Will Vinegar Hurt Wood Floors

This one varies depending on the finish of your floors.

Will vinegar hurt wood floors.

The main problem is that often people make mistakes by using too much water. The finish is the protective layer of your hardwood floors. The acetic acid in vinegar can wear away or etch the polyurethane finish which over time will make your once gleaming floors seem dull. It s important to remember that when you clean your hardwood floors you aren t actually cleaning the wood you are cleaning the chemical finish on the wood.

The process may be hastened if vinegar is used in conjunction with very hot. Do not use red wine balsamic or apple kinds of vinegar. Using vinegar and water as a homemade hardwood floor cleaning solution can have a negative effect on your hardwood floor. Too many people don t really know how to clean wood floors with vinegar properly and that causes damage to wood floors.

Second a mixture of vinegar and water typically isn t as effective as a neutral ph soap or cleaner formulated for wood when it comes to pulling up dirt and grime. While cleaning wood floors with vinegar and water is ideal it isn t the only natural option. Many flooring manufacturers including lumber liquidators warn against using vinegar to clean your hardwood floors. But they do warn against the use of water and vinegar for hardwood floors.

Using vinegar on some hardwood floors will damage the finish. If your wood floor is laminated vinegar is an ideal cleaning product because it won t strip the wax off floors like ammonia will. Vinegar is one homemade cleaner that most families use in their home for getting rid of stains spots and grime from hardwood floors. It s like kryptonite for superman.

Some will even void the warranty if there are any signs that vinegar was used. White vinegar being natural cleanser it has becomes the best alternative for cleaning dirty hardwood floors removing stains and sanitizing. Plain white distilled vinegar should be your only choice. Neutral ph vinegar is an acidic substance and over time can eat away or deteriorate the finish on a hardwood floor.

Vinegar can do damage to your wood floor finish if the vinegar to water ratio is too strong if you use the wrong type of vinegar or if you allow the vinegar water mixture to pool puddle or over soak your floor. For hardwood floors water is anathema. If you have a hardwood or laminated wood floor use white vinegar and stay away from your mop as it could contain residue from other cleaners that would not allow the vinegar to have its full effect. If you like the cleaning power of vinegar but want to cut the smell just add an essential oil such as lemon.