I received this great tip from a reader awhile ago, and I just had to share it with you because I think it’s how to clean linoleum floors. Here’s what she said, “Just this week I [started using baking soda] to wash my kitchen floor.”
This is a fantastic idea for those with linoleum floors. Because baking soda has a little texture to it, it’s the perfect product for cleaning the uneven, grooved surfaces of linoleum floors! I just wish I’d been the one to think of it!
Here’s what to do
*Sprinkle baking soda on the floor {it’s best if you work in 3 foot sections}.
* Next spray the floor with a mix of vinegar and water.
*Scrub the floor using a sponge or a mop with a sponge head {like this one}.
*After scrubbing each area of the floor rinse away the baking soda “film” with a wet sponge or rag.
This is a great way to brighten your dingy linoleum floors!
This is a fantastic idea for those with linoleum floors. Because baking soda has a little texture to it, it’s the perfect product for cleaning the uneven, grooved surfaces of linoleum floors! I just wish I’d been the one to think of it!
Here’s what to do
*Sprinkle baking soda on the floor {it’s best if you work in 3 foot sections}.
* Next spray the floor with a mix of vinegar and water.
*Scrub the floor using a sponge or a mop with a sponge head {like this one}.
*After scrubbing each area of the floor rinse away the baking soda “film” with a wet sponge or rag.
This is a great way to brighten your dingy linoleum floors!
You can even add a little lemon juice to leave your kitchen sparkly clean and smelling as fresh as a cool spring day!
About Anna
LOVE THIS TIP!!!! I’ve been trying to figure out how to clean it properly! I mop and mop and mop and it’s never really clean.. I notice it’s not clean as soon as my daughter drops something on the floor and I wipe it up with a baby wipe and it comes up black.. YUCK!
LOVE the look of your blog Anna!
Have a great day!
Christine
xoxo
I will definitely try this…Thanks!!
This is brilliant! I’m going to try this tonight but will attach a wet rag to my swiffer instead of scrubbing on my hands and knees. Thank you!
I have to be honest – I loved this idea in theory. In application, it was practically back breaking. I just didn’t find the addition of soda to really add to the effectiveness of just vinegar, dawn and water sprayed on the floor alone. Where i DID find soda effective was in the dirty corners where gunk buildup hangs out. But not for the entire kitchen floor. To me, that was overkill.
Just as an aside, Kaboom foam spray works excellently on linoleum as well. I know it has lots of chemicals, but if you’re less sensitive to those things, its worth a try.
Good to know, I’ll have to try that sometime. Thanks for the tip!
Anna :)
I love this idea! However, I have three small dogs and it is very hard to block them out when cleaning. Would the soda or vinegar be of any harm to them?
No, not at all. It probably wouldn’t taste very good but it won’t hurt them. :)
Wouldn’t you have to change your rinse water quite often to prevent a baking soda clouding being left on the floor? Eventually your water would have a build up of soda and you would be putting it back down on the floor, too much work for me, I prefer my ammonia/water/sponge mop.
This was wonderful… After it cleaned my floors of left over wax it has a beautiful shine. Love it….
I use this method to cut down on the chemicals used in my house. It cleaned the build up beautifully but took the shine off the linoleum. Do you have a recommendation to bring the shine back?
And, for your reader with the dogs, my little dog couldn’t keep away from me…I was on the floor and that means playtime to him. He walked through and rolled his tennis ball through my work space but I was not worried because there were no chemicals on the floor it was all natural and ph neutral.
Great tip!
Alli
Thanks Alli! My only thought for adding shine back in would be to buff the floors with a clean, dry rag and a smidge of oil. If you use just a smidge it won’t make the floors greasy and slippery but they will be shiny! :)
Hi Anna,
I found this looking for a good way to clean the linoleum; I think this would be great for a small area, but with the dining room & Kitchen being attached it is 33′ x 16 ‘, which turned this into a big job & very tiring.
It did clean the linoleum pretty well, but by the time for cleaning the film up you are pretty well beat.
Would you have any other thoughts on a larger area that wouldn’t take as long & still do a good job? I did notice Amy’s remark suggesting Kaboom; I’ll have to give that a try also.
Thanks, Doug
Thank you so much for this tip. This application is great for those who have small kitchen floors like me! It worked like a charm!
I have brown scuff marks on the floor (from scooting appliances around, etc). I cannot get them out! I’ve tried magic erasers, bleach, this… let me know if you have any suggestions for this. It has apparently stained the linoleum. thanks !
Try using rubbing alcohol, it works great on stuff like that!!! :)
I also found the baking soda left a film – I had to go over it with a damp sponge, then buff with a towel. It took me almost an hour to clean two very small bathrooms!
I tried that and now my floors look really dull
It probably still has some baking soda residue on it. Try wiping it with just a damp cloth.