It may look as though your floors are always sticky, even though you use a cleaner to make them shine. This is because the floor cleaner you use leaves behind a residue from the chemicals in it. This residue will not only cause your floors to become sticky, but it also has the potential to give wood floors a cloudy appearance and discoloration. Thankfully, you can get rid of floor cleaner residue by following these instructions in the right order.
How does the residue from floor cleaner build up?
There is a possibility that floor cleaners will leave behind a residue that will make the floors sticky, even though their primary purpose is to clean the floors. This is the consequence of using a floor cleaner that contains one of the three primary components.
The majority of cleaning products are comprised of water, solvents that can cut through dirt, and surfactants that can suspend dirt and make it simpler to wipe away. The residue that is left behind on your floors is caused by these surfactants.
The degree to which your floors become sticky is directly proportional to the amount of surfactant that was present in the cleaner, to begin with. This is likely causing your floors to become extremely sticky because you are not diluting your floor cleaner properly.
Eliminating Residue Using a Cleaner That Does Not Contain Ammonia
The residue that’s causing your floors to be sticky can be removed in several different ways, and while this can be an annoyance, you do have options. The first thing you could try is a cleaner that does not contain ammonia, such as Windex. Spray the cleaner onto a square measuring two feet by two feet on your floor and then wait approximately two minutes before wiping it up.
After that, rub the area of the floor where you sprayed the cleaner with a dish-scrubbing sponge. To prevent the residue from becoming dry and embedding itself in the floor, immediately after scrubbing the area, wipe it down with a towel that is clean and damp. Finally, to get rid of any remaining residue from the cleaner, you will need to repeat this process across the entirety of your wood floor.
The Process of Cleaning Residue Off Laminate Floors
If you have laminate floors and notice that they have a residue on them, soap or floor wax is one of the possible causes. You’re going to need an acidic cleaner to get rid of this residue. You will also need to make use of a detergent for the more challenging jobs.
To get started, you need to make certain that you sweep the floor completely so that there is no remaining dirt. Next, in a bucket, mix one gallon of warm water and one cup of white vinegar. The mixture should be thoroughly combined.
Mop your floor from beginning to end by dipping your mop into the bucket of water, wringing it out, and then mopping the floor. To get a sufficient amount of cleaner onto the floor, you will need to frequently rinse the mop.
After you are finished cleaning, use a soft towel to wipe the floor down. To achieve the best possible results, you should stand on the towel and move your feet in a back-and-forth motion until the entire floor has been dried.
After mopping the floor with vinegar, if the residue is still visible, add a drop of dishwashing soap to a nonabrasive sponge and scrub the floor. It may be necessary to rinse the sponge and reapply the soap on multiple occasions. In the end, you should use vinegar once more to mop the floor to remove the soap residue.
Avoid Using Stagnant Water.
After you have cleaned the residue off of your floor, you will want to take precautions to ensure that it does not begin to accumulate once more. The first step you can take toward accomplishing this is to stop cleaning your floor with dirty water. When you first start mopping, the water you’re using might be clean, but as you work, it’s likely going to become filthy very quickly. If you try to clean your floors with this dirty water, you will only succeed in making them stickier.
Choose a mop bucket that keeps clean water and dirty water in separate compartments to avoid using dirty water, or invest in an automatic scrubber that applies cleaning solution, scrubs the floor, and then vacuum up the dirty water to avoid using dirty water.
Cleansers that Have Been Diluted and Concentrated
Even though purchasing cleaning products in concentrated form rather than in ready-to-use bottles will save you money in the long run, you will still need to properly dilute the concentrated cleaner in the bucket.
If you use a concentrated cleaning product to clean your floors, but you don’t use enough water when diluting it, then cleaning your floors won’t be any easier. Instead, it will merely result in significant residue problems. Be sure to follow the instructions and dilute your concentrated cleaning products appropriately.
Look for Floor Cleaners That Don’t Leave Behind Any Residue
Utilizing a cleaner that leaves no residue behind or leaves behind very little residue is an additional simple step you can take to prevent residue from building up on your floors again. Regrettably, not all products marketed as residue-free cleaners are created equal.
Even worse, some cleaners that boast that they don’t leave behind any residue still end up leaving a film behind. To your relief, there is a simple test that can be performed to determine how much residue will be left behind after using a particular cleaner. Just spray some of the cleaners on a piece of glass, and then wipe it off. You will have a quick opportunity to determine whether or not it leaves any residue behind.
Sticky floors are an incredibly annoying issue, but you can get rid of the residue that floor cleaners leave behind by following these cleaning tips.
