With modern architecture and advancement in interior design, more and more living spaces are following the open floor concept meaning the time where the kitchen was just the backstage area is long past gone. Now, the kitchen of a living area is one of the most vital parts of a house or apartment that showcases the personality of the people living there. Moreover, the existence of hardwood floors in the kitchen is now the norm. While it is stylish and very durable, it can be tricky when it comes to cleaning and requires a lot of caution. Harsh cleaners may ruin the finish of the floorboards and leave it dull. On the other hand, using too much of the cleaner may also leave it damaged due to swelling and oversaturation.

Fortunately, an effective cleaning solution that you can DIY at home is mentioned below.

What You Will Need:

• A broom and a dustpan
• A spray bottle
• Half a teaspoon of castile soap
• Essential Oil of your choice (this is optional)
• Microfiber Mop
• Mop pads

Instructions:

Step 1: Sweep the floors and clean off any dust

Sweep your wooden floors thoroughly to clean off any dust particles. Pay extra attention to cover every inch of the kitchen floor including along the edge of the floor lining the walls and cabinets, as debris tends to pile up there a lot.

Step 2: Prepare the cleaning solution

In the spray bottle, pour in ½ a teaspoon of castile soap, for example, the one by Dr. Bronner, and two cups of water. If you wish to do so, you may add anywhere from 2 to 5 drops of any essential oil of your choice such as lavender, orange, lemon, peppermint, etc. Put the lead back on the bottle and give it a good shake to make sure all the ingredients mix well.

Step 3: Spray the cleaner into a small area to test

Test a small discreet area with the cleaning solution and check for any damages. This is just a precautionary step since you can never be too careful! If everything is okay, go on ahead with the rest of the steps.

Step 4: Spray the cleaner and start moping

You want to start from the opposite of the door, so you can mop your way out the kitchen. Spray a generous amount of the cleaner to the hardwood floor and then use a dry microfiber mop to scrub the sprayed area working back and forth in the direction of the grain in the floorboards. Spray enough so that the wooden floor is damp but not soaking wet.

Step 5: Do this until all the floor space is covered

Repeat step 4 in small patches of your kitchen hardwood floors until you have covered the whole floor space. Halfway through, you might want to change out the microfiber pad if it gets really dirty. You can also just squeeze out the dirty moisture as much as possible and rinse it with clean water before continuing on with your cleaning. Remember to start cleaning from the opposite side of the entrance, so that you do not get stuck and you can leave the kitchen without messing up your work.

Step 6: Leave it to dry

After the whole floorboard area is covered, let it sit uninterrupted for a couple of hours so that it can dry completely. Do not walk over it even if it is damp, otherwise, you risk the chances of dirtying up your floors and making footprints.