left behind were still dirty, so we used a great product called Grout Renew to brighten them right up. It's like we got a whole new floor! Check out the blog for more information!

Kirstin @ Things Made New

Make Your Own Steam Mop Pads

DeeDee

First Aid... Remove Sticky Residue

Hi, Liz here, from SimpleDecoratingTips.com a DIY & decorating blog for everything home to cottage. (This post was first published on Simple Decorating Tips. )

Liz at Simple Decorating Tips

How to Update Dingy Floor Tile With a Grout Pen

Emily Rone Home

How I Made My Baseboard Heat Covers Look Brand New!

Berta Lily

How-To: Recolor Grout, WITHOUT Re-grouting!

Brittany | Sarah | Sam

Removing Dried-On Grout (and Refreshing Grout Lines)!

Kirstin @ Things Made New

Looking for slideshows of floor cleaning projects? Check out our collection here.

Floor Cleaning Videos

Need some video tutorials on how to get started cleaning your floors? Enjoy.

Homemade Grout, Tile and Tub Cleaner

I’m always on the lookout for cheap green cleaning ideas and store bought grout cleaner is super toxic. As you can imagine, I was ecstatic to find this green recipe! Not only did I already have all the ingredients at home, but it actually did an amazing job at putting the shine back in the tile and grout all around my home. Step 1: Collect your supplies

Shawna Bailey

Popular Floor Cleaning Discussions

Join our discussion board on how to clean your own floors yourself.

How can I get dried baking soda out of carpet?

/> Linnea

My cat threw up a colorful mess on my living room carpet. I used a combination of white vinegar and hydrogen peroxide, and while that helped, it didn't get rid of the color. So, I added baking soda. Now, I can't get the dried baking soda out of the carpet. I would very much appreciate any suggestions.Best carpet cleaner!Get stains and odors out of your carpets with Rocco and Roxie spray that Amazon reviewers swear by!

View discussion

How can I make my floor tiles shine without wax?

/> Amy Poulton, Hometalk Editor

My floor tiles are looking a little gray and dull. How can I clean them up and bring back the shine without using wax?

How can I make my floor tiles shine without wax?

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How to clean mysterious white marks from laminate flooring?

/> Milly

We had Swiss Krono laminate flooring installed at the beginning of the summer. We had half a box of planks leftover which we stored under the bar in the dining room for about 6 months. Just moved the box and found this white mark underneith. It does not wash off. I tried a bit of rubbing alcohol but it doesn't budge either. There is no water in our dining room but we do live in a climate of high humidity. The only thing I can imagine is that moisture from the humid summer somehow left this mark under the box but I don't really know. It's not hardwood so the tricks for removing water spots from hardwood won't work. Thanks for any suggestions!

How to clean mysterious white marks from laminate flooring?

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How to clean old linoleum?

/> Cindy Canales Rippey

I have old linoleum floors in my kitchen that lost their luster. They are stained and I have tried everything. Vinegar, bleach, hydrogen peroxide with baking soda. Any clues?

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New Floor Cleaning Projects

We have tons of new DIY floor cleaning projects to get you started here.

How to Remove Paint From Tile

By Alexa EricksonFinding paint on tiles is an unsettling discovery. Actually, discovering paint on just about anything can incite concern. But, while paint may appear permanent on tile, there are ways to remove it, that of which includes natural solutions like vinegar. This guide will take you through some of the top methods for removing paint from your precious tile, including dried paint and wet paint.